LONDON, Sept. 15 -- Woody Allen has said Jeffrey Epstein "couldn't have been nicer" when he and his wife were invited to dinners hosted by the convicted sex offender.

The 89-year-old director told The Sunday Times that he had not known Epstein before attending a December 2010 dinner also attended by the Duke of York.

Allen explained that he and Soon-Yi Previn were invited by a publicist to join "one of those British royals" and other guests at the gathering.

At the time, Epstein had recently completed a prison sentence for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

Allen recalled that Epstein told the guests he had been "falsely put in jail in some way" and was now giving money to scientists and universities.

"He couldn't have be...