a slowed down actress

ARNAUD DESPLECHIN: Right, I am going to start a silly game with you. It’s a quiz. But I don’t want to bother you…
CATHERINE DENEUVE: No, go on!
Picasso or Matisse?
I would say Picasso.
Rolling Stones or Beatles?
Rolling Stones.
Town or country?
Town, but I like the country nonetheless.
Renoir or Bresson?
How cruel to be asking me this! I am going to say Bresson… No… Oh, Renoir, when I was younger! Now, I would probably say Bresson, I think.
Studio or location? I was very surprised to read that you like shooting in studios.
I do prefer natural landscapes. But on some films, the natural landscapes are so narrow, the noise is so loud, the presence of the crew is so strong, that it’s very hard to find intimacy.
Flaubert or Stendhal?
Stendhal.
Pollock or Warhol?
Pollock.
Beethoven or Mozart?
Oh dear… You see, I could draw a line down the middle and say: that’s my night, that’s my day… I will say Mozart because I want to stop crying.
Shakespeare or Molière?
Well, Shakespeare, yes.
That question was too easy. Shakespeare or Strindberg?
That’s a hard one! I will still say Shakespeare.
Too easy. Strindberg or Chekhov? Now I’m being a bastard.
Oh, I love both their worlds so much! I can’t choose.
I have a solution: Nicolas Ray or Téchiné?
[laughing, she chants]: Téchiné! Téchiné!

"How Does My Queen?", interview By Arnaud Desplechin
Film Comment, November/December 2008

For the uncut interview click here.