March 6, 2020

"Woody Allen Memoir Dropped by Hachette After Staff Walkout."

The Hollywood Reporter reports.
A source tells THR that following the announcement, HBG staff were surprised yet also relieved, clapping and cheering over the news.

Thursday's walkout included employees from imprints Little, Brown and Company, which released Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill, and Grand Central Publishing, which announced Monday that it would be releasing Allen's memoir April 7. Following the announcement, Farrow stated he would be ending his relationship with Hachette. Farrow, Allen's son, has repeatedly stated he believes his sister Dylan Farrow's allegations that the filmmaker sexually abused her as a child.

Dylan tweeted about HBG's decision to no longer publish Allen's memoir, writing "I'm in awe and so very grateful." Ronan also shared on social media that he was "grateful to all the Hachette employees who spoke up and to the company for listening."...
By the way, here's a critical review of "Catch and Kill" by Anne Diebel (in The New York Review of Books). Unfortunately, you need a subscription, and I can't excerpt anything because I consumed it by ear via Audm.

52 comments:

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

The best way to win an argument is to silence anyone who disagrees.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Speaking of men with weird relationships with their daughters:

Sam Stein said ...

Tough to decide what the worst part of Trumps CDC visit was

- Saying he wanted to keep sick people on a ship to fudge the numbers
- lashing out at the gov of the worst hit state
- being preoccupied w/ the ratings he got on Fox
- or saying anyone can get tested when they can't


Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Speaking of off-topic comments, ORANGE MAN BAD!

Mark said...

Censorship isn't any prettier when it is done by private companies.

Ann Althouse said...

"Tough to decide what the worst part of Trumps CDC visit was..."

You forgot when he was talking about something that was done "perfectly" and inserted the off-topic, rote statement that the Ukraine phone call was "perfect."

Stephen Taylor said...

Really? Employees get to set company policy? Not at any company where I've ever worked. I've given input many times (I'm convinced that everyone wants my opinion, which is not always the case) but always with the understanding that it was input, and that someone above my pay grade would make the actual decision, which I was then tasked with carrying out.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gspencer said...

Aren't lefties the first to cry, "Don't impose your morality on me?"

Fernandinande said...

Probably free advertising for Allen.

Sailer: Censorship by Intern
"As I’ve been pointing out for a few years, the Culture Industry (e.g., book publishers) is increasingly held hostage by its practice of employing a lot of poorly paid young women in behind-the-scenes jobs... They’ve got a lot of emotional energy and we live in a culture where it’s increasingly forbidden to mention that women don’t always think accurately when their emotions are engaged."

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

nn Althouse said...
You forgot when he was talking about something that was done "perfectly" and inserted the off-topic, rote statement that the Ukraine phone call was "perfect."


We live in an odd world at the moment. I still think things will turn out reasonably OK but there is certainly quite a bit of fear out there. At my supermarket, which is not close to any known outbreak, all the bread flour had been sold out, and Corona beer was on sale. I knew it would be on sale. I went specifically to look. People are so stupid, yet funny at the same time.

n.n said...

Aren't lefties the first to cry, "Don't impose your morality on me?"

They're Pro-Choice.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Don't let "perfectly" be the enemy of telephony.

gspencer said...

"They're Pro-Choice"

Ha! But won't respect the choice of the author to write or the publisher to publish. More than not respecting, in this case they're actively interfering with the choices of others.

Ken B said...

Thoroughly disgusting.
Have any of these petty dictators even read the book? No.

rhhardin said...

It creates a reading safe space.

rehajm said...

Now they will walk over any and every little thing. You're dead publisher walking...

rehajm said...

Ya know if you act like a school marm and keep pointing out all the petty little imperfections about Trump you don't care for one day he just might burst into flame and Hillary will be President.

It's been four years and it hasn't worked yet but keep it up! It just might work next time...

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

ARM has complete faith the hack-D press are telling the truth.

madAsHell said...

Wow!! A neurotic Jewish sexual predator.

I'm confused!!!.......Haven't all of his movies been screaming this for years?...or is this just a punch line from "Bananas"?

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

"Ronan. He's coming for you."

Automatic_Wing said...

Regrets. He's had a few. But then again, too few to mention.

Derve Swanson said...

