My heart skipped a beat when I read a Variety story about Woody Allen‘s A Rainy Day in New York, which Amazon is refusing to distribute out of fear and cowardice, having arranged for distribution in Italy via distributor Lucky Red. Nick Vivarelli is reporting that “other European territories [are] also believed to have closed local distribution deals”…yes!

Right away I was imagining renting a car in Cannes and driving to San Remo, Italy (roughly a half-hour drive) and catching Rainy Day at one of the plexes there.

Then I read the words “in the fall.” Oh. This suggests that Rainy Day may premiere four months hence at the Venice Film Festival.

Vivarelli’s story indicates that Rainy Day hasn’t sold to each and every European or Middle-Eastern territory. It logically follows that there might be a market screening or two during the Cannes Film Festival. It would certainly be an opportune occasion to the film’s reps to seal the deal. I’m going to see if I can discreetly wangle my way into one of these showings.