Woody Allen Loves New York

As the controversial master of the New York love story, director Woody Allen’s hometown screenings tend to draw a big crowd. On Wednesday night, the stars aligned to check out his latest quasi-romance, Irrational Man, at the Museum of Modern Art. While the film’s headliners, Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, were absent, the Cinema Society and Fiji water-sponsored premiere was filled to capacity with big names like Reed Krakoff, Mischa Barton and Martha Stewart, who were eager to catch the Cannes stand-out.

Phoenix and Stone’s co-stars Jamie Blackley and Parker Posey acted as the film’s ambassadors—and the default hosts of the after-party at the New York Palace. The open-air fete felt like a perfect nostalgic cap to Allen’s quirky tale, but the director’s mind was elsewhere. With plans to shoot his next film in August, the self-proclaimed “throwback sentimentalist” was looking forward to his upcoming pilgrimage to the West Coast. “I prefer San Francisco for the summer,” he said, “but I’ll be back to Manhattan by fall.” The city will be waiting with bated breath.