Woody Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing, has been canceled in the U.S., but could still be published in France, the Guardian reports.
The French publisher Éditions Stock, a subsidiary of Hachette, still wants to publish Allen’s autobiography—even after its publication was scrapped by Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing in the U.S. The American imprint canceled Allen’s book following a walkout by employees unhappy that the press had acquired a book by the filmmaker, who has been accused of sexually assaulting his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, when she was a child.
Among Allen’s harshest critics is Ronan Farrow, Dylan Farrow’s brother and Allen’s son, who wrote about his father in Catch and Kill, his book about famous men accused of sexual assault. That book was also published by Hachette; Ronan Farrow cut ties with his publisher after it acquired Allen’s memoir.
Stock CEO Manuel Carcassonne praised Allen for his “self-mockery, modesty, and the art of disguising the tragic in comedy.”
“We need to recover the rights which have been returned to the author,” Carcassone said. “And above all, let’s be frank, it’s the author alone who will decide.”
Carcassone said that he believes Allen is “completely innocent of what he has been accused of.” He said the filmmaker is “not Roman Polanski,” a reference to the filmmaker who fled the U.S. for France after being convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
The planned publication date for Allen’s memoir in France is Apr. 29, although it’s unknown whether that will actually happen.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.