Colleen was specifically asked by Woody to play the role of Diane Keaton and Christopher Walken’s mother in the film. Knowing nothing about the plot or characters before she started filming, Colleen approached the set with a great amount of nervousness, especially considering that all she had received from Woody was a few handwritten pages of dialogue.
Left: Diane Keaton and Christopher Walken in 1977's Annie Hall. Right: Colleen Dewhurst plays the mother of Keaton and Walken.
In total, she was only needed for two days on the set, which was a large suburban home. Here is part of her account of that time, which reveals how the dialogue in Woody’s films really are an extension of his own unique way of observing life.
The second day, I was sitting out on the steps of the house and Mr. Allen came out and sat down beside me. There were four young boys who had ridden onto the lawn on their bicycles, looking, it seemed, for Woody Allen. One of the assistant directors was explaining to them that they had to leave. What they didn’t know is that they were only about twenty-five yards from Mr. Allen and didn’t recognize him.
“Isn’t it sad?” he said, watching the kids leave.
“What?”
“I mean, what kind of a life is that?” Woody continued. “They all look alike. They’ve got the same bikes. They live literally in an encampment. This is all they know. They don’t know what’s going on or what’s happening anywhere else. And nothing is happening to them to make them think about it.”
My jaw must have been down to my knees because anyone else’s view would have been of privileged children living a privileged life. We sat in silence for a moment.
“You live in the country,” he said.
“Yes.”
“How can you stand it?” he asked. “I hate to go to the country. I mean, it’s a bore. You go for a weekend and there’s nothing. You can’t go out in the street and buy a paper. You can’t go to a bookstore at midnight. There’s nothing to do. You just sit around, right? Meanwhile,” he added, “everybody’ talking about how great the country is.”
I had no response.
