Everyone Says I Love You

Woody Allen's latest film, "Everyone Says I Love You," is a celebration of an eccentric and very extended family living on New York's upper east side, exploring a broad spectrum of romantic entanglements and they fall in and out of love. Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Lucas Haas, Goldie Hawn, Gaby Hofman, Natasha Lyonne, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, David Ogden Stiers and Woody Allen star in "Everyone Says I Love You," which marks the first time Allen and directed a musical.

"This film is experimental for me. I've never tried anything this musical before," explains Woody Allen. "The truth is I don't even think of it as a musical but as a comedy where the characters sing and dance. I always wanted to do a film where people sang not as slick singers but as an extension of their acting at the moment."

"Music has always played an important part in Woody's movies," observes Alan Alda. "When you think of the Gershwin that was played during the opening montage in 'Manhattan' and how powerful it was, you were already transported into another world before anybody said a line of dialogue."

Allen's first three films had traditional background scores, two composed by Marvin Hamlisch, before the director decided to use music from his record collection. Eventually, Allen evolved a confident cinematic style in which he used existing music. On "Everyone Says I Love You," Allen's 26th film, the director worked with Dick Hyman, who orchestrated the music.

In casting this film, Allen was not looking for trained singers and dancers. "In fact, when I cast this picture I never told people that they'd have to sing or dance, or even asked them if they could," the director says. "I was only interested if the could act their role well; as far as dancing and vocals I just wanted honest and simple emotion. Often the most interesting renditions of songs are done by people who don't really have particularly good voices but are good actors, full of feeling and a certain kind of charisma or emotion. That was much more important to me."

Of the large ensemble cast of "Everyone Says I Love You," only Goldie Hawn and Alan Alda had any significant experience in musical comedy. For the most part, virtually all of the actors involved in this project had no idea Allen was casting them in a musical

"About a month after I got the part I got a call from Dick Hyman telling me that he was going to send me some sheet music," recalls Edward Norton. "I asked him if my character in the film was a singer, and he told me that we were doing a musical. That was the first I knew about it."

"After the initial recording was done - which was nerve wracking - it was fun to do something that I was almost entirely unqualified for," says Julia Roberts, "and it was nice to venture into different territory. It's still acting a moment in time, only you're singing it."

Gaby Hoffman first learned that the Woody Allen project that she had been cast in was a musical because her parents are friends of Goldie Hawn; they confirmed with Goldie the rumors Gaby had heard for weeks.

Natasha Lyonne, whose character narrates the story, recalls, "Woody never had an audition for singing, because it really didn't matter that much. It was more about how you convey the song more than anything else."

The songs used in "Everyone Says I Love You" were chosen specifically because they either advance the plot or they express emotions that characters involved are feeling. So much of the music used in this film has to do with conditions of the human heart.

"The people in this film are singing the emotion of the story at the time," explains Woody Allen. "I tried to always keep the story moving."

"As you can imaging, Woody Allen has a way of doing a musical that nobody has ever tried before, and it's delightful to see this kind of fresh approach," says Alan Alda. "The songs come very much out of the scenes, and the story never stops for a number."

"This movie is about love and loving, and the music comes out of the moment," adds Goldie Hawn, "and it comes out of the emotional state if the characters. It's funny music, music with heart."

"My song represents my character's internal thoughts, her feelings, the things she would say to her girlfriend on the telephone, or the things that she might think to herself after her date has gone home," says Julia Roberts. "And the experience of singing in a film was made easier because Woody is very gentle has a director. At the same time he's also very direct and he doesn't mince words."

The music in "Everyone Says I Love You" combines intimate, often introspective moments with large scale production numbers in settings as unlikely as Harry Winston's salon, a hospital ward and the Frank Campbell Funeral Home in New York. On this film, Allen collaborated for the third time with choreographer Graciela Daniele, with whom he had worked on the production numbers in "Bullets Over Broadway" and the Greek chorus sequences in "Mighty Aphrodite." The musical and dance numbers in "Everyone Says I Love You" range from a hotel ballroom filled with dancers dressed in black tie impersonating Groucho Marx to an exquisitely romantic - and at the same time comical - pas de deux for Goldie Hawn and Woody Allen along the banks of the Seine in Paris, with Notre Dame looming in the background.

