Mariel Hemingway Says Woody Allen Tried to Seduce Her When She Was a Teenager

[wheniwasincongress]

In Woody Allen’s 1979 comedy Manhattan, the filmmaker, then 44, dated a 17-year-old character played by Mariel Hemingway. The part earned Hemingway an Oscar nomination, and, according to the actress in a forthcoming memoir, also the unwanted romantic attention of Allen.

In Out Came the Sun, which will be released on April 7, Hemingway claims that Allen attempted to lure her to Paris once she turned 18—two years after she had filmed Manhattan. “Our relationship was platonic, but I started to see that he had a kind of crush on me, though I dismissed it as the kind of thing that seemed to happen any time middle-aged men got around young women,” writes Hemingway. The actress suggests that Allen attempted to act upon the crush by flying to her parents’ home in Idaho and inviting the teen to Europe.

The actress cautioned her parents “that I didn’t know what the [sleeping] arrangement was going to be [in Paris], that I wasn’t sure if I was even going to have my own room. Woody hadn’t said that. He hadn’t even hinted it. But I wanted them to put their foot down. They didn’t. They kept lightly encouraging me.”

Hemingway says that she woke up at night with the realization that “no one was going to get their own room. His plan, such as it was, involved being with me.” She says that she went into his guest room and woke him up asking, “I’m not going to get my own room, am I? I can’t go to Paris with you.” The actress says that Allen left Idaho the next morning.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/03/woody-allen-mariel-hemingway-manhattan

I look forward to getting her book. I highly recommend the documentary "Running From Crazy" about her, her family, and depression.

I had always suspected he made advances on Mariel. In Manhattan, no character mentions how odd/sick it is for a 40-something to date a teenager, nor do they mention age difference. Look for that if you watch the film.

[Arugula Latte]

2. Wow, what a horrible post.

[JI7]

4. but this wasn't something like strangers at a club

the whole thing makes allen just look creepy as he has for a long time now. how he arranged things with someone he knew before she was a legal adult to try to be with her and her not being into him.

[Arugula Latte]

3. I watched "Manhattan" for the first time a couple years ago.

Any residual benefit-of-the-doubt feeling I had kept toward Allen disappeared instantly (and I used to be a fan). Disgusting movie, disgusting man.

[phleshdef]

5. Headline is a bit misleading. She was an adult.

I find a 44 year old going after an 18 year old in poor taste, but still, it should be made clear that she was legal.

[Hekate]

11. Not like she was jail-bait or anything. He DID wait until she turned 18. Kind of like he did with...

...his stepdaughter? Ugh. Ew. Ick.

Feh. He's a dirty old man. A cautious dirty old man, but one nonetheless.

[Major Nikon]

22. Except it wasn't his stepdaughter

That rumor really needs to die, and "dirty old man" is not only meaningless, it's sexist and ageist.

[lame54]

23. and they are still together...

time won out on that one

[wheniwasincongress]

37. Is it any surprise they are still together?

He is all she has known. She had a fucked up childhood with learning disabilities and a low IQ, and was taken advantage of sexually by a much older near-relative. Time my ass.

[Major Nikon]

42. "learning disabilities and a low IQ"

...and a masters degree from an Ivy League university.

"near-relative"

I'm not even sure what this means other than it's the same as a non-relative.

[msanthrope]

43. She went to Columbia. She doesn't have a low IQ. nt

[Heidi]

12. It's more than distasteful given the opportunities for grooming.

The power differential between this powerful man and his alleged victims says a great deal.

[Luminous Animal]

17. Still a teenager but of the age of consent.

[tularetom]

30. It may have been legal but it's still creepy

[phleshdef]

41. Well I said as much myself.

[kwassa]

6. This is not a surprise.

the entire movie was more than a little sick.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

8. No defender of Allen here, but

the movie is full of references to her youth, the age differences, how odd the relationship is because of her age, etc.

[wheniwasincongress]

13. I should have clarified

that amongst his friends and Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep's characters, they say little to nothing about it. Certainly his character questions it a lot though (and in the end decides its alright and they stay together ew)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

15. To the contrary.

The script is online. There are plenty of references
from his friends. I think Keaton even references Nabokov.

That's the point in fact. By keeping the issue
on the table (always in a joking manner, never really
judgmental), Allen can say he's aware of the problem
but ... the heart has its ways, or whatever cliche he
uses.

