{"id":48111,"date":"2025-06-13T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=48111"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:04:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T23:04:41","slug":"the-bootleg-files-my-annie-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/13\/the-bootleg-files-my-annie-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: My Annie Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 910: <\/strong>\u201cMy Annie Hall\u201d (2018 short film based on Woody Allen\u2019s classic). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN: <\/strong>On YouTube.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> None.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> Unauthorized mini-remake of the Oscar-winning film. <\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n

When the subject of fan films is raised, most people associate that genre with younger people creating souped-up spins of classic action and adventure films. In 2018, a most unusual fan film made headlines, but this did not involve a hyperactive riff on the \u201cStar Wars\u201d or \u201cBatman\u201d series, but instead it was inspired by Woody Allen\u2019s \u201cAnnie Hall\u201d \u2013 and even more remarkable, the film\u2019s stars were a pair of senior citizens.
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The impetus behind this endeavor were 29-year-old Matt Starr and 25-year-old Ellie Sachs, who worked with Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a senior center in New York City, on remaking a classic film with the elderly members of the center. Neither Starr nor Sachs had filmmaking experience, and they initially planned to shoot their little fan film on a cell phone. <\/p>\n

The center\u2019s members were asked to vote on which classic film they wanted to remake, and the choices were narrowed down to \u201cAnnie Hall\u201d and (incredibly) \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain.\u201d The Woody Allen film was picked, with 94-year-old Harry Miller as Alvy Singer and 74-year-old Shula Chernick as Annie Hall.<\/p>\n

What was going to be a micro-scale endeavor took on a bigger life, with a crew of 20, a three-week shooting schedule around Manhattan and a budget of $11,000. The resulting film was a 27-minute version of the 1977 comedy, with much of the original dialogue from Allen\u2019s creation retained.<\/p>\n

Allen himself was not aware that this film was being made, and Starr and Sachs never asked for his permission to use his copyright-protected material. Allen only learned about it after the New York Times ran an article about the production. Through his publicist, Allen gave Starr and Sachs his blessing on their project while adding that he \u201csaw no reason to interfere with those seniors\u2019 enjoyment of life.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not that Allen had any reason to worry about the pirating of his work. \u201cMy Annie Hall\u201d only had a few screenings at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. The wider public only saw a few brief clips in a segment on \u201cCBS Sunday Mornings,\u201d but the full film was not available until four years ago when Statt and Sachs uploaded it to YouTube.<\/p>\n

As for the film itself, \u201cMy Annie Hall\u201d is cute and sweet \u2013 to a point. It is best when it gently recreates the original\u2019s scenes with the lobsters in the kitchen, Annie\u2019s first club gig \u2013 Chernick sings nicely, although the noisy sound effects of the original are absent here \u2013 and the split screen with the characters venting their frustrations to their respective therapists.<\/p>\n

But not unlike many fan films, the production is a triumph of enthusiasm over talent. Neither Miller not Chernick had previous film acting experience, and its shows \u2013 the elderly stars come across as geriatric facsimiles of the iconic Allen and Keaton performances, giving flat recitations of the original\u2019s dialogue with little feeling for the wit and nervous energy that brought the Oscar-winning screenplay to life.<\/p>\n

And, to be cruel, the novelty of \u201cMy Annie Hall\u201d wears off very quickly, and by the closing credits it feels like a home movie that is amusing to those who made it but less than entertaining to those who stumbled over it.<\/p>\n

In a way, it is a shame that Starr and Sachs didn\u2019t create an original film with Miller and Chernick rather than remake \u201cAnnie Hall\u201d \u2013 perhaps a story of late-life love with a sense of genuine emotion, rather than a novelty short with old folks pretending to be Allen and Keaton.<\/p>\n

Or maybe I\u2019m just being a nasty old thing in not appreciating \u201cMy Annie Hall\u201d? Here is film, via YouTube \u2013 feel free to judge for yourself and share your opinions.<\/p>\n