Woody Allen declared, “I prefer New York,” and skipped the Golden Globes on Sunday, instead throwing himself his own congratulatory dinner party in the Big Apple.
While the famed director and writer was being honored by Diane Keaton at the Globes in Hollywood, and simultaneously blasted on Twitter by the man who may — or may not — be his son, Ronan Farrow, Woody was feted at posh Upper East Side restaurant Sistina by a group including wife Soon-Yi Previn, their daughter Manzie Tio Allen and fine arts dealer Lorinda Ash.
A source said, “The group celebrated by dining for over three hours. Everyone was in a fun, celebratory mood and congratulating Woody. They spent the majority of the evening discussing their predictions for the Golden Globes . . . It was a friendly banter in terms of predictions of winners — ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘American Hustle’ were mentioned. Woody was overheard praising Leo DiCaprio’s performance.” We’re told other diners, including film and TV writer George Stevens Jr. and investment banker Kenneth Buckfire, lined up to congratulate Woody.
Earlier in the evening, Woody — who was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award but is famous for avoiding awards ceremonies — was at the opening of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” with Soon-Yi and their daughter [photo, opposite page]. When a Broadway insider shouted at intermission, “Mr. Allen, shouldn’t you be in Los Angeles tonight?” he demurred, dryly, “I prefer New York.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC host Ronan, whose mom, Mia Farrow, recently hinted he may be Frank Sinatra’s son, slammed Woody on Twitter. He wrote, “Missed the Woody Allen tribute — did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?” In 1992, Farrow’s daughter Dylan claimed Allen had touched her inappropriately. A subsequent court case was later dropped.
The last word went to Mia, who tweeted as the Woody tribute started, “Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS.”