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 Brian Grazer were invited to meet the French president in December last year as they were holding auditions in Paris for the top female role.
"They discussed a certain number of their acquaintances, such as Audrey Tautou, Paul Newman, Michele Laroque, Gregory Peck or Jean Reno, but without linking them to the
casting of the film," a member of Chirac's staff told AFP.
Newsweek magazine, quoting the film's executives, reported that Chirac suggested they cast his daughter Claude's best friend in the part -- which was given to Audrey Tautou, the French star of the whimsical box-office hit Amelie.
The French newspaper Le Parisien suggested that Sophie Marceau, a family friend of the Chiracs, may have been the actress in question -- described only as "an actress of some acclaim in France" by Newsweek.
Chirac's staff also denied he had discussed the pay of "this or that artist" -- after Newsweek said he had "wondered aloud, half seriously, if they could sweeten the pay cheque for actor Jean Reno," who plays a detective in the film.
The Da Vinci Code, based on the 2003 bestselling novel by Dan Brown, opens on May 19, 2006 starring Tom Hanks and Tautou. It delves into a series of high-profile murders behind a Vatican plot to conceal the true meaning of the Holy Grail.
