- Jeanne Moreau, Mademoiselle, UK-France, 1965. Before Tony Richardson directed Moreau (co-respondent in his divorce from Vanessa Redgrave), realisateur Georges Franju was trying to make the Jean Genet story. “If I’d agreed to Romy Schneider,” said Franju, “I could have made it straight away. But I preferred Emmanuelle Riva. Anouk Aimeé talked to me about it while making La Tete contre les Murs, because Jean Genet had written it for her. When I mentioned Anouk, the producers replied: “It’s not Anouk these days, it’s Marie Laforet”.” Except it wasn’t.
- Mireille Darc, Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais… elle cause! (She Does Not Drink, Smoke or Flirt But… She Talks), France, 1969. Prodigious dialoguist-turned-auteur Michel Audiard (129 scripts in 36 years) wanted he singer-actress in his Annie Girardot vehicle. For the second time, Laforet turned him down. He called up Darc, his favourite from six other films together. It took Laforet 14 years to finally accept an Audiard script, Les morfalous, one of his three last films in 1983.
- Irene Jacob, Victory, UK-France-Germany, 1996. After realisateur Barbra SteeleClaude Chabrol turned down Hollywood producer legend David O Selznick (and, therefore, his wife Jennifer Jones), another New Waver, Louis Malle, tried to set up the Conrad book with the singer-actress. (Malle had planned to direct her debut in a 60s project that never happened). The Laforet look seemed influenced by that of the British horror queen, Barbara Steele.
Birth year: 1939Death year: 2019Other name: Usual occupation: SingerCasting Calls: 3