An Open Letter to Woody Allen

From A.J. Llewellyn

Dear Mr. Allen,

A few days ago I was in a bit of a creative funk which perhaps only another author can understand. The funk was brief, but deep. It stopped me in my tracks. Seriously messed with the muse.
On Saturday I finally took time off from struggling with words and went to see Midnight in Paris. My boyfriend and I were mesmerized.
I am atill emotional from the impact of seeing this movie and what it did for me. It made me so happy in a way no other movie has for a long time. I want to thank you for that. It is not just an exquisite piece of art but a total sensory immersion into another realm. I went to a July 4th barbecue last night where family members now living in Paris, came for the summer vacation. They too, raved about the movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard such diverse people all saying the same thing. It’s the best movie we’ve seen all year.
Now I know that you know something about the muse being messed with, right? Well, your muse is back and we are all grateful for that.
My only quibble is that I can’t buy the soundtrack until it’s released at the end of the month. And I will buy it, not filch it for free even though I am sure it will be online within minutes of its release.
I feel as if I really spent time with Mr. Hemingway, Mr. Dali -sorry, Dah-LEE!, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Mr. Bunuel, Mr. Fitzgerald and his crazy-adorable wife, Zelda, Mr. Porter, Mr. Picasso and oh, of course, Mr. Matisse, Mr. Degas and…Gauguin, Touluse-Lautrec, and T.S. Eliot. You are so imaginative!
Of course, I feel an urge to run to Paris and find those stairs and wait for the car to pick me up. I would love to be transported back in time to revisit the great voices of our artistic heritage. I’m not fussy. I’ll take midnight in Paris at any given generation when artists and writers were respected and serious discussion on the nature of creativity was normal.
On a personal level, I enjoyed your sly digs at Hollywood and how screenwriters are not taken seriously…I always worry when great authors tell me it’s their fondest wish to be screenwriters, but I digress.
If I could go back, I’d like to meet Ms. Stein. I would treasure every critical word she had to tell me. I’d like to drink Absinthe with Mr. Hemingway and dissect words. What am I saying? Thanks to you, I already have. And when I forget, I’ll just return for another dose of Midnight in Paris.
Readers of this blog…I am curious…if it were possible and you could go back in time to some golden age which one would you choose? Who would you meet? What would you say?

Thanks again,

A.J.

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