# Woody Allen's autobiography cancelled by publisher **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028 "2020-03-06T21:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/1 "2020-03-06T21:03:39Z")
Maybe he can get Amazon or Lulu to self publish it. šŸ™‚ [Hachette Drops Woody Allen's Book After Ronan Farrow Objects, Employees Walk Out : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/812687472/after-woody-allens-memoir-was-signed-book-publisher-s-employees-walk-out) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/2 "2020-03-06T22:24:58Z")
Thatā€™s a big deal (and very welcome). Given the timing, itā€™s likely they already had produced the physical books, so this was a very costly decision. Hachette royally screwed up from the start. They kept it a secret that theyā€™d acquire the book, even from their own employees. Most of the staff learned about it from the Associated Press this week. Good on them for making their voices heard. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/3 "2020-03-06T22:45:31Z")
Well, this will launch the expected back-and-forth on all the forums and comment sections: Woodyā€™s weird! Miaā€™s weirder! Dylan was coached! Soon-Yi! Ronan is too credulous! He was only three! Heā€™s really Frankieā€™s kid! I never liked his movies anyway! Molesters are never one-and-done! Itā€™s ā€œforaā€, not ā€œforumsā€! Only if you speak Latin! This is my contribution. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/4 "2020-03-06T23:12:55Z")
can they send the books to 3rd world countries like they do with T shirts for the losing Super Bowl team? ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/5 "2020-03-06T23:50:40Z")
[Stephen King](https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1236051775523893248) is coming in for another hot take (I forget what he said recently, but I gave him a bit of side-eye). > [@](#): > > @StephenKing > The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy. Itā€™s not him; I donā€™t give a damn about Mr. Allen. Itā€™s who gets muzzled next that worries me. Theyā€™re not muzzling him, my dude. They were trying to get the money from selling his books AND not pissing off their staff and stable of writers. Allen has his first amendment rights to speak and write whatever he wants. No one has to publish it, however. The unmitigated gall of these assholes to have Ronan on one hand and sneaking and hiding Woody on the other hand. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/6 "2020-03-07T04:04:10Z")
Mr Konigsberg is free to say whatever he wants to whomever wishes to be his audience. However, after his notable film HONEY I FUCKED THE KIDS, his appeal may be dwindling among moral people. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/7 "2020-03-07T04:52:57Z")
Whoever does publish that book will get a windfall because a lot more people will want to read the book now. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/8 "2020-03-07T05:14:02Z")
Itā€™ll be published eventually. Canā€™t wait to read it. Iā€™m a huge fan. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/9 "2020-03-07T06:10:45Z")
I recently watched Woody Allenā€™s latest movie, _A Rainy Day In New York_. It hasnā€™t been released in the US, I think. In this movie, a middle-aged film director (very like Woody Allen himself), a middle-aged film producer, and an older movie star all try to get involved with a very young girl. Talk about lack of self-awareness! :smack: The only redeeming feature of the movie is the performance by Elle Fanning. I didnā€™t know she could be such a wonderful comedy actress. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/10 "2020-03-07T10:01:55Z")
\*\*Manhattan \*\*used to be one of my favorite Woody Allen movies. But the Mariel Hemingway sub-plot is just too icky to watch now. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/11 "2020-03-07T13:15:05Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > I recently watched Woody Allenā€™s latest movie, _A Rainy Day In New York_. It hasnā€™t been released in the US, I think. > > In this movie, a middle-aged film director (very like Woody Allen himself), a middle-aged film producer, and an older movie star all try to get involved with a very young girl. > > Talk about lack of self-awareness! :smack: > > The only redeeming feature of the movie is the performance by Elle Fanning. I didnā€™t know she could be such a wonderful comedy actress. I saw a trailer for this in the movie theater a few months ago, and I was immediately struck by a sense of \*wrongness \*about it, even before they said who the director was. I canā€™t explain it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/12 "2020-03-07T14:39:13Z")
Woody Allen has always creeped me out, even before the whole Soon-Yi thing. And to say thereā€™s a difference between natural children and adopted children? I wonder how the two daughters he adopted with Soon-Yi feel on that statement. Remember, his filing a custody request was the start of that whole brouhaha. Not Mia. Woody started the ball rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/13 "2020-03-07T14:44:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Itā€™ll be published eventually. Canā€™t wait to read it. Iā€™m a huge fan. If I saw someone reading it I would wonder if they too were a pedophile, or just utterly lacking in sensitivity and empathy. Iā€™m probably not the only one who would, so maybe just read it at home. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/14 "2020-03-07T15:04:21Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Maybe he can get Amazon or Lulu to self publish it. šŸ™‚ > > [Hachette Drops Woody Allen's Book After Ronan Farrow Objects, Employees Walk Out : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/812687472/after-woody-allens-memoir-was-signed-book-publisher-s-employees-walk-out) If he did self-publish it on Amazon, he wouldnā€™t need to ā€œget themā€ to do it unless he wa trying to sell it to one of their imprints. They pretty much publish anyone who can get past the quality control inspection. And given the publicity from this, heā€™d probably make more money than he would have from this deal. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/15 "2020-03-07T15:48:04Z")
he can probably find a small publisher to put it out. I assume publishing contracts have an out clause for situations like this? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/16 "2020-03-07T16:22:42Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > he can probably find a small publisher to put it out. I assume publishing contracts have an out clause for situations like this? He didnā€™t need one. Hachette released him of all obligations. Iā€™ve heard nothing about whether he has to return the advance, though. Yes, it was incredibly stupid of Hachette to hide this from their staff, who were undoubtedly basking in the glow of Ronan Farrowā€™s book. Moreover, not notifying Dylan Farrow, presumably also because they wanted to keep the book a secret, is killing them in public opinion, even though most books are not actually fact checked unless libel is involved. The other side of the argument is that everybody gets to tell their story, even people who have been found guilty in court. (Allen has not. Heā€™s been cleared in multiple investigations.) Trial by media is an unambiguously bad thing. The history of publishing every side of every issue by every player in every controversy is not subject to cancel culture. The public is free to object, to boycott, to rave on Twitter, but the fundamental freedom to publish overrides everything. Hachette blew it by their behavior. The way to publish controversial material is from the highest possible moral ground. Where to find that now will be difficult. A lot of people will be looking for it and I havenā€™t any doubt that the book will appear. As it should. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/17 "2020-03-07T16:52:14Z")
Please tell me the title of this book is ā€œIf I Did Itā€. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/18 "2020-03-07T17:00:49Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Please tell me the title of this book is ā€œIf I Did Itā€. šŸ˜ƒ _Apropos of Nothing_ can be translated as ā€œI didnā€™t do it!ā€ šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/19 "2020-03-07T19:24:07Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > If I saw someone reading it I would wonder if they too were a pedophile, or just utterly lacking in sensitivity and empathy. Iā€™m probably not the only one who would, so maybe just read it at home. Thatā€™s pretty over the top. I would not deign to acknowledge such claptrap. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028/20 "2020-03-07T21:58:11Z")
When is Hachette bringing out the Roman Polanski memoir? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woody-allens-autobiography-cancelled-by-publisher/849028.md?page=2)