If he saves up for awhile, I bet Woody could still self publish/vanity publish. (heh)

Ken B said...

Here is a link to that skeptical review

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-new-york-review-of-books/20200213/281492163269399

I gave up on Farrow's book as it felt he had no sound basis for telling proven from just alleged, and treated them the same.

loudogblog said...

I think this is a very bad precedent to set. Opinions, even unpopular or wrong ones, should be countered with other opinions. A publishing house should have a commitment to free speech as a part of their mission statement. Letting their employees dictate their publishing policies based on unproven rumors and beliefs is a bad move. It's their company; they can do what they want, but just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do something.

Bay Area Guy said...

Not a fan of Woody over the past 30 years, but not a fan of cancel culture either.

I would say though that Woody in 70s & 80s was great.

Bay Area Guy said...

Do folks buy the theory that Mia's ex-hubby Frank Sinatra sired Ronan, while Woody was the cuck?

Maybe, Howard would know.

Mr. O. Possum said...

Google “Moses Farrow blog” to read a 4,600-word sickening description of his mother Mia’s abusive behavior towards her children.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I was never a Woody Allen fan, but I don't believe the allegations. Mia Farrow is a loon who probably planted false memories in her daughter through repetition and psychological abuse. Dylan seems emotionally damaged, but more likely by Mia than by Woody. Moses makes a good case in defending his father.

I really don't care who Ronan's father is. I guess he does look a bit like a gay version of Frank, which doesn't rule out Woody's paternity. He also has Farrow blood.

Ronan is brilliant, but deluded, and seems to enjoy his power in exposing the wicked, maybe enough to abuse it.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcocean said...

So they're CLAPPING and CHEERING the censoring of a book. Because they don't like the author. And these assholes run one of the biggest most important publishing firms in the world.

I wonder how many good interesting books have been "Strangled in the Cradle" by these censoring left-wing bastards. I don't like Woody Allen, but I want to read his memoirs. And I don't want some shit head Stalinist deciding its "hate" and it shouldn't be published.

rcocean said...

Of course, Woody Allen is a good little Leftist, who would have no problem if some Right-wing author was labeled a "hater" and banned by all the major publishing houses. So, my sympathy is limited.

rcocean said...

I watched Trump's press conference at the CDC, and i"m simply astounded at how CNN, USA Today, the guardian, etc. jsut fucking lie about what Trump says. If they don't outright lie, they disregard anything favorable and put a negative spin on everything he says.

He didn't bring up the Washington gov - the press asked about it. And like Trump said, the man is a backstabbing Leftist who couldn't stop criticizing trump for one second, even during a medical crisis. So Trump fired back. Other than that, the whole Presser was done well, and was very informative. But you'd never know it from reading the lying press.

rcocean said...

Trump main message was that everything is under control, the CDC is doing a great job, testing kits are available, and the death rate isn't 3% its more like 1% or less. The CDC personnel were asked to speak and said the same thing. But the left-wing media is determined to be hysterical, cause panic, and of course blame Trump for everything.

n.n said...

Allen was impeached then cancelled.

itzik basman said...

Totally punk move by Hachette!

YoungHegelian said...

No doubt Woody Allen had a contract with Hachette, a contract that Hachette has now abrogated.

No doubt Allen will sue for breach of contract. If he wins & the court awards him damages, I think that Hachette should divide the cost up by the number of protesting staffers & then deduct that amount from their paychecks.

It's fine to have a conscience. To be moral is to stand up for your beliefs, even when it costs you. But it's cowardice to think that other people, including your employer, should have to pay the freight for your exercise of conscience.

Paul Zrimsek said...

Good to learn that times are so flush in the publishing business that people can afford to act like this.

Ken B said...

What next? Courthouse staff walkout to protest defendants testifying?

Ken B said...

YH
He can keep the advance I assume, maybe not since there will be no royalties, but I don’t think that’s the real harm done him. As for Hachette, in better times they would have lost major authors over this. I for one will avoid buying hachette books for a while. Be sure to check the copyright page, they own many imprints.

William said...

