According to Claude Lelouch, she almost walked away from the project because they couldn't agree on certain things at the beginning. Is she difficult to work with?
She was already an established actress, why would she choose to work with Lelouch who was still a struggling director back then?
Apparently she chose to work with Lelouch because of the script and because of her friendship with Trintignant.
shareIn the special features on the DVD the only thing she refused to do, was the boat-scenes which made her nervous. After having slept on it, she agreed to give it a try, and they were good friends after that (according to the DVD).
shareI actually heard that Lelouch had fallen in love with Anouk. She met her future husband Pierre Barouh on the set of the movie and apparently Lelouch didn't like it.
As for Aimée wanting to work with Lelouch, it isn't that surprising. Although his previous movies weren't successes, he was already well-known in the business, since he had his own production company and was famous for many "scopitones" (early musical videos/clips that were played in jukeboxes) starring accomplished actors such as Jeanne Moreau and others.
Apparently she chose to work with Lelouch because of the script and because of her friendship with Trintignant.
" She met her future husband Pierre Barouh on the set of the movie and apparently Lelouch didn't like it."
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Yes, apparently, Lelouch could be that kind of prick sometimes, according to the (much) great(er) John Carpenter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufex41FZENg.