Woody Allen Interview From CBS News’ ‘Sunday Morning’ Will Debut on Paramount Plus

Lee Cowan conducted the interview, titled “The Woody Allen Interview”, which will be available on Paramount Plus starting March 28th 2021. Filmmaker Woody Allen, whose career has been marred by sexual abuse allegations made in 1992 by his daughter, Dylan Farrow, has granted a rare interview that will be streamed on Paramount+ as part of a broader “CBS Sunday Morning” package. CBS News says the interview, recorded in July 2020, represents Allen’s first in-depth television interview in nearly three decades.

The program will also include an interview with Dylan Farrow conducted by Gayle King in 2018 and a new segment from Erin Moriarty that examines what happens when artists are accused of morally questionable acts. Cowan sat down with Woody Allen in July 2020 following the release of his memoir for what would be Allen’s first significant television interview in nearly three decades. The interview, which occurred last summer during an active news cycle, is being presented now given the renewed interest in the controversy surrounding the filmmaker.

The exclusive for Paramount+ offers the ability to explore Allen, his career, and the allegations in context and with the depth that this story demands. Allen has long denied his daughter’s claims, he has never been charged with a crime by a court. But the allegations against Allen have followed him for years. The allegations have risen anew with the debut of a four-part documentary series, “Allen v. Farrow”, that launched in early 2021 on WarnerMedia’s HBO.

In that series, Farrow speaks on camera for the first time about her experiences.

The series includes home movies from Allen’s former partner, Mia Farrow, that include Dylan at age 7 describing what Allen allegedly did to her. Audio recordings Mia Farrow made of phone conversations with Allen are also presented. Allen is married to Soon-Yi Previn, an older daughter of his former partner. Allen did not take part in that project, and he is not likely to address it in the interview, which took place more than half a year ago.

The interview with Allen was conducted several months after Hachette Book Group said it would not publish an Allen autobiography, “Apropos of Nothing”, in which he denies Farrow’s allegations and discusses the sadness he feels over his estrangement from his daughter. The book was brought to market by Arcade Publishing. The interview was also recorded as the United States grappled with the covid pandemic and a national protest over the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police, two events that likely occupied CBS News executives and news production resources at the time.

The decision to present the program via the recently launched streaming service may raise eyebrows. The special at present seems unlikely to be broadcast on the traditional CBS network, due to its length, subject matter, and the desire to show the interview with the accompanying segments. ViacomCBS has made news a core offering of Paramount+, using the phrase “Breaking News” in the new service’s marketing slogan.

The live-streaming news service CBSN, which offers a live feed as well as feeds from CBS owned stations, is part of Paramount+.

So too is “60 Minutes+”, an offshoot of the venerable CBS News Sunday magazine show that features a new set of correspondents who can present segments that go as long as 20 to 30 minutes. “Sunday Morning” has been on the air since 1979. Originally conceived as the TV equivalent of a Sunday-morning newspaper, the program has become part of a weekend ritual for many of its viewers.

Aside from the occasional special or anniversary program, however, “Sunday Morning” has not regularly extended itself to other properties. The Paramount+ debut hints at other formats that may be under consideration at ViacomCBS for some of its best-known news properties. In August 2020, Sumner Redstone, the ViacomCBS mogul who built his family’s drive-in theater chain into a multibillion-dollar empire, has died.

Redstone was 97. Redstone led an extraordinary life that not only shaped entertainment as we know it today, but created an incredible family legacy. Redstone was a wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Redstone controlled about 80% of the voting stock of Viacom and CBS through his private holding company, National Amusements. In November 2019, Redstone’s fortune was estimated at $3.9 billion.

By December 5th 2019, the first day of trading for the remarried ViacomCBS, Redstone’s fortune had dropped to a still formidable $2.6 billion.

Patience is a virtue that Redstone did not respect. If you are patient, you will never go anywhere. It takes impatience to drive you to succeed. ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish remembered Redstone as a brilliant visionary, who single-handedly transformed a family-owned drive-in theater company into a global media portfolio. Redstone was a force of nature and fierce competitor, who leaves behind a profound legacy in both business and philanthropy.

ViacomCBS will remember Redstone for his unparalleled passion to win, his endless intellectual curiosity, and his complete dedication to the company. On February 3rd 2016, the CBS board announced Redstone’s resignation as executive chairman and appointed CEO Les Moonves as his successor. On February 4th 2016, Viacom named Redstone chairman emeritus and CEO Philippe Dauman as his successor as executive chairman.

Redstone gave up his voting position on the Viacom board in February 2017. Redstone’s health had been the focus of much speculation in his later years. With Viacom and CBS in merger talks in the spring of 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Redstone was unable to speak much. Citing people who had been with him, the newspaper said Redstone had an iPad connected to buttons to activate his recorded voice uttering “yes”, “no”, and “f— you”.

A lawsuit filed in November 2015 by an ex-girlfriend 42 years his junior challenged Redstone’s competency, claiming that his conversations had become little more than grunts.

Redstone’s lawyers called the claims preposterous and a despicable invasion of his privacy. On May 9th 2016, the judge dismissed the lawsuit after he asserted in videotaped testimony that Redstone did not want Manuela Herzer to play any role in his life. Redstone repeatedly referred to Herzer as “f—— b—-”. Sumner Murray Rothstein was born in Boston on May 27th 1923, to Belle and Michael “Mickey” Rothstein.

Redstone’s father, a nightclub operator, later anglicized the German surname. Redstone graduated from Harvard and served in Army intelligence during World War II, helping to break the Japanese code. After the war, Redstone graduated from Harvard Law School and worked for the federal government. First as a law secretary with the United States Court of Appeals, then as a special assistant to United States Attorney General Tom Clark.

Meanwhile, Redstone’s father’s National Amusements bought real estate in the Northeast and built numerous drive-in theaters. Redstone joined the business in 1954 and became CEO 13 years later. In another high-stakes takeover battle, Redstone’s $10 billion bid outmuscled fellow media moguls Barry Diller and John Malone for Paramount Communications in 1994.

Without Viacom, there would have been no Paramount, and there would have been no CBS.

Redstone fired Tom Cruise from Paramount after the actor’s run of odd personal behavior, including jumping up and down on Oprah Winfrey’s couch when discussing his relationship with Katie Holmes.