"How Woody Allen Sees It"

Even as he approaches 80, Woody Allen remains one of the most prolific filmmakers working today.

With the release of his 48th feature, "Blue Jasmine," the celebrated director opens up about playing the romantic lead, the hit-flop trap and why he just can't quit the business.

One of the things Allen is shrewdest about is money. His films typically cost about $18 million to make, which is next to nothing these days. Most of them go on to make a modest profit—if not in the United States, then when they're shown worldwide—and once in a while he has a hit on the order of Midnight in Paris. It's a fairly foolproof formula, even if it seems to have little appeal to the studios now, who would rather make bigger bets in hopes of bigger payouts. Allen's modest budgets enable him to retain total control of his films, something that's seldom granted to directors anymore, and to be flexible when it comes to probably his greatest strength as a director: casting memorable actors in memorable parts. "I'm not in the hit-flop business," he explained. "I make a film and if it's a big hit it's not going to do anything special for me. If it's a disaster it won't ruin anything, because I'll already be working on the next. The people who play the hit-flop game suffer a lot when they have the flops. I don't, but then I don't get the highs either."

Read this informative, semi-lengthy profile of Woody Allen and his work habits in the WSJ.

AND: In 2008, Architectural Digest photographed Allen's NYC townhouse...which HE decorated. Five years later, I am still trying to process what is revealed there. Take a look (IF YOU DARE).