Story text size

QUIZ

Deconstructing Woody

Test your knowledge of Woody Allen

By Sean Monkman

He’s a cerebral, wisecracking, legendary loser. Woody Allen started out as a gag writer and stand-up comedian before spreading his talents into cinema, theatre and jazz. He has been a prolific writer and director of films for 40 years, though in typical self-deprecating fashion he does not consider any of them worthy of inclusion on lists of all-time greats. Allen is now closely identified with both his usual onscreen persona — the habitually bungling and neurotic worrier — and his hometown of New York City. His latest film, Match Point, opens in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on Jan. 20.

1. He was born Allan Stewart Königsberg. Where did he get the name Woody?
	From his resemblance to former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson
	As a child he did an impeccable Woody Woodpecker imitation; it stuck
	Allen came up with the name in consultation with his first manager
	It’s a stage name he took from an idol, musician Woody Herman
	It’s a nickname from an unfortunate incident in middle school

2. What musical instrument does Allen play — practising daily and performing a Monday night residency with his New Orleans Jazz Band at a Manhattan club?
	Trumpet
	Clarinet
	Trombone
	Banjo
	Drums

3. One of Woody Allen’s handful of roles acting in another director’s film came in 1967, playing James Bond’s neurotic nephew Jimmy in what humourous, non-canonical, 007 spoof?
	Dr. No No No
	From Brooklyn With Love
	Casino Royale
	Thunderbawl
	Blonde on Bond

4. Which actor has never appeared in a Woody Allen film?
	Liam Neeson
	William Hurt
	Michael Caine
	Mickey Rourke
	Leonardo DiCaprio

5. Which of his leading ladies has Allen not been romantically connected with?
	Mia Farrow
	Diane Keaton
	Louise Lasser
	Scarlett Johansson
	Are you insane? Getting involved with a leading lady is suicide

6. Allen is famous for not attending the Oscars despite earning a total of 20 nominations in the writing, directing and acting categories. What was the reason for his only appearance at the awards show, in 2002?
	He received a lifetime achievement award
	He performed one of the nominees for best original song with his jazz band
	He presented a plea to filmmakers to continue making movies in New York City
	He’d lost a bet with Ashton Kutcher
	He had a gig as a seat-filler

7. Allen’s Oscar history includes a record 13 nominations in the screenwriting category. He won for his first nominated effort, Annie Hall. The screenplay for what movie (which also claimed Oscars for best supporting actor and best supporting actress) is the only winning entry he’s had since?
	Hannah and Her Sisters
	Manhattan
	Crimes and Misdemeanors
	Husbands and Wives
	Deconstructing Harry

8. What Canadian celebrity made a cameo appearance as himself in a movie lineup scene in 1977’s Annie Hall?
	William Shatner
	Lorne Greene
	Knowlton Nash
	Marshall McLuhan
	Pierre Trudeau

9. Which quip about mortality is not attributed to Allen?
	“I don't believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear.”
	“The key is, to not think of death as an end, but as more of a very effective way to cut down on your expenses.”
	“It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
	“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying.”
	“If you live to be 100, you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age.”

10. What quirk, among others, does Woody Allen have about his own movies?
	He refuses to watch them once they are finished
	He always models a character after himself
	He insists on using the same type of cameras as one of his idols, Ingmar Bergman
	His jazz band always plays over the closing credits
	Any character that Allen writes to stand in for himself always meets a humiliating end