French maverick director François Ozon (Water Drops On Burning Rocks, Under the Sand) returns with a colorful and glamorous fantaisie in which major French female movie stars such as Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert happily perform some killing and singing. François Ozon reveals the nightmarish little secrets of the shooting for Filmfestivals.com...

Where did you get the idea for 8 Women?

Originally, I wanted to make a film with several actresses. At first, I thought about remaking Cukor's Women, but I quickly gave up the idea after I found that Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan owned the rights to that film. After that, I heard from Dominique Besnehard about a French Boulevard play called Eight Women, which was very popular back in the sixties and then completely forgotten. Though it is a minor play, I quite liked the whodunit plot so I decided to make the film. And the casting idea was to have all those female stars playing a "boulevard play", an Agatha Christie-like thing. And they all accepted the idea quickly, maybe thanks to Charlotte Rampling because Under The Sand had just been realeased in the theatres. So we got our ideal casting, and then the nightmare could begin... I mean, the shooting! (Laughs)

How did you actually manage to rally all those actresses?

By chance. They were all available at that time, except Fanny Ardant who was shooting another film. But since we shot this film in continuity, it wasn't a problem, because Fanny Ardant's character came in at a later point in the story. But that was also a real coincidence. To have so many actresses in a film is a very unusual thing. But the idea here was to have "brochette shots"! (Laughs)

Why did you say this shooting was a nightmare?

Oh, it went off quite well actually. Let's only say that with eight different personalities on the set, it's sometimes difficult to make things go smoothly. For Under The Sand, I had a very privileged relationship with Charlotte Rampling, but here the situation was quite different. But they all went along quite well. They quickly understood that they had better get along for the sake of the movie. So there was a real collective effort during the shooting. But you can't make such a film without some tension here and there: when you're shooting a shot with Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert as extras in the background, you need to be a little bit more diplomatic than usual! (Laughs)

Each actress performs a song in the movie. How did you work on those singing sequences?

I chose each song personally. I liked the idea of taking famous songs and famous actresses, and creating a net of connections and nods through the performances. You have Catherine Deneuve singing a Sylvie Vartan song, Isabelle Huppert singing a Françoise Hardy song... We filmed all the actresses miming their songs to prerecorded tapes, then recorded their voices in a studio. It allowed us to improve things a little bit, because they did not all sing in tune! (Laughs) What was important for me was that there should be a continuity in tone between the singing and the talking voices. I think Catherine Deneuve had some regrets about not singing herself in Jacques Demy's films - all the more so as she sings beautifully!

The film's introduction credits are illustrated with flowers. Did you choose specific varieties of flowers for each actress?

Certain flowers correspond to the personalities of the characters, especially the colors : roses evoke Fanny Ardant's dress, orchids evoke Catherine Deneuve's fur coat. Those title credits are also a reference to Cukor's film, though Cukor had done a little bit of satire by putting animals for his film's credits: there was a cow, a doe... (Laughs) Actually, in the beginning, we ourselves thought about putting a whole henhouse, with a hen for each character! But then we thought it would be better to start the film softly and then slowly pave the way for some crueller stuff...

Isabelle Huppert has a very funny part in the film. She did accept it easily?

When I told her that she would play a spinster, she was indeed not very happy. She said: "OK, but will I be beautiful?" From that answer, I got the idea to also give her a glamorous scene. I wrote the scene for her and I think it works quite well in the film.

In 8 Women, Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant, two actresses seen in François Truffaut's films, can be heard saying lines of dialogue from Mississipi Mermaid and The Last Metro. How did they react to that proposal?

I felt that they were quite reserved about it, though they didn't say a word about Truffaut. They were quite moved by those lines. But we didn't insist on it. They felt that it was quite fitting to say those lines, because 8 Women is also a film about actresses.

There is a beautiful scene between Deneuve and Beart in which we get to see a photo of Romy Schneider. Why did you choose this photo?

Because she was my favorite actress when I was kid, and since the film is also a homage to actresses, I thought I might as well put in that photo. Furthermore, I think there is a kind of connection between Romy and Emmanuelle, because Emmanuelle has in a way taken over from Romy in films by Claude Sautet [Nelly and Mr. Arnaud, A Heart in Winter]. Also, in the seventies, people used to set Catherine Deneuve against Romy Schneider. Deneuve was considered to be a "cold" actress, while Schneider was seen as a more sensual actress. But I shot this scene without the photo. At the time of the shooting, Catherine Deneuve didn't know that I would put a photo of Romy Schneider there. Anyway, the idea for that photo came later.

Did you think about Cluedo for the colors of the film?

Ah, yes, Miss Pink, Colonel Mustard... No, I didn't think about that, but since I played Cluedo when I was a kid, there must have been some reminiscience... (Laughs)

You're shooting a lot right now. Don't you fear you might work yourself out?

Well, this time, I have to admit that I did work myself out on the set! (Laughs) But actually, I only shoot a film a year. I don't work that much. Maybe it is other directors who are actually a bit lazy! (Laughs)

Yannis Polinacci & Robin Gatto