Woody Allen Quits Spain in Film Funds Row

When Woody Allen arrived in Barcelona in July to start making his latest film, he was greeted with open arms. Just how open those arms were has become the cause of a dispute that has led to the cancellation of the director's plans to film in Spain.

The president of Mediapro, the Catalan production company behind Allen's new film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has announced that two future projects will be made "neither in Catalonia nor in Spain", as had been previously planned.

Jaume Roures blamed what he said was the "small-minded attitude" of local politicians and press, who complained Allen received special treatment in Barcelona.

The controversy began when it was revealed that 10% of the budget for the film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, would come from Barcelona city hall and Catalan regional taxpayers. Barcelona provided €1m (£700,000) of funding for the film, which the city expects to recoup from the film's profits. Regional authorities added another €500,000 to the film's budget.

Roures denied that there was anything out of the ordinary about this funding, but local film-makers complained that Barcelona city hall had bent over backwards to help Allen, rerouting traffic whenever the director wanted, besides providing the kind of funding they would never expect to receive. Producer Quique Camín told the daily Periódico de Catalunya: "I'm thinking of giving my company a name that sounds foreign... maybe that way I'll get [some money]."