Woody Allen

The cast of To Rome With Love was in NYC Tuesday to chat about their new Woody Allen-directed comedy, which hits theaters in the US tomorrow. Penélope Cruz headed up a roster of actors including Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig, and Italian star Alessandra Mastronardi to chat about the project at the Loews Regency Hotel. Woody spoke about his movie-making and writing process, but it turned out that he was the topic of most of the discussion. Penélope, Alec, Woody, and Greta all spoke about the privilege of working with Woody, calling themselves "nervous" and "lucky" to even be there. Here are highlights from their press conference:

• Penélope on shooting in Rome: "I loved working there, and I am a huge fan of Italian cinema. There are things about [her character] Anna that I thought about in the back of my head, but she is also a character that has no filter with her brain, and she says everything she feels. It's so refreshing to play somebody like that, and it was refreshing and beautiful to be with Woody in homage to Italian cinema."
• Alec on working with Woody: "With Woody Allen, you have someone who is responsible for more memorable moments on every level of writing, producing, directing, and acting than any other person who has lived in film, really. You think about the countless, countless dozens of films — and even Woody Allen's less successful efforts are better than most other films you see. Then you see the greatest films he's made, and they are some of the greatest films ever made. So when he calls you and asks you to come and do this with him, if you're available, you go. You want to hitch a ride on this and be a part of them, because this is a guy who is just on an island of his own in terms of filmmaking."
• Penélope on trying to keep Woody's career in perspective: "I was trying to look at him and forget all the admiration, all of the respect, and all of the beautiful moments that I had experienced through his work. Because if you don't put that aside and focus on what you have to do, I would be starstruck the whole time. It still happens to me when I am with him. I find him so fascinating. He's so unique. I'm lucky that I get to be directed by somebody that I admire so much, and I am lucky I get to hang out with him, that I get to spend time with him, that I get to hear him speak. He makes me laugh all day long, so I feel really lucky that I get this time with him."

To read more from the cast and Woody on the movie, just read more

Woody Allen has hit home runs with European-set films Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Match Point, and Midnight in Paris, but can he do it again in Italy? We'll have our answer with To Rome With Love, which follows another star-studded cast as their love lives get a little more complicated in — you guessed it — Rome. This time, the lineup includes Jesse Eisenberg as a guy who's seduced by his girlfriend's friend (Ellen Page), Penelope Cruz as an Italian prostitute, and Allen himself wearing some pants that are pulled up very high.

As with Midnight in Paris, it's obvious that the setting is going to be a major character here, which is enough of a reason for me to be enticed by the film. My only gripe is that Page seems a bit miscast as the boyfriend-stealing sexpot, but I can definitely see her and Eisenberg as a match. The movie hits theaters this June, but you can watch the trailer when you read more

>> Get caught up on all of those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Did Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani get marred and not tell anyone about it? The magazine's website posted a scan from the Ugandan newspaper Red Pepper, which pictures Sozzani sitting next to oil magnate Charles Mbire. The paper referred to Sozzani as Mbire's wife, but Sozzani said the newspaper had bad intel. "The marital status I prefer is being single," she said. [Vogue Italia]
  

• Supermodel Elle Macpherson turned 48 today — and she still looks better than most people do at 24. [The Fab Life]
  

• Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have landed cameo roles in director Woody Allen's new film To Rome With Love, which debuts April 20. Penelope Cruz — the film's lead actress — will wear pieces from the duo's Spring 2012 collection in the film. [The Cut]
  

• André Leon Talley has been off the airwaves since leaving the judging panel of America's Next Top Model, but soon he'll be back. In a new Bravo reality series — currently titled Fashion Stories of NYC — Tally will supervise competing teams of "emerging designers striving to build a business in New York City, which remains the heart of the fashion industry." [Fashionista]
  

• Vogue UK Editor Alexandra Shulman has written her first book. Her new novel, Can We Still Be Friends, is about three pals who went to college together in the '80s, and afterward have to deal with what the real world does to their lives and their relationships with one another. [Fashion Etc.]