Woody Allen hails 'very lucky life' as he presents 50th film

U.S. director Woody Allen presented his 50th film to the Venice Film Festival on Monday, telling reporters he had had a "very, very lucky life," making no reference to the scandals that have dogged his latter years.

"I have had nothing but good fortune and I hope it holds out, although obviously it is early this afternoon," he told reporters ahead of the premiere of his first French-language film, 'Coup de Chance'.

"I had two loving parents, I have good friends, I have a wonderful wife and marriage, two children. In a few months I will be 88 years old. I have never been in a hospital. I have never had anything terrible happen to me," he said.

In a separate interview to Variety on the sidelines of the film festival, Allen said he supported the #MeToo movement, which has brought intense focus to sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry. But he added that it could also become "silly ... When it's being too extreme".

The Venice Film Festival was denounced by some critics for giving Allen a prestigious slot for his new movie, and a small group of protesters demonstrated noisily as he arrived on the red carpet ahead of the premiere of his film, chanting "abusers" and scuffling with police.

Allen originally intended to cast U.S. actors in the main roles, but said he had always been inspired by European filmmakers so was happy to switch languages, even though he doesn't speak French.

Like many of his films, "Coup de Chance" draws inspiration from the themes of love, adultery and death. However, Allen said it was not worth dwelling too long on death.

"There is nothing you can do about it. It is a bad deal and you are stuck with it," he said.

Allen has previously suggested "Coup de Chance" might be his final movie.