Holy shit, folks. This story is the real deal.

It’s weird to think in a time where most people recognize Woody Allen as an aging filmmaker who releases new works at least once a year that there was a time not too long ago when he would grace comedy club stages. Though decades have passed since that time, anyone doing research on Woody is bound to stumble across his standup work, and having revisited those releases recently myself I can say firsthand most the material still works like gangbusters.

According to a new interview with The New York Times, Woody Allen has been so inspired by the comedians he’s surrounded himself with in the last year that he’s been “toying” (his words, not ours) with the idea of returning to standup once more. Allen admits it would take time to get an hour of material together, not to mention trying to squeeze a tour into his already hectic schedule, but to read his words it seems like it’s something the legendary comedian would love to attempt. You can view an excerpt from the article below.

Woody Allen is currently doing press rounds to promote his upcoming film Blue Jasmine, which begins rolling out in theaters soon and features appearances from both Louis CK and Andrew Dice Clay. We’re diehard Allen fans here at UTG, so expect plenty of updates if Woody ever decides he will in fact return to the stage.

Q: Does working with comedians ever inspire you to revisit your own career as a standup?

A. I was inspired the other night – in the other room here where I play [the Cafe Carlyle at the Carlyle Hotel], I saw Mort Sahl. He flew in from San Francisco, and he worked three late shows and he was wonderful. He’s slowed up a little now because he’s 85. He’s not as rapid as he was when was he was 35. But all the stuff is still there. Watching him, I had the same feeling now, in 2013, as I had when I saw him in 1950-something. Of, “Hey, I’d like to get back onstage and do standup again.” He inspired me then to be a standup comic, and all these years later, I thought of it again because of him. He makes that phenomenon so enticing.

Q. Could you fit a standup tour into your schedule when you’re making a new movie every year?

A. I was thinking of it. Since I saw him, I’ve just been toying with the idea. I would love to see if I could. Just getting together an hour of stuff to talk about would be a lot of work.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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