Although he was directing a musical for the first time, Allen worked with his actors in the same unique way he has during years of directing comedies and drama. Each actor was only given the pages of the script that pertained to his or her character, and there was no rehearsal period before principal photography began. On the set, Allen rarely offered his actors specific directions, preferring instead to encourage them to fully explore the range of their characters' emotions. Casting the right actors in the right role is a hallmark of Woody Allen's films.

"Rehearsal was a four-letter word," recalls Edward Norton, "and I think Woody wanted things impromptu. As far as getting only my pages of the script, it was like the Marine Corps - you don't really ask, you just get your part and carry it out."

"I like the way Woody works because he just tells you what you need to know and nothing else," notes Natalie Portman. "I always knew exactly what my character knew and that was good; I really shouldn't be knowing about what's going on in everyone else's lives."

Woody Allen has always been regarded as an "actor's director," widely known for encouraging the creative input of the actors, working with them when his insights are needed, while constantly supporting an improvisational approach to his screenplays.

"Woody has a method that's completely different from any I've ever seen," remarks Alan Alda. "And at first it can be daunting, but once you get the rhythm of it you really feel free to play and find the stuff in your character that you didn't know you were going to do. I don't remember seeing a weak performance in any of his movies."

"Woody knows exactly what he wants," says Goldie Hawn. "He's a man of few words, but he certainly will guide you along if you're going down the wrong path. You know that if he doesn't say anything to you on the set that he's quite happy."

"He talks in non-specifics," Hawn continues, "and he lays out the overall notes, and then asks you to fill in. What happens is that your technique, your instincts and your sense of freedom take over, and for an actor that's the greatest gift in the world."

"Getting hired to work on a Woody Allen film is the biggest compliment you can get, because he is showing that he trust you and believes you have the ability to be prepared and deliver the performance that he wants," says Drew Barrymore. "It works really well for the actors not to have too much confusion form their director, but to know precisely what he wants."

"Woody's hands-off style of directing makes a better atmosphere for an actor," adds Natasha Lyonne, "because that sort of freedom is as wild as it gets in the sense that it's a musical and a comedy. It's also very real and very natural; and the more you rehearse, I feel, makes it all the more likely to overact."

From his perspective, Woody Allen feels fortunate to have the cast he has assembled for "Everyone Says I Love You."

"Actors tend to be insecure, and they twist things around in their minds so that they think that they're the lucky ones to have gotten the job," Allen observes, "when the way I see it, this cast makes me look like a hero."

Working with Woody Allen on "Everyone Says I Love You" is a creative team he has collaborated with over the years, including cinematographer Carlo DiPalma, production designer Santo Loquasto, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland and editor Susan E. Morse, in addition to music supervisor Dick Hyman and choreographer Graciela Danielle. His production team consisted of Jean Doumanian, Letty Aronson, J.E. Beaucaire, Robert Greenhut, Charles H. Joffe, Thomas Reilly, Helen Robin and Jack Rollings. These artists helped Allen to realize one of his most ambitious films, in which a comparatively large cast is going through a series of highly emotional upheavals, all of which are set against the director's signature New York City settings (and all the logistical nightmares you experience shooting in Manhattan, from permits to traffic to noise, among many other considerations). On top of that challenge, there were also romantic sequences that needed to be shot on location in Paris and Venice.

Principal photography on "Everyone Says I Love You" began on September 11, 1995 in Europe, starting in Venice, where sequences were shot on various piazzas, in the canals that pervade the city, at the Gritti Palace Hotel. The company then moved to Paris for additional location work, shooting on the Left Bank, at the Ritz Hotel and along the Seine River among many other locations. The company subsequently moved back to the United States where they shot on a colorful collection of locations on the streets but principally on Woody Allen's beloved Upper East Side. Principal photography on the film was complete in May of 1996.

In "Everyone Says I Love You" Woody Allen creates a world in which Yves St. Laurent mannequins come to life in store windows and dance, in which hospital orderlies and nurses join their patients in a musical sequence, in which ghosts and jewelry salespeople alike participate in intricately staged, exhilarating production numbers that nonetheless retain a sense of spontaneity.

