- Nathalie Baye, La Gueule ouverte, France, 1973. Spoilt for choice, the often obnoxious and always over-praised realisateur Maurice Pialat settled upon Baye forMicbeline, popmptly renamed Nathalie. But he couldn’t land a young newcomer called Gérard Depardieu to play her brother, ie Pialat, himself.
- Julie Berto, Le Mâle du siècle, 1974. “In all my life, I am making only one movie,” declared actor-turned-realisateur Claude Berri. “And that movie is my life.” For the fourth film (of six) about Claude, Berri originally wanted Coluche to play Claude with Miou-Miou as his wife. The couple became Berri and Berto as Coluche preferred stand-up. He later made four Berri films.
- Jane Birkin, Comment reussir… quand on est con et pleurnichard (How To Maker Good When One Is A Jerk And A Crybaby), France, 1974. Prodigious French dialoguist-turned-auteurMichel Audiard (129 scripts in 36 years) loved long titles – and Miou-Miou, Sophie Daumier and Nicole Calfan. However, whenschedules had to be changed, they becameBirkin, Stephane Audran, Evelyne Buyle.
- Agostina Belli, Le grand escogriffe, France-Italy, 1976. Michel Audiard called up Miou again – to partner Yves Montand’s big operator. Until the project became a co-production with Italy and… Ciao Belli!
- Carole Laure, Preparez vos mouchoirs (US: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs), France-Belgium, 1977 .No, nothing to do with her break-up with intended co-star Patrick Dewaere. That hadn’t stopped them making films together. And this had been planned as a reunion of the iconic 1973 trio from Les valseuses. Except she had growntired of flashing her boobs.Or, in this case, being topless for lengthy scenes… with an adolescent lad.
- Dominique Laffin,Dites-lui que je l’aime(US: The Sweet Sickness),France, 1977 .Patrick Dewaere was extremely miffed with Claude Miller for giving the lead to Depardieu (when Dewaere’s namehad been the reason Miller won a budget for hisdebut, La meilleure façon de marcher, 1975).However,Dewaere still suggested his ex as the girl. “Unlike the others, Miou-Miou liked the subject,” recalled realisateur Jacques Doillon. “A number of actresses found the subject too tough, the words too hard to say – vulgar!The French cinema isreally pasteurised! Ladies in French films dare not use any dirtywords. Above all, we must give a veryflattering imageof women.Unfortunately, Joseph Losey offered her a role.”
- Nathalie Baye, Sauve qui peut (la vie), (UK: Slow Motion; US: Every Man For Himself), France-Austria-West Germany-Switzerland, 1979. After making 19 Maoist rantsover elevenyears (admittedly one tract starred Jane Fonda andYves Montand),the bilious Jean-Luc Godard- or his producers -wantedtorelaunch him as a born-again film-maker. Result: a still-birth disaster at the 1980 Cannes festival. Miou-Miou did well to leave it. Apparently she had no wish to share a film with Isabelle Huppert. Three years later, they co-starred in Coupe de foudre (UK: At First Sight; US: Entre Nous).
- Isabelle Huppert, Loulou, France, 1980. At one time it looked like Miou and ex-husband Patrick Dewaere (or then again, Jacques Dutronc) as Nelly and Loulou inanother wannabe-Cassavetes slice of the obnoxious realisateur Maurice Pialat’s life. Finally,it became the first of three fractious Pialat films with Depardieu.
- Nathalie Baye, Le retour de Martin Guerre, France, 1981. “It was written for her,”said Nathalie. “I’ve no idea why she refused it, I’m glad that she did. It was a fine role and a wonderful shoot.” Realising her error, Miou snapped up Coupe de Foudre, 1982, when Nathalie could not schedule it.
- Catherine Alric, Clash, France-Yugoslavia, 1983. Conceived by Paris auteur Raphaël Delpard for the actor – who rejected it as a “fag story.” (He said much the same about Bertrand Blier’s Tenue de soirée, 1985). OK, suggested Paris journo Frederic Albert Levy, why not turn your hero into a heroine et voila! Miou-Miou said no (“are you crazy, you want me to bash my head against the wall ?” After some persuasion and deliberation, the Catherine Deneuve lookalike said: Oui!
- Carole Laure, Heartbreakers,1984. US director Bobby Roth set up Paris auditions “andsawsome very striking women Ididn’t know before.” Nice work if you can swing it!
- Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Au coeur du mensonge, France, 1998. Another legend of la nouvelle vague, director Claude Chabrol, voted Miou but her stage commitments had producer Marin Karmitz calling Valeria… sister of the model-turned-singer-turned-First Lady of France, Carla Bruni Sarkozy.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Sylvette HerryCasting Calls: 12