ZAMM.COM

Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT was originally written to be filmed in The Hamptons, but was quickly rewritten for London when U.S. funding couldn’t be found.

MATCH, which opened in NYC & L.A. Dec. 28, 2005 via DreamWorks, needed a change of venue due to new media coverage of years-old charges by Allen’s ex-girlfriend, Mia Farrow, alleging that he sexually abused their then young daughter, Dylan. Allen’s firmly denied those charges and there’s been extensive news reporting for those interested to refer to for details from both sides.

Allen’s deal to make MATCH was partially financed by BBC Films, which required that he shoot the psychological thriller in the U.K. with a mostly native cast and crew. Written & directed by Allen, who comes from New York’s The Bronx, MATCH starred Brian Cox, Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Penelope Wilton.

Johansson, who was born in Manhattan, was hired when the very English Kate Winslet departed a week before shooting was to begin. With the sudden casting change, Allen had to rewrite her character, but that wasn’t a problem — as he’s said, “It took about an hour.”

Fortunately, Allen had satisfied his required quota of local talent even without Winslet. Johansson, who turned out to be a perfect last minute choice, teamed up again with Allen for his 2006 crime fantasy comedy SCOOP and his 2008 romantic dramedy VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA.

Just as Allen’s Manhattan-set movies are a visual love letter to the city, his seven week London shoot in the summer of ’04 spotlighted such iconic locations as the Palace of Westminster, Royal Opera House and Tate Modern art museum.

MATCH, which screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, received a best original screenplay Oscar nomination. Golden Globes voters applauded it with four noms — best motion picture-drama, director, original screenplay & supporting actress (Johansson).

Allen’s known for not liking his own movies, but he’s said MATCH “may be the best film that I’ve made. This is strictly accidental. It just happened to come out right. You know, I try to make them all good, but some come out and some don’t. With this one everything seemed to come out right. The actors fell in, the photography fell in and the story clicked. I caught a lot of breaks.”

MATCH, which cost just $15M to produce, grossed $85.6M worldwide. That made it Allen’s most successful movie at the time — beating his 1986 dramedy HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, which did $40.1M worldwide on a budget of $6.4M. In 2011, Allen set a new personal best with his romantic comedy fantasy MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, which cost $17M to produce and grossed $151.7M worldwide.