CBS News will release an interview filmed with filmmaker Woody Allen over half a year ago on Paramount+, starting March 28. The in-depth interview is Allen’s first in over three decades and was originally filmed for CBS Sunday Morning with journalist Lee Cowan interviewing the director. It will be included in a special titled CBS Sunday Morning – The Woody Allen Interview, which will also feature Gayle King’s 2018 interview with Dylan Farrow.
Cowan interviewed Allen in July 2020, months after Hachette Book Group announced it would not publish Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing, in which he denied abusing Farrow when she was 7 years old. Arcade Publishing eventually released the book in March 2020. CBS News did not say what topics Allen, 85, discussed with Cowan. In addition to King’s interview with Farrow, the special will include a report from Erin Moriarty on “controversial artists and their art.”
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“CBS Sunday Morning’s Lee Cowan sat down with Woody Allen in July 2020 following the release of his memoir for what would be Allen’s first significant television interview in nearly three decades,” CBS News said in a statement Sunday. “The interview, which occurred last summer during an active news cycle, is being presented now given the renewed interest in the controversy surrounding the filmmaker. The exclusive for Paramount+ offers the ability to explore Allen, his career, and the allegations in context and with the depth that this story demands.”
Farrow has accused Allen of abusing her in 1992 and denied being coached by her mother, actress Mia Farrow, Allen’s longtime former partner. The allegations came under the spotlight again due to HBO’s documentary series Allen v. Farrow. Allen did not take part in the series and he has repeatedly denied the allegations. Allen has never been charged with a crime. The documentary did include audio recordings Mia Farrow made of her phone calls with Allen. The director is now married to Soon-Yi Previn, one of Farrow’s older daughters.
CBS News did not announce any plans to air the special on CBS. As Variety notes, it does seem unlikely the special will air, since CBS News is presenting Allen’s interview alongside the Farrow interview and Moriarty’s report. ViacomCBS has also sought to integrate CBS News programming into the Paramount+ line-up, offering the live-streaming news service CBSN and the extended 60 Minutes Plus segments to subscribers of the recently-launched streaming platform. You can sign up for a free Paramount+ trial by clicking here.
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