Deneuve Too Beautiful For You, and Herself

In my favorite detail surrounding this week's release of Belle Toujours, Manoel de Oliveira's "sequel" to Belle de Jour, returning star Michel Piccoli suggests that co-star Catherine Deneuve declined to reprise her role as the wanton Séverine because she's looking a little too good for her age.

M. Piccoli said that he thought Mme Deneuve was right to refuse to appear in the new film because, at the age of 64, she still looked much as she did in Belle de Jour.

"It was best to leave the Bunuel film intact and use doubles. I am a double myself, because I do look 40 years older," he said.

Instead she will be played by 67-year-old actress Bulle Ogier, who has presumably deteriorated to an appropriate degree. The more likely reason for the refusal, also cited in the Independent article -- that Deneuve saw no point in a sequel -- will be explored in more depth when Belle Toujours is reviewed on The Reeler later this week.

--Michelle Orange

Posted at June 4, 2007 3:39 PM