Woody Allen
I wanted to know more about Woody Allen who is a world-famous movie director. I got to know him by his recent movie "Midnight in Paris" and became a fan of his movies. And lately, I saw a movie "Blue Jasmine" which is his latest film.
a. When and where was the person born? How would you describe the person's childhood or early life?
Allen was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg in The Bronz and raised in Brooklyn, NY, the son of Nettie, a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen, and Martin Konigsberg, a jewelry engraver and waiter.
His childhood was not particularly happy: his parents did not get along, and he had a rocky relationship with his stern, temperamental mother. Allen spoke German quite a bit in his early years. He would later joke that when he was young he was often sent to inter-faith Summer camps, where he "was savagely beaten by children of all races and creeds." While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now The Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature) and to Midwood High School. At that time, he lived in an apartment at 968 East 14th Street.Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and his strong arms ensured he was first to be picked for a team. He impressed students with his extraordinary talent at card and magic tricks. To raise money he wrote jokes (or "gags") for agent David O. Alber, who sold them to newspaper columnists. According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices – over people's salaries."
He began to call himself Woody Allen. At the age of 17, he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen. He was then earning more than both parents combined.
After high school, he attended New York University, studying communication and film. He later briefly attended City College of New York and soon flunked out. Later, he learned via self-study rather than in the classroom. He eventually taught at The New School. He also studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.
b. What accomplishment or event caused the person to become famous?
He started to be famous from one of his popular movie Annie Hall and it won 4 academy awards.
c. What was one thing you learned about this person that surprised you?
His romance with Soon-Yi Previn was quite impressive and surprising.
"After ending his relationship with Mia Farrow in 1992, Allen continued his relationship with Soon-Yi Previn. Though Allen never married Mia Farrow and was not Previn's legal stepfather, the relationship between Allen and Previn has often been referred to as a stepfather involved romantically with his stepdaughter because she was adopted and legally Farrow's daughter and Allen's son's sister. In 1991, New York Times opined on Allen's family life: "Few married couples seem more married. They are constantly in touch with each other, and not many fathers spend as much time with their children as Allen does."
In 1991, when the relationship began, Allen was 56 and Previn around 19. Asked whether their age difference was conducive to "a healthy, equal relationship," Allen said equality is not necessarily a requirement in a relationship and "The heart wants what it wants. There's no logic to those things. You meet someone and you fall in love, and that's that." The couple married in 1997."
d. If you were asked to write a brief biography of this person, what three personal characteristics would you emphasize
1. How his personal experience and personality affected to characteristics of his works.
2. Scandal with his ex-wives and Soon-Yi Previn
3. What he wants to express in his films
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