Tell us about the film's source...
It was a play by Robert Thomas. He is a French author, nobody knows him today, but he was well known in the 60s. He was particularly known because Hitchcock bought two of his plays which he adapted for the cinema. I discovered this particular play thanks to my agent. He knew I wanted to make a film with a number of female roles, and told me about "8 femmes". I thought it would be rather amusing to make it into a film about women and femininity.
Why did you decide to turn the play into a musical comedy?
It's just something I wanted to do because I thought having the actresses sing would be moving. Even if they're not professional singers, they are emotional human beings, and they put a lot into those songs. Using them, each character had the possibility of revealing one aspect of her personality, which meant we could avoid making long psychological explanations of what was going on. It was also done to promote the idea of intimacy with the various characters.
Was it clear to you from the start which actress would play what role?
I always wanted to work with very well-known actresses because I thought that would give more strength and power to the film. I also thought they'd give it meaning at various levels. It's true that the film was built up around Catherine Deneuve a little bit, but there had to be links between the actresses. They had to resemble one another in some way because they're part of the same family.
What do you think Robert Thomas would think of what you've done to his play, which now includes incest and homosexuality?
We understand he actually hated lesbians, so we don't know if he would be happy with this film. He's dead anyway.