"This is a broad film," notes Woody Allen, "almost like a cartoon. These are characters that are fun and larger than life." Allen is inclined to compare "Everyone Says I Love You" more in style to "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Purple Rose of Cairo," two of his previous films that told stories set against a tapestry of larger-than-life, often cartoon-like, characters.

"With this film, I was trying to make an amusing, entertaining confection," concludes Allen. "I always wanted to do a film that took a place in my three favorite cities - New York, Paris and Venice. And most important of all, I always wanted to play a scene with a mustache. What more can I say about this movie?"

About the Cast......

ALAN ALDA (Bob) has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and director. A graduate of Forham University, Alda was an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves before becoming a member of the acting company at the Cleveland Playhouse on a grant from the Ford Foundation.

In 1961, Alda played the role of Charlie in "Purlie Victorious" on Broadway, a part he subsequently recreated on film. Alda was a member of the improvisational companies Second City in New York and Compass in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. At this time, he was also a cast member of the 1964 weekly satire series "That Was the Week That Was" on television.

While filming Truman Capote's prison drama "The Glass House" at the Utah State Prison, Alda read Larry Gelbart's script for a proposed television series based on Robert Altman's hit feature film, "M*A*S*H," and thought it was the best pilot he had ever read. By the time "M*A*S*H" ended its 11-year run in January, 1983 with a two-hour episode directed by Alda, he had been honored by the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences with Emmys for acting, writing and directing: Alda is the only person to be honored in all three categories.

His other television credits include the widely acclaimed telefilm "Kill Me If You Can," in which he played convicted Murder Caryl Chessman, a role that brought him an Emmy nomination. He starred with Carol Burnett in the television adaptation of the play "6 Rms Riv Vu," which he also directed. On hiatus from "M*A*S*H," Alda created, wrote and co-produced the TV series "We'll Get By."

In 1979, Alda wrote his first feature film screenplay, "The Seduction of Joe Tynan," and starred in the movie with Barbara Harris and Meryl Streep, under the direction of Jerry Schatzberg. Two years later, Alda made his feature film directorial debut with his original screenplay, "The Four Seasons," in which he co-starred with Carol Burnett, Jackson, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis and Len Cariou.

In 1985, Alda wrote, directed and acted in the comedy "Sweet Liberty" with Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Caine, which he followed with the 1988 film, "A New Life," with the actor serving as a triple hyphenate with a cast that included Ann Margaret, John Shea and Veronica Hamel. Alda's numerous other feature film credits include "Paper Lion," "Same Time, Next Year," "California Suite," "Betsy's Wedding" and, more recently, "Canadian Bacon."

Alan Alda first collaborated with Woody Allen in 1989 in the film "Crimes and Misdemeanors." He worked again with Allen on "Manhattan Murder Mystery." "Everyone Says I Love You" reflects Alda's third film for Woody Allen.

In addition to four Emmy Awards, Alda has won two Writers Guild Awards, three Directors Guild Awards, six Golden Globes and seven People's Choice Awards.

DREW BARRYMORE (Skylar) first attracted widespread attention at the age of six for her performance in Steven Spielberg's "E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial." For that role, she received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award nomination for Most Outstanding Newcomer. She has since gone on to a wide variety of roles, effectively making the transition from child actor to leading lady.

Barrymore recently appeared in "Batman Forever," the third in that popular series, and starred in "Mad Love" and "Boys on the Side." She was a member of the female ensemble cast in the western film "Bad Girls." She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Showtime's "Guncrazy," which received such positive reviews that it was subsequently released theatrically.

Her other feature film credits include "Wayne's World 2," "Poison Ivy," "See You in the Morning," "Far From Home," "Stephen King's Cat's Eye" (a three-segment movie in which Barrymore played five different characters), "Firestarter," "Irreconcilable Differences" (for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress) and "Altered States," in which she made her feature film debut.

On television, Barrymore starred in the title role in "The Amy Fisher Story," which was the second highest rated movie the season it aired on ABC. She also was a cast regular in the series "2000 Malibu Road." Her other television credits include the telefilms "Babes in Toyland," "The Sketch Artist," "A Conspiracy of Love," "Suddenly Love" and "Bogie," as well as the CBS Schoolbreak Special "15 and Getting Straight."

