Director Trademark: [Woody Allen] [credits] opening credits are simple white typeface on black set to early period music. Val has a copy of Phil Hardy's "The Gangster Film" on his coffee table. Val Waxman is blind while watching the dailies, which is a reference to the fact Woody Allen, who plays Val, has (deliberately) never watched himself on film, even during the dailies. The film opened the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.