WoodyAllen revealed that he will star alongside Scarlett Johansson in his next film,which is set to shoot in London this summer.

"It so happens that in thisnext film there is a very good part for me to play and I'm going to play it,"said the veteran director. He described it as a 'comic film.'

Allen was speaking yesterdayat a press conference for his out of competition feature Match Point, which he wrote and directed but did not appear in.

Reactionto Match Point,the first film that Allen has shot in London, was mixed - and largely alonggeographical lines. North American critics were, overall, enthusiastic and feltit was a fresh departure for the director. British critics gave it a coolerreception, taking issue with the depiction of aristocratic society in the UK.

Derek Malcolm, critic forLondon's Evening Standard,commented: "The American critics have suddenly taken a liking to someone whothey have sneered at over the last decade and the British, who have liked himmore, have suddenly started to sneer at this one."

Allen, however, sounded veryenthusiastic about the film. "This film came out pretty well," he said. "I'musually the harshest critic of my own films, but this one I felt positiveabout."

He added that he'd enjoyedshooting outside of New York for the first time. He said one of the mainreasons for coming to the UK was to escape the 'increasingly prevalent' trendfor US studios and financiers to participate in a project by wanting a say incasting, the script or even coming to look at the dailies.

"I have never worked thatway. I want the money in a brown paper bag and I give them the movie," saidAllen. "In London the financing people worked just that way."

Evidently, however, Allenstruggled to get to grips with the rules surrounding the UK tax financing thathelped bankroll Match Point.Originally, he said, he had cast an English actress to play ScarlettJohansson's role. For the film to secure tax money, "I thought everybody had tobe English" he explained. "Then we found that only a certain percentage had tobe used, and we had a enough left over so that we could use an Americanactress."

He added that the budget forMatch Point was 'very small' andthat Johansson did not charge her full rate to work on the film. "I have a verydemocratic way of working," joked Allen. "Everybody gets nothing."