**You’ve had such an eclectic career. Is there any particular genre that you haven’t tackled already but would like to?** _LickyKicky_  
I don’t care about genre. What interests me is first the story. When I have the story, I try to find the best genre with which to communicate it. So the genre arrives second, and very often I mix them.  was not a musical to begin with. That was based on a play. A _bad_ play. Old-fashioned. But I loved the plot: eight women and one of them is a murderer. It was my idea to make it a musical because it was a way to be democratic. To give each character the chance to express herself with a song, with a dance. With all those actresses together, there might be one scene where, say,  is merely an extra in the background. And you say: “Isabelle, don’t move! Now Catherine, say your lines.” Isabelle loved it but  didn’t get what I was trying to do. When she saw the film, she understood. But during the shoot, it was too theatrical for her.

8 Women was very successful, and Catherine and I met again afterwards – we are human beings, we are able to talk, sometimes we have problems but we explain ourselves. Maybe our next film, , was easier for her because she was the main woman rather than one of eight. Also, she knew what kind of movie I wanted to make this time.




**I treasure Potiche. Any plans for a sequel? I’d love to see the continuing exploits of the Pujol umbrella factory.** _JackFenwick_  
That would be funny because the film happened during the 1970s. The sequel could be in the 1980s. That’s an idea. But I’m not sure it’s possible to shoot again a film with  with all the problems he has today. He’s a great actor but now it’s difficult to finance a film with him. I haven’t made a sequel to my films but I know there is an Italian remake of 8 Women on Netflix. But now it’s 7 Women \ because they cut out the Black character. It’s all white Italian women. And it’s not a musical, it’s just a whodunnit. So \ I will let you see it for yourself.




**** **Can a film change someone’s life?** **”** **Maybe it can change someone’s day.”** **Would you like to make films that change lives or is it enough for you to change a single day?** _Dmitry S_  
For me it’s about helping. I made a film which was very helpful for many people –  \. It was not my goal; it was not what I set out to do. But it was a huge success in France. I had so many testimonies from people after they saw the film and it was so touching to hear people coming out about what they lived through as children. That’s when I realised the film had helped many people. Some were not able to speak out, but after watching it, they went to the police or told their family what happened to them.




My original idea for this film was to make a documentary, because I loved the real people who told me their stories. I had conversations with the whole families: the children, the wives. But when I said, “I want to make a documentary about your story,” they said: “Please, no.” I realised they were only able to give me all this information because I was a fiction director. And they were waiting for me to make a kind of .

**After the brilliant  and now** **When Autumn Falls,** **I would like to ask: are you the reincarnation of ? Because it looks very much like you are carrying on his themes of good people doing bad things or bad people doing good things**. _jeroenspeculaas_  
Chabrol inspired me because he went in many directions and had a way of making movies which is very close to mine. There is a lot of pleasure in his films. He enjoyed telling stories. Like , it was not about making a masterpiece each time. I love , too, but I feel closer to Chabrol and Fassbender, who made many movies.

I met Chabrol when he was filming The Girl Cut in Two. He was very sweet. He knew my films and complimented me on Under the Sand. I was touched. Actually, I met two directors of the Nouvelle Vague: Chabrol and , who was my teacher. I’m closer to them than to Truffaut or Godard. Oh, Godard – I met him too! He came to my film school, . And he was very mean in terms of money. Obsessed with money. Not generous like Chabrol or Rohmer, who wanted to communicate their passion. Cinema has to deal with money; it’s part of the job. But I was so surprised hearing Godard speaking only about money. I was waiting for something more intellectual.

**You’ve worked with so many iconic French stars. Are there any icons left that you still want to work with?** _Kal 85_  
What will happen will happen. I know some directors make first the casting and after they try to find the story, but it’s not my way of working. I need first to have the story, to develop the script, and then I look for actors. But there are some counter-examples, such as Potiche, where I already knew Catherine. Before I started that script, I asked her if it was possible for her to be a “potiche” – a trophy wife. She said: “Why not?” Without her acceptance, I wouldn’t have made the film. But usually I work first on the script. When I wrote , I had in mind a woman of 50 years old who was beautiful and who would agree to be in a swimsuit on the beach. And all the French actresses said no! I proposed the film first to . When I worked with her much later on Peter von Kant, I said: “Do you remember?” And she said: “I never even read the script.”




But I had met  at a party and I thought she was beautiful. Everybody said: “Don’t work with her. She’s finished.” When Under the Sand was successful, that felt like a great revenge. And for Charlotte, it was a new start for her career. When I met with her and her agent to offer the role, I said: “I want to see Charlotte Rampling doing the vacuuming.” A very bad idea to say that at the first meeting. Her agent kicked me under the table! So that was a bad start. But she trusted me and we had a beautiful relationship. When she realised she would not be one of the eight women in 8 Women, she said: “That’s not a problem. Because I was the one woman in Under the Sand.”
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