6. Annie Hall
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
About the writing of the film:
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Allen originally conceived Annie Hall as a murder mystery with a subplot about a romance. —multiple
sources
Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman considered as many as 100 possible titles for the film before
settling on Anhedonia—the inability to feel pleasure. United Artists fought against it (among other
things, they were unable to come up with an ad campaign that explained the meaning of the word)
and Allen compromised on naming the film after a central character three week's before the film's
premiere. Allen wrote the first draft. —The New York Times, 4/20/77
Many elements in the script were based on reality, including the fact that Diane Keaton’s real name is
Diane Hall, and her nickname is Annie. —multiple sources
Woody Allen: “Details are picked from life. I’m a comedian. Diane sings, and I’m friends with Tony
Roberts, and almost everybody I know has moved out to California.” —The New York Times, 4/20/77
“In common with her character, [Diane Keaton] calls her grandmothers ‘Grammy,’ uses expressions
like ‘la-dee-dah’ and ‘Oh, gee, it’s a wacky old world,’ and orders pastrami and white bread with
mayo.”—The New York Times, 4/20/77
Marshall Brickman: “At first, in Annie Hall, we made Diane Keaton a neurotic New York girl, but the
character had no dramatic transition. This led us to give her a family in Wisconsin.” —The New York
Times, 8/21/77
Brickman: “The first script of Annie Hall was much more episodic, tangential, and novelistic… We
started to become interested in the love story between Woody and the Keaton character, which was
all over the place. We cut and pasted to make the love story more important, and the structure
emerged. The material was telling us what to do.” —Film Comment, June 1986
Allen on writing Annie Hall: “I’ve always been able to get laughs. I wanted to move on. This is not a
quantum leap, but at least it’s a couple of inches in the right direction.” —The New York Times,
4/20/77
On the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
About the writers:
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Similarities between Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman: Both are Jewish, grew up in Brooklyn,
showed talent as humorists at young ages, and wrote jokes for major television stars—Allen for Sid
Caesar and Brickman for Johnny Carson (at 27, he became the head writer of The Tonight Show)—
both have written for The New Yorker and are musicians—Allen plays clarinet, Brickman banjo. —
The New York Times, 6/15/88
Allen and Brickman collaborated five times.
Woody Allen was born in Flatbush, NY. He has been a television writer, a playwright, a screenwriter,
an actor, an author, a director and a producer.
Allen on Brickman: “Marshall makes my game better. It’s like playing tennis with a pro.”—The New
York Times, 8/21/77
Screenwriting award/nominations for Woody Allen: WGA Screen Laurel Award, 1987; 18 WGA
nominations, with 4 wins, for Broadway Danny Rose, Crimes and Misdemeanors (#57), Hannah and
Her Sisters (#95) and Annie Hall; 5 Golden Globe nominations, with 1 win, for The Purple Rose of
Cairo; 14 Academy Award nominations (all for original scripts), with 2 wins, for Hannah and Her
Sisters and Annie Hall. Plus 1 Emmy nomination (with Larry Gelbart) for Sid Caesar’s Chevy Show,
1959; 1 PEN screenplay award, for Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1990; 10 BAFTA nominations, with 6
wins, for Husbands and Wives, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Broadway Danny
Rose, Manhattan, Annie Hall. Most recent Academy Award nomination is 2006, for Match Point.
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Marshall Brickman wrote jokes for Woody Allen’s standup act in the 1960s.
Screenwriting award/nominations for Marshall Brickman: 3 WGA nominations, with 1 win, for Annie
Hall; 1 Golden Globe nomination; 2 Academy Award nominations, with 1 win, for Annie Hall.