Woody Allen fans may have to wait longer than usual for his next big-screen comedy. The 79-year-old has agreed to write and direct his first ever television series - not for a traditional network but for Amazon.
Last night's announcement was in a sense shocking - both Amazon and Allen have been stars of their own controversies in recent months - but at the same time will be seen by the entertainment industry as confirmation of streaming television coming of age.
Amazon won its first Golden Globe on Sunday for Transparent, one of its first in-house TV projects for viewers subscribed to its Amazon Prime Instant Video Service.
No one is more surprised by its latest commission than Allen himself. It is nearly a year since he found himself once more battling to defend his name when his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, wrote an open letter re-opening never-proven charges that Allen had sexually abused her as a child.
"I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas, and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this," he said yesterday, referring to the vice-president of Amazon Studios.
