Woody Allen wants to cast Carla Bruni

Woody Allen dreams of casting Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in one of his films because France's First Lady has the charisma for the job, the American director has said.

• In Paris to promote his new film, Mr Allen was asked what strong personality he would most like to see star in one of his movies – would it be the Queen or the Dalai Lama?
• “Without question, Carla Bruni!” he replied.
• “I’m sure she would be wonderful. She has charisma, and she performs, so she’s not a stranger to an audience, and I would cast her in many different ways.
• “I don’t have a story at the moment, but you know, maybe even I’ll ask her, if she’s interested,” he said.
• The 73-year old writer and director is expected to visit the Elysée presidential palace during his stay to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife.
• Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, 41, a supermodel who turned pop singer before marrying Mr Sarkozy last year, has only made a few, brief film appearances in which she always played herself.
• These include Robert Altman’s 1994 fashion satire, Pret-a-Porter, and the 1994 French film, Paparazzi.
• Her sister, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, is a respected actress and director, whose first autobiographical feature depicts her sister – played by Chiara Mastroianni – as a guitar-strumming seductress with whom she is barely on speaking terms.
• Mr Allen is famous for moulding his often funny and mordant films around women, including Diane Keaton, who shot to fame after Annie Hall in 1977. He has since worked with actress ranging from his former wife Mia Farrow to Scarlett Johansson.
• His latest film, Whatever Works, comes out on French screens next month, and he plans to shoot a film in Paris next year. He did not say whether he had thought of asking Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy to star in that.
• The director of Match Point and Vicky, Christina, Barcelona will start shooting his next film in London on 13 July with a brochette of stars, including Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Freido Pinto – the heroine from Slumdog Millionaire – and the young British actress Lucy Punch.
• “You don’t know her yet but I hope that won’t be the case after this film,” he said.