Barcelona blows out Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson

Plans for Woody Allen to use Barcelona as the setting for three new films, as reported on The First Post in July, have been shelved after uproar in the Catalan capital at the cost of the first film in his projected trilogy. Allen, 71, began shooting Vicky Cristina Barcelona in the summer, with a cast that included Scarlett Johansson and indigenous stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. But many Catalans were upset that the New York director was receiving 10 per cent of the budget for his feature from City Hall.

As taxpayers, they were infuriated to see members of the city's Socialist administration become obsessed with Allen, queueing up to have their picture taken with him. More important, the city was bending over backwards to help the filmmaker, re-routing traffic in Barcelona whenever the production demanded it.

Local film fans were doubtless further concerned that after Allen's trio of stinkers set in London - Cassandra's Dream, Scoop and Match Point - Barcelona was to share the dubious honour of being chosen by the roaming auteur as his latest 'muse' city. They will be happy to learn from Allen's Spanish production company that he is cancelling production on two further projects.

Jaume Roures, president of Mediapro, bemoaned the "small-minded attitude" of his fellow Catalans, especially in the press and government. But a Barcelona producer, Quique Camin, reflected most locals' antipathy to the project when he remarked that he was "thinking of giving my company a name that sounds foreign... maybe that way I'll get some money".