For Brooklyn native Woody Allen, shooting his latest drama in Coney Island is somewhat of a homecoming. Unlike other recent film locales like Hollywood, Rome and the French Riviera, filming Wonder Wheel set in a beachside neighborhood in the 1950’s is a walk down memory lane for Allen.
During an interview with EW Allen said that he grew up in that same area, which he always felt could be a set for story telling. He added, “[in] 1950, I was 15 years old and a perfect age to spend time there, so many of my fondest memories of Coney Island are from those years.”
Kate Winslet stars as Ginny, the movie’s leading lady. Allen said that he’s always wanted to work with Winslet, as he considers her to be one of the “few actresses that are deep enough to really give [him] a sensational rendering of the character.”
Alongside the Oscar-wining actress, stars Justin Timberlake. Winslet spoke of having Timberlake as her co-star saying that “[h]e’s totally unvain, he has an absolutely infuriating ability to learn lines fast, and he’s an all around great person — humble, fun, hard-working, easygoing, no ego. Such a joy, really.”
Wonder Wheel will premiere as the closing night film at the New York Film Festival on October 14.