[Arugula Latte]

19. One thing that really pissed me off in the movie

was that Mariel's character had this great chance to go study theater in London. And his character tried to stop her, to make her stay with him for his own sexual gratification--who cares that she's a young person who should take advantage of adventures and opportunities while she can, the horny old goat wanted to keep fucking "his" teenager ... Disgusting.

[msanthrope]

39. That's something I liked about Allen---it wasn't necessary that you "liked" his character. I think

that whole scene showed just how infantile the character was.

[closeupready]

9. I always loved Margaux and Mariel, who

I thought were both very fascinating, with Margaux' beauty undeniable.

[Hekate]

10. Apparently Mariel had better sense than her parents.

Woody Allen's obsession with very young women in his movies, with himself as the ever-aging leading man, always did creep me out.

[wheniwasincongress]

14. She seems very grounded

And, her father molested Margaux and (other sister) Joan (nickname Muffet if you do reading on them) but not Mariel.

[B2G]

16. "I'm shocked", said no one anywhere. nt

[msanthrope]

18. Gross, but legal. Makes me believe Farrow's claims even less. nt

[wheniwasincongress]

21. Huh?

Makes you believe them even less? How? And they are not just Mia's claims, but that of the child in question who continues to maintain that he molested her.

One could also make the argument that Woody was "grooming" Mariel when she was underage.

[msanthrope]

26. Frankly, you'd have to make me believe that Woody Allen has managed to get through

life with both ephebophilia and pedophilia/incest. That's unlikely, isn't it?

And I don't believe Mia. I think she brainwashed her children, as their psychologist sibling has indicated......it's interesting to me that the licensed family therapist in the family simply doesn't believe them.



http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20783306,00.html

[seabeyond]

24. he started grooming her prior to 18 just as he had the adopted daughter.

because he was waiting to pounce at 18, a real pathetic character, does not lead me to believe he waited to 18 in all cases.

[msanthrope]

27. You do realize that Soon Yi was not his adopted daughter, right? nt

[seabeyond]

35. nor did i say she was adopted by allen. nt

[msanthrope]

36. Frankly, I don't understand why you used "adopted." She's the daughter of Farrow and

Previn, and didn't even know Allen all that well until Farrow insisted Allen spend more time with her children. She was 19 or 21 when they started their adult relationship.

As for Farrow....look at her relationship with Sinatra before you cast stones.

[Major Nikon]

28. Allen never adopted Soon-Yi

The idea that Allen was "grooming" Soon-Yi is without any basis. According to Farrow's own memoir Allen never had anything to do with Soon-Yi until she asked him to spend more time with her. By that time she was an adult. Allen, Farrow, and Soon-Yi are all in agreement with this. Anything beyond that is just an invention.

[seabeyond]

34. i did not say allen adopted her

[kcr]

25. Really? I think it makes her claims more believable.

There was no waiting till she was 18 because nothing happened between them. She refused his advances from the beginning, which started before she was of legal age.

[msanthrope]

29. She doesn't describe any underage advances. Describes it as "platonic." nt

[kcr]

31. Right. He had absolutely no feelings of attraction until she turned 18.

Uh huh. Sure.

She even states that she realized he had a crush on her.

[msanthrope]

33. I'm sure he did have feelings of attraction. Adults sometimes do towards teens. Apparently, he

didn't act on them. So if you want to judge someone for their sexual feelings/fantasies, go right ahead.

There's a reason we criminalize ACTS, not FEELINGS.

[cwydro]

20. Yuck.

He's a creep.

[Rex]

32. Maybe Allen is truly Bananas.

Or he is just that insecure as a man - not being able to challenge a woman on par with his age and experience. Either way I LOVE some of his movies...but find his actions creepy. AND YES, that is me judging another man trying to date a women more than half his age.

They say love knows no boundaries and that might be true. Dunno, lusting after a teenager at 40 just sounds creepier than hell.

[msanthrope]

38. It sounds gross to me. And not love. But, these are adults. nt

[Rex]

40. Very true! 18 is legal enough to die for your country.

Off topic here but - I always found it funny that a person can go off and die for their country at 18...but not drink beer!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

44. Misleading headline by VF (She was an 18yo adult), but no surprise

The editor is a personal buddy with Mia and has been on her p.r. team for years