VOTW: Woody Allen’s Academy Awards 2002

It’s Award Season, the season that Woody Allen could famously could not care less about. Despite all the awards he has won, Allen has only ever appeared at one Award show – the Academy Awards in 2002. And he did it because of 9/11. It’s our highly irregular video of the week.

It is one of the best public appearances by Allen. As Whoopi Goldberg (who introduces him) right says, Allen is for many people New York. His appearance is a surprise, and he gets a standing ovation from the crowd.

And then he launches into jokes.

It is pretty fantastic to see Allen just telling jokes again. It is essentially his first stand up set in almost 35 years. And when he talks about New York from his heart, you can see how much he means it. He then introduces a film from his old friend, Nora Ephron.

Newly up on the internet is the press conference afterwards, where Allen answered questions from the press (who were not prepared for his arrival).

It’s a great video, with Allen loosening to up make some jokes, but also talk seriously about 9/11, and how he would be realistic in portraying New York’s new, and still beautiful skyline. He also gets in a jab at Los Angeles.

No doubt Allen will not be at the upcoming Academy Awards, and it’s unlikely his latest film, Café Society, will pick up any nominations (we will know for sure early next week). Allen last big awards film was 2013’s Blue Jasmine.

It will probably be Allen’s only Academy Awards appearance, but it sure was memorable.

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