Barrymore, whose first professional performance was at the age of 11 months in a dog food commercial, is a member of one of America's great theatrical families. Grandfather John, great-uncle Lion and great-aunt Ethel were the "royal family" of the American stage and screen during the first few decades of this century.

LUKAS HAAS (Scott) made his feature film debut at the age of seven as the son of William Devance and Jane Alexander in "Testament," the result of an audition he had done while still in kindergarten. He went on to make an indelible impression as an Amish child in Peter Weir's thriller "Witness."

Since that time, Haas has amassed a collection of impressive screen roles, in such films as "The Music Box," "The Wizard of Loneliness," "Solarbabies," "Lady in White" and "See You in the Morning," in which he first worked with his "Everyone Says I Love You" co-star, Drew Barrymore. More recently, Haas has appeared in "Leap of Faith," "Rambling Rose," "Convicts," "Alan and Naomi," opposite Winona Ryder in "Boys" and in "johns," which received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. He is a member of the all-star cast for Tim Burton's upcoming "Mars Attacks!"

Haas played the title role in the telefilm "The Ryan White Story," for which he received an Emmy nomination. His other television credits include the movies "A Place at the Table," "Shattered Spirits," "Love thy Neighbor," "My Dissident Mom" and "A Perfect Tribute," in addition to appearances on the series "Young Indiana Jones," "Amazing Stories" and "The Twilight Zone."

On Brodway, Haas starred with Steven Martin, Robin Williams and F. Murray Abraham in Mike Nichols' revival of "Waiting For Godot."

GOLDIE HAWN (Steffi) made her feature film debut in Disney's "The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band" before landing the role in "Cactus Flower" opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman, for which she won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently starred in the film adaptation of "Butterflies are Free" and in Steven Spielberg's first feature film, "The Sugarland Express."

Hawn's additional early films include "There's a Girl in My Soup," "The Girl from Petrovka" and "The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox," among others. She also starred opposite Warren Beatty in the widely acclaimed "Shampoo." Other feature film credits are "Foul Play" and "Seems Like Old Times" (with Chevy Chase), "Best Friends" and "Swing Shift."

In 1980, Hawn entered production when she executive-produced and starred in the boxoffice hit "Private Benjamin." She subsequently formed a partnership with Anthea Sylbert, producing such films as "Protocol," "Wildcats," "Overboard," "My Blue Heaven" and "Crissceoss." Once Hawn/Sylbert had dissolved, Hawn went on to produce "Bird on a Wire" and "Deceived."

Her more recent credits include "Housesitter" (opposite Steve Martin), "Death Becomes Her" (with Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis) and the upcoming "First Wives Club."

Hawn began training for a career as a dancer when she was three years old; she was running her own ballet school when she was 17. She made her stage debut in a Williamsburg, VA production of "Romeo and Juliet" when she was still in high school. After studying drama at American University for two years, she made her professional dancing debut at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World's Fair in 1964/65, and remained in New York to perform in the chorus of such stage shows as "Kiss Me Kate" and "Guys and Dolls."

Hawn continued to work steadily as a dancer, which led to television work in Los Angeles, culminating in her breakthrough role as a series regular on the classic comedy/variety show "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In." She has headlined her own show in Las Vegas and has returned to television for several specials.

GABY HOFFMAN (Lane) made her feature film debut at the age of six in "Field of Dreams," playing Kevin Costner's daughter. She was next cast opposite John Candy in John Hughes' "Uncle Buck."

Hoffman subsequently appeared in two critically praised movies directed by Nora Ephron, "This is My Life" and "Sleepless in Seattle" and in Mel Gibson's directorial debut "The Man Without a Face." Her next role is in the upcoming feature "Volcano."

On television, Hoffman starred in the made-for-TV movies "Freaky Friday" and "For the Love of My Daughter." She also starred in the short-lived NBC-TV series "Someone Like Me." Hoffman is the daughter of former Andy Warhol superstar Viva.

