New York Stories /

New York Stories is a 1989 anthology film; it consists of three shorts with the central theme being New York City. The first is Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by Coppola with his daughter, Sofia Coppola. The last is Oedipus Wrecks, directed, written by and starring Woody Allen. Reviews were generally positive for Life Lessons and Oedipus Wrecks, but generally negative for Life Without Zoë. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote that Coppola's segment was "by far the director's worst work yet." The film was screened out of competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. This was the screen debut of actress Kirsten Dunst, who appears in Oedipus Wrecks. One actor, Paul Herman, has a bit part in each segment. In a story loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's short novel The Gambler, Nick Nolte plays Lionel Dobie, an acclaimed abstract artist who is unable to paint before a major gallery exhibition of his new work. Rosanna Arquette is Paulette, his apprentice/assistant and former lover. Lionel is still infatuated with her, but Paulette wants only his