I haven’t obsessed over a celebrity for quite some time now, but the thought of just meeting him is unbelievable. From the limited knowledge I have of Woody Allen, I know that he is more of an introvert. He is very secretive about things and isn’t at all a fan of publicity. He doesn’t like the idea of being a “celebrity.” He doesn’t even attend the Academy Awards when his movies are nominated. I heard a rumour that he jams at Cafe Carylye every Monday nights just to have an excuse not to attend any Academy awards (which are always held on Monday nights). I have this strong urge to go to NYC just to go to that Cafe and watch him perform by reserving a seat for $150. Heck, I would scream just being in his presence. C’mon, it’s Woody Allen. The actor, director, writer, comedian, musician, one of the most talented human beings I know of.
I need to meet Woody Allen. And I know one day… I will. I admire him because he does what he wants, without caring about other people’s comments or remarks on his work. He’s the reason for me wanting to pursue my dreams, to follow my heart and to do what I want. Because of him, I have hope in entering the industry I want to, and I believe that I can enter anything with doing what I want and following what inspires and motivates me.
I contacted three people just to get a hold of him: his agent, his manager, and his publicist. It was a challenge even to just get a hold of them on the phone. Finally I was able to speak to their assistants and they each gave me different email addresses that I should eventually email and hopefully get a response from Woody.
Good morning,
I’m doing a case study for my Experiential Learning class. I want to say that I am a huge fan of Woody’s from the Philippines. I was given a project to interview my favourite leader. And in this project, I need to go over the limit. You know, like get someone that is not easily accessible. My classmates picked people like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc., but the leader I picked was Woody Allen. I know of Woody’s huge success, and that would make it a smaller chance of contacting him, but I never lost hope. From what I know of Woody, he isn’t the most social person. So, is there any possible way to ask him just ONE question?
I was afraid to ask too many questions; it might scare him off.
If ever possible, please get this message to Mr. Woody Allen:
You are such an inspiration to me. Your movies helped me through so much in my life, and at the same time, they entertained me. You changed my entire perspective of life. I noticed that your view of life is so depressing and down, and I admire that you have the courage to speak your outlooks on life without caring what others think.
Question:
What do you think is your main purpose in life? Why do you think you’re here?
I began checking my inbox around five times a day ever since I clicked sent, hoping that I would receive something of the matter. Nothing. It became a habit of checking my inbox, then after a while, it became a habit of expecting no response at all. I kept thinking, ‘Oh, he’s way too successful and at the same time, he’s quite reserved. He’ll disregard my question completely.’ I should’ve put more thought into the question, but the idea that he might actually reply to me was taking over my mind.
On Friday morning, March 09, 2012, I followed my usual habit: checking my email in the morning, even if I knew there would be no response. Unsurprisingly, my inbox had nothing relating to the case study. I went to eat breakfast, not feeling disheartened, but feeling rather considerate of Woody’s busyness and his lack of time to interact with his fans. After breakfast, I went back to check my email (out of a habit again). BAM. One new message.
Woody’s agent, John Burnham, was one of the guys I emailed. The new message was from Mr. Burnham’s assistant. I was so glad my message pushed through. I clicked it and read:
Hi Angelica, Please see below for Woody’s reply. Good luck on your case study!
All the best,
Jenny Wei
Office of John Burnham
International Creative Management
My eyes were wide open. I wanted to scream, but my mom was on the phone in front of me. I scrolled down to see who the middleman of my message was.
Hi Jenni,
The ol’ softy did agree to answer. Here is Woody’s response to her question:
“My main purpose in life, like everyone’s, is to carry out a meaningless and inexplicable act of procreation. I’m here by accident and for no good or bad purpose.” – Woody Allen
Would you please forward to her?
Best,
Kathryn Sigismund
Assistant to Woody Allen
I died at that moment. I was silently screaming my head off, but there were moments where I was too overwhelmed that I couldn’t hold my silence. It was a very fan-girly moment of me. I kept rereading the message from Kathryn, especially the part, ‘The ol’ softy did agree to answer.’ I just kept thinking that he had the decision to not answer the question, but he chose to. He agreed.
His answer was such a “Woody Allen” answer. It was definitely something he would say, so his answer was no surprise to me. I could almost hear his voice while I was reading his reply. Even the pauses he makes between words, even the emphasis he lays on certain syllables. I could almost hear him. That’s when I realized that I watch way too many of his movies. What a fan I am.
So many things ran through my mind. One thing I imagined was how and where he answered my question. Did he answer while he was on the set of his new movie? Did he answer while eating breakfast in his hotel room? Did he answer while sitting in an office answering all of his fan mail? Eventually, I calmed down, which was a pretty difficult thing to do.
Woody and I have lots in common. He expresses himself in ways that aren’t direct. For example, he speaks his mind through his movies, which are therapy to me. He perceives things at an extremely different level. Fortunately, the questions he asks himself in his movies are the same questions I ask myself in everyday life. It makes me happy that I’m not alone in thought when it comes to life, death, existence, belief, etc. I used to believe that thinking too much is unhealthy, but because of him, I’m starting to believe that thinking can be more beneficial. Thinking deeper helps in understanding certain, hidden things. From Woody’s movies, I get to hear his perspective about philosophical situations and that helps me perceive things in diverse ways.
His depressing view of existence distinguishes him from everybody else. It’s surprising how someone so pessimistic is looked up to. He is my role model, even if his view of life is so negative. He always mentions that the only certainty in life is death. That’s true. If you really look at the world, we live in a pretty miserable place. Everything in life is so temporary and so uncertain. Woody tackles those topics in almost all of his movies. He does it in a way that doesn’t piss me off for being so cynical. For some odd reason, I admire his courage to show his negativity to the world through his movies. He speaks the truth about what he thinks. To him, the world is a dark place, and even if you are making yourself happy, you are fooling yourself because at least one person out there is either starving to death, getting tortured, stealing billions, breaking hearts, or murdering another. There are so many disappointing things in life and we just ignore them and cover our disappointment with these smiles (sometimes fake smiles).
Woody Allen is strong enough to speak what he thinks, even when his thoughts are dark. The courage of one person may cause a rippling effect to those who admire him. Because of him, I’m able to speak my mind, to say whatever I think and to express myself in whatever way I want. He gives me hope for success in the future. I’m trying to figure out how, but he does. Maybe it’s because of his diverse way of thinking, maybe it’s because of his different personality, or maybe it’s because of his excessive amount of talent. There’s something about him that makes me do something, something beneficial to me and to others around me.
There is no one on earth that can be compared to Mr. Woody Allen.
