Aside from his own films, Woody Allen really doesn’t act much, so it clearly takes something for a director to score Allen to play one of the leads in a movie. It probably helps that actor/writer/megaphoner John Turturro has a longstanding relationship with the man, and Allen’s present and correct in Turturro's latest, Fading Gigolo.
Allen plays Murray, a bookseller whose business is faltering when he finds an unusual opportunity to score some money for himself and his one employee, Fioravante (Turturro). After a chance encounter at the dermatologist’s office, Murray learns there are a couple of ladies looking to score some paid-for passion, and suggests Turturro might be the man for the job.
Fioravante is initially nervous about the idea, especially since he’s never been a gigolo before. But when he’s successful, especially with Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) and Selima (Sofia Vergara), he begins to enjoy this new life. And that’s when feelings enter the equation to complicate things…
With Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis and Bob Balaban also among the cast, Fading Gigolo will be out in the US later this year, but hasn’t locked in a UK date or distributor yet.