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Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Date: Jul 15 2009

Themes: Hobbies

Grammar: Zero Conditional

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Woody Allen is one of those directors whom a lot of people either love or hate. Almost all his movies are about antiheroes who seem a lot like Allen himself. They’re neurotic, over-analytical, and not very attractive. Some people find his movies boring or annoying. And some complain that his plots about beautiful younger women falling in love with neurotic older men are unrealistic.

But Woody Allen fans love his movies for their clever dialog, their sense of humor, and the serious questions they explore about life and relationships. Whether you like Allen or not, he is probably one of the most important figures in American cinema.

Allen has definitely had his ups and downs as a director. Two of his most recent movies, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Match Point, received positive reviews. But the response to his latest film, Whatever Works, has been mostly negative. Find out why Devan and Marni still want to go see it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Devan

Devan

Marni:  So Devan, are you a Woody Allen fan?

Devan:  I am. And you know who else I’m a big fan of, is Larry David.

Marni:  So are you super excited about Whatever Works, the new match made in heaven, Woody Allen/Larry David comedy?

Devan:  I’m very excited about it. I’m a huge Curb Your Enthusiasm fan and discovered Woody Allen recently, and saw Annie Hall. I just think that his writing, Larry David’s acting, it’s just a match made in heaven.

Marni:  I know. Well, you know, sadly I’ve heard some reviews that aren’t so favorable, but I’m still gonna go because I am a huge Woody Allen fan. I’ve loved his work for a long time. He’s had some ups and downs in his career for sure, but I think that this…You’ve just got to see it. If you like Larry David, it’s just kind of a no brainer. It’s gonna be, you know, the perfect neurotic, classic Woody Allen, where you’ve got this over-analytical guy who’s going through a midlife crisis, and he meets this younger girl…This is a theme we’ve seen in a lot of Woody Allen films, but works.

Devan:  I personally am a big fan of that style, so…

Marni:  Well, you know, they say artists write about what they know, and clearly this is what Woody Allen knows.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Devan and Marni are both excited about the new movie Whatever Work because they both love Woody Allen. Devan is also a big fan of Larry David, the actor who stars in the film.

Larry David is also the star of a TV show called Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David and Woody Allen are both known for playing and writing about neurotic, over-analytical characters. So Devan and Marni think they’ll be a match made in heaven.

Are you a Woody Allen fan? Do you know anyone who has had a midlife crisis?

 

Comments

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torganay

Turkey

hi everybody!!! I want find a friend

08:10 AM Jul 15 2009 |

sofree

sofree

China

I heard about the name a lot, this guy is famous, but I don't think I am a fan of him, basically I don't watch drama.

 

Even though, I have to say, Match Point is really good, Whatever Work should be good too, it gets a high score.

 

 Midlife crisis, I hear this all the time, but can't really relate to any person I know in my life.

06:21 AM Jul 15 2009 |

NIIS

NIIS

Germany

I'm not a big fan either and have watched just a few of his films. 

06:00 AM Jul 15 2009 |

wing61go

China

Un…

03:52 AM Jul 15 2009 |

EngGuitat

China

I never know Woody Allen befor this lesson. Each director has his style. And Woody Allen just does his job.  

02:26 AM Jul 15 2009 |

teddy008

teddy008

China

I’m not a Woody Allen fan, actually I had never heard his name before this lesson.
Midlife crisis, who had?
I’ve no idea, oh, Tom Hanks in “The Green Mile” maybe have.

01:38 AM Jul 15 2009 |

teddy008

teddy008

China

Wow, it's sofa

01:27 AM Jul 15 2009 |

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