The Imperfectionist
John Lahr’s 1996 piece on the director Woody Allen. “Allen sees his extraordinary artistic freedom as a mixed blessing. ‘I’ve often said, the only thing standing between me and greatness is me.’ ”
Woody Allen on his persona: "'I didn't want to play Bogart. I didn't want to play John Wayne. I wanted to be the schnook. The guy with the glasses who doesn't get the girl, who can't get the girl but who's amusing.'" He admits he was never actually a nebbish—a medal winner in track, a lead-off hitter in baseball.