US director Woody Allen cajoles Paris public to like his film, or else

Woody Allen to Paris: Like the film, or else

PARIS — Woody Allen warned the Paris moviegoing public that consequences would be dire if they didn’t like his upcoming film.

The U.S. director, speaking in heavily accented French with creative grammatical flourishes, addressed a packed audience at the opening Thursday of the Paris Film Festival.

Ahead of the screening of his latest effort — “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger,” starring Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Antonio Banderas — Allen jokingly called the ensemble romance a “chef d’oeuvre.”

“If you hate this film, I’m going to start a new film,” said Allen, whose “Midnight in Paris” begins shooting over the summer and includes an appearance by French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. “If you hate both (movies), I’m going to kill myself,” he wisecracked.