When Emma Stone first met Woody Allen for an audition—a notoriously unfussy filmmaker who doesn’t really overthink things or even give much direction to his actors on set—the meeting lasted all of four minutes. “I don’t even think I took off my coat,” Stone told the WSJ recently. When she showed up on set, she says, she was “absolutely convinced I was going to be fired. It’s terrifying. He doesn’t do table reads or any rehearsal. You can’t even ask questions about your character, because he’ll be like: ‘You know this is a movie, right?’ ”
Allen hilariously added, “I never talk to any of the actors in any of my movies about anything if I can avoid it.” But clearly Stone’s made the cut and potentially is Allen’s new muse. She’s been his leading lady in two films back to back, "Magic in the Moonlight" and now the upcoming mystery drama/serio comedy "Irrational Man."
The movie also co-stars Joaquin Phoenix, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley, and centers on a philosophy professor (Phoenix) who finds himself in a deep existential crisis, but he discovers a new purpose in life when he enters into a relationship with one of his students (Stone). It received mixed notices at Cannes, including ours, but considering the cast and Phoenix and Allen working together, we’ll assume everyone’s going to see it regardless and judge for themselves (I know I will). "Irrational Man" opens on July 17th. Over fifty new photos of the film have arrived and you can check them out below.