A French newspaper has�suggested that�Sophie Marceau was the family friend that French President, Jacques Chirac, allegedly tried to get cast in The Da Vinci Code film.Photo: AP
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The film's American director Ron Howard and producer BrianGrazer were invited to meet the French president in December lastyear as they were holding auditions in Paris for the top femalerole.
"They discussed a certain number of their acquaintances, such asAudrey Tautou, Paul Newman, Michele Laroque, Gregory Peck or JeanReno, but without linking them to the
casting of the film," amember of Chirac's staff told AFP.
Newsweek magazine, quoting the film's executives,reported that Chirac suggested they cast his daughter Claude's bestfriend in the part -- which was given to Audrey Tautou, the Frenchstar of the whimsical box-office hit Amelie.
The French newspaper Le Parisien suggested that SophieMarceau, a family friend of the Chiracs, may have been the actressin question -- described only as "an actress of some acclaim inFrance" by Newsweek.
Chirac's staff also denied he had discussed the pay of "this orthat artist" -- after Newsweek said he had "wondered aloud,half seriously, if they could sweeten the pay cheque for actor JeanReno," who plays a detective in the film.
The Da Vinci Code, based on the 2003 bestselling novel byDan Brown, opens on May 19, 2006 starring Tom Hanks and Tautou. Itdelves into a series of high-profile murders behind a Vatican plotto conceal the true meaning of the Holy Grail.
