Woody Allen on Manhattan Murder Mystery

SB:  In the new film there's a big part for Diane Keaton again. How was the experience of working with her again?

WA:  Diane is equal to the greatest screen comediennes we've ever had. I think she's top of the line. The two best female comedians would be Diane Keaton and Judy Holliday. It's always fun to work with Diane. She's a good friend of mine, and she brings out the best in everybody. She has the kind of personality that lights up the whole project. She's such a positive personality.

SB:  Do you think that her part in Manhattan Murder Mystery gave her more opportunities to show her talents as a comedian than her parts in your previous films?

WA:  No, because originally I wrote the part for Mia, and I had written it more to what Mia likes to do. Mia likes to do funny things, but she's not as broad a comedian as Diane is. So Diane made this part funnier than I wrote it.

SB:  But you didn't change the part so it would suit her and her personality more?

WA:  No, I couldn't do that. In a regular script I would have done that upon hiring Diane Keaton. But I couldn't because it's a murder mystery, and it's very tightly plotted, so it's very hard to make big changes.

-- Woody Allen interviewed by Stig Bjorkman, 
   Woody Allen on Woody Allen: In Conversation 
   Stig Bjorkman (1993)