Welles on Woody Allen

[Wellesnet]

With Woody Allen back in the news, here are Welles's thoughts on him. From Henry Jaglom and Peter Biskind's "Lunches With Orson":

O.W.: I hate Woody Allen physically, I dislike that kind of man.

H.J.: I’ve never understood why. Have you met him?

O.W.: Oh, yes. I can hardly bear to talk to him. He has the Chaplin disease. That particular combination of arrogance and timidity sets my teeth on edge.

H.J.: He’s not arrogant; he’s shy.

O.W.: He is arrogant. Like all people with timid personalities, his arrogance is ­unlimited. Anybody who speaks quietly and shrivels up in company is unbelievably ­arrogant. He acts shy, but he’s not. He’s scared. He hates himself, and he loves himself, a very tense situation. It’s people like me who have to carry on and pretend to be modest. To me, it’s the most embarrassing thing in the world—a man who presents himself at his worst to get laughs, in order to free himself from his hang-ups. Everything he does on the screen is therapeutic.

[etimh]

Ouch.

Tim

[Le Chiffre]

"He has the Chaplin disease."

That sounds almost accidentally prophetic, given the fact that Chaplin was 54 years old when he married the 18-year-old Oona O'Neill. Of course, Chaplin was never accused of what Allen is accused of, although he did also have a reputation for liking underage girls.