For several generations people have been proclaiming the wit and wisdom of Woody Allen. He was frequently portrayed as a moral exemplar. He didn't show up for award shows and lived a relatively modest life in Manhattan. I've never heard him voice an opinion that wasn't liberal. He recovered somewhat from the Dylan charges. A-list stars were honored to appear in his movies. They spoke highly of his insights and wisdom. Now this. There don't seem to be any fresh new charges, and, post Dylan, he's led a decent life to all outward appearances.....His punishment seems like a bill of attainder for crimes that were decades old. The people who are most vociferous in their condemnation are the the same people who were most extravagant in their praise not so long ago. Woody Allen doesn't look all that good, but his critics look far worse.

mccullough said...

Rosemary’s Baby is a whiner.

Cancel him

Amadeus 48 said...

A friend works at The Atlantic magazine. He says that the senior editors are scared to death of the junior employees--of being denounced for some version of thought-crime because of a casual or ironic comment. A thirty year career can vaporize in a day.

I have thought for years that Mia Farrow was a lunatic--that only her celebrity allowed her to get control of 11 children as an adoptive or birth mother. Whether Woody is guilty of anything regarding Dylan I don't know, but it was carefully investigated at the time, and he was cleared. Mia Farrow played the long game, and her time has come. Her son's weird career has given oxygen to a story that was almost dead.

Ronan, of course, couldn't find corroboration of college-day smears against Bret Kavanaugh, but published the story anyway at the New Yorker, thereby proving that magazine has no real standards and that Ronan is willing to smear someone that he wants to smear.

Mortal or venial sins by these people?



tim maguire said...

Blogger rcocean said...
Of course, Woody Allen is a good little Leftist


Defending Woody Allen is a complicated thing. He helped create the atmosphere that is dragging him down. And he signed the Hollywood statement in support of Roman Polanski. His preference for women much younger than him is creepy (he was single-handedly responsible for the signatures on the Polanski letter not being presented alphabetically because of the laughter when his name came first).

But that doesn’t make him a pedophile and his marriage to Previn has lasted long enough to quash any questions about whether it’s real. He has handled the attacks from his family with grace and restraint and I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt here. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s innocent, just that I don't like to see him punished over rumours and accusations.

Cancel culture has come to book publishing and HBG is the culprit. Those walkouts should have been fired.

RMc said...

A publishing house should have a commitment to free speech as a part of their mission statement.

Publishing houses, like all businesses, exist to make money. Full stop.

Derve Swanson said...

His punishment seems like a bill of attainder for crimes that were decades old.
---------
That were never addressed justly, the alleged victims would say. Also, some doctor at the time, or judge, I think said there was merit, but it was pointless to pursue...

Woody Allen's problem is demographics. Seems there's more "metoo" generation people now than the ones who remember his old 70s movies fondly, in context of those more creepy times...

He can afford to self publish a memoir if no other houses pick it up. Cancel culture strikes again, but the book will print and we will see if the original publishing house made a smart money decision playing a long game.

Derve Swanson said...

(maybe they were worried about losing other younger authors too. Did Ronan sell well? Btw, who does the "Kill" refer to in his title? I heard of alleged rapes, but killings? Hm.)

JAORE said...

Cancel culture is revealing the huge proportion of cowards among us. The frothing-at-the-mouth try to cancel our POTUS every day. Yet on he goes.

I say the owner of the company should announce, "We actively seek input from our staff. And we take that input seriously. But the final decision remains HERE.

That is why we have channels specifically for such input. This method is NOT an acceptable path.

Now all department heads that participated in this tantrum will be scheduled for interviews over the next to weeks to discuss your future, if any, with the company.

Others may be called for similar meetings with upper management. I suggest you all go back to your jobs."

Krumhorn said...

The lefties are nasty little shits...even towards other lefties.

- Krumhorn

Scott M said...

Unfortunate. I'm not big on bio/autobio reading, but his is one I would definitely sit down to enjoy. Aside from the fact that I'm a fan of his humor (particularly his early movies), he knew...EVERYONE.

Kirk Parker said...

It's a pity any of them still had a job to walk back into. This was Hachette's Reagan/PATCO moment, and they missed it.

Ken B said...

I don’t read a lot of memoirs or autobiography. Here are a few I have read
Two books by Albert Speer
Mein Kampf

In print.

narciso said...

I noted ronan throws in verifiable fact with unsourced rumor, into a grinder, the Kavanaugh stuff was in that basket,