Amazon Studios once planned to distribute the Woody Allen film "A Rainy Day in New York" in 2019, but now it no longer even holds U.S. distribution rights. The studio has returned them to Allen, Variety reports.

Amazon Studios initially reached a series of deals with Allen starting in 2014 as it built its library of originals. "A Rainy Day in New York" was one of the films that fell under those deals. However, trouble arose after Allen's son Ronan Farrow wrote a 2016 THR column that brought renewed attention to the sexual abuse allegations made decades before by Allen's daughter Dylan Farrow. (Allen denies her claims.) The director says in an ongoing lawsuit that the studio became concerned about the negative publicity of working with him, and then informed him in June 2018 that it would not distribute "Rainy Day" or his other films.

With Amazon Studios having returned the rights to Allen, he's free to find another U.S. distributor, according to Variety's sources. (Neither Amazon Studios nor Allen has commented.) The film is already set to be distributed in Europe, but it remains to be seen whether there will be an interested U.S. distributor. With the #MeToo movement going strong, distributors are reportedly wary. Variety's sources say that one indie distributor set up a screening only as "professional courtesy."

It seems that Allen hasn't given up hope, though. He recently released a trailer for "A Rainy Day in New York" via Facebook, and it says the movie is "coming soon."

[via: Variety]