The filmmaker’s book was previously canceled after it was met with extreme backlash from Ronan Farrow and others.
Woody Allen will get to tell his side of the story after all. The disgraced filmmaker’s controversial memoir, Apropos of Nothing, was released by a new publisher on Monday, ET has confirmed. Arcade Publishing picked up the book after it was dropped by Hachette Book Group, which faced extreme backlash for partnering Allen on the release.
“The book is a candid and comprehensive personal account by Woody Allen of his life, ranging from his childhood in Brooklyn through his acclaimed career in film, theater, television, print and stand-up comedy, as well as exploring his relationships with family and friends,” the new publisher said of the 400-page memoir.
In a statement to the Associated Press, which first reported the news, Arcade editor Jeannette Seaver said, “In this strange time, when truth is too often dismissed as 'fake news,' we as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected artist, rather than bow to those determined to silence him.”
The news comes less than a month after Hachette Book Group decided not to move forward with the April 2020 release of Allen’s book. ‘The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one,” the company said in a statement to ET. “At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly. We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books.”
Shortly after Apropos of Nothing, the publisher’s staff threatened to walk out and faced criticism from Allen's children, Ronan and Dylan Farrow, the latter of whom has accused her father of sexual abusing her when she was a child. Allen has denied the allegations.
In a statement on Twitter, Dylan Farrow called Hachette’s decision to publish the book “disappointing and frankly shocking,” adding that it was “deeply upsetting” to her.
“As a company, we are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff,” Hachette Book Group’s statement continued, addressing the internal pushback. “Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG.”
Following the decision, Ronan Farrow took to Twitter to applaud the company, which also published his recent #MeToo investigative memoir, Catch and Kill. “I’m grateful to all the Hachette employees and authors who spoke up and to the company for listening,” he wrote at the time.
The author nor his sister has tweeted or spoken out about the new publisher or release at this time.
RELATED CONTENT:
