4. The Supporting Cast
Its almost beyond parody to count the number of Hollywood actors who would turn down being the next Batman in order to say three lines in a Woody Allen movie. The problem is that perhaps this knowledge had made Woody Allen a bit, dare I say, lazy in his casting. For years I felt actors who could not really pull off the aesthetic of a Woody Allen screenplay nevertheless found themselves in one of his movies, because they had the star status and I assume had been asked. What is any actor going to say if Woody Allan offers them a role? Midnight in Paris, however, was acutely well cast with Corey Stolls Ernest Hemmingway being a standout example. The guy just nailed who I think anybody who has read For Whom the Bell Tolls thought this macho, depressive drunk might have been like in real life. Only when we got to Carla Bruni did the old indulgences of name before talent come into play again. But thankfully, her role was brief.