Young NATASHA LYONNE (DJ) has worked as an actress for more than 10 years. She was a series regular ("Opal") on the original PeeWee's Playhouse, and has appeared on the Lifetime series "Working Mother" and on "As the World Turns" and "News at 12"

Her feature film credits include roles in "Dennis the Menace," Mike Nichols' "Heartburn" and in two features that were shot in Israel, "A Man Named Sarge" and "April Fools."

EDWARD NORTON (Holden) made his feature film debut in the Richard Gere thriller "Primal Fear" in which he played the alter boy who was the principal murder suspect. He was selected for that role after extensive casting search in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Norton is a 1991 graduate of Yale University, where he received a degree in History and performed extensively in the theater. A member of the Signature Theater Company in New York, Norton has appeared in numerous plays, including the premiere of Edward Albee's "Fragments" and in productions of Brian Friel's "Lovers" and John Patrick Shanley's "Italian American Reconciliation."

Norton recently completed a role in Milos Forman's "The People Vs. Larry Flynt."

NATALIE PORTMAN (Laura) received international acclaim for her motion picture debut at the age of 11 in Luc Besson's "The Professional." She went on to earn strong praise for her scene-stealing work in Ted Demme's "Beautiful Girls." She was subsequently cast by Michael Mann in "Heat," and recently completed a role in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks."

Portman was born in Jerusalem and raised in New York, the only child of a physician father and artist mother. She was discovered in a pizza parlor and signed at age 10 by the Wilhelmina modeling agency.

JULIA ROBERTS (Von) has starred in many of Hollywood's most successful films and has earned two Academy Award nominations. She first came to out attention with her critically-acclaimed role in "Mystic Pizza" then in "Steel Magnolias" leading to her first Oscar nomination. Her next film "Pretty Woman", was the top-grossing film of 1990 and brought Roberts her second nomination.

her memorable performance in "Pretty Woman" was followed by a series of successful films including "Flatliners", "Sleeping with the Enemy", "Dying Young", "Hook", "The Pelican Brief" and "Something to Talk About"; collectively her films have earned over one and a half billion dollars. Roberts was most recently seen in Neil Jordan's "Michael Collins", co-starring with Liam Neeson. She recently finished the highly anticipated romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding" directed by P.J. Hogan and co-starring Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz. Currently, she's in production on the Richard Donner directed thriller "Conspiracy Theory" co-starring Mel Gibson.

TIM ROTH (Charles Ferry) has earned international recognition as one of the most talented and versatile actors working today. He was nominated for a 1995 Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Rob Roy," highlighting a career comprised of an eclectic collection of independent films.

Roth starred with Gary Oldman in Tom Stoppard's movie adaptation of his stage play "Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead," and played Van Gogh in Robert Altman's "Vincent and Theo." He starred with Alexis Arquette in "Jumpin' at the Boneyard" and with Eric Stoltz and Bridget Fonda in "Bodies, Rest and Motion." Other feature film credits include "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover," "Meantimes," Stephen Frear's "The Hit" and, more recently, "Little Odessa."

Roth received wide attention for a series of collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, starting with "Reservoir Dogs" and including "Pulp Fiction" and "Four Rooms."

His work in television includes the widely acclaimed TNT movie "Heart of Darkness," the miniseries "Murder in the Heartland," "Captives" and "Made in Britain."

DAVID OGDEN STIERS (Holden's Father) has appeared in several Woody Allen films, including "Another Woman" and "Mighty Aphrodite." He is perhaps best know for his role on the hit TV series "M*A*S*H," on which he worked with "Everyone Says I Love You" co-star Alan Alda, and for which he received two Emmy Award nominations .

Stiers began his career in the Bay area, working with the California Shakespeare Festival and the Actor's Workshop in San Francisco. He then studied acting at the Julliard School, becoming a charter member of the John Houseman Acting Company, with whom he toured in "The Beggar's Opera," "The Three Sisters" and "Measure For Measure."

About the Filmmaker...

Academy Award Summary (up to and including 1995)

Nominated 7 times for Best Director; won for "Annie Hall"

Nominated 12 times for Best Original Screenplay; won for "Annie Hall" and "Hannah and Her Sisters"

Nominated 1 time for Best Actor

Nominated 2 times for Best Picture; won for "Annie Hall"

Everyone Says I Love You Main Page

Everyone Says I Love You Main Page

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