Jane Fonda says the French director wanted to “see what my orgasms were like” for a role
LOS ANGELES, May 18 (IANS) Actress Jane Fonda said on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live that French director Rene Clement asked to sleep with her during the production of their 1964 thriller “Joy House.”
Fonda starred in the film opposite Alain Delon and Lola Albright, Variety reports.
Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen asked Fonda to name “one guy in Hollywood who tried to take you down once you said no.” The Oscar-winning actor replied: “French director, Rene Clément.”
Fonda explained, “Well, he wanted to go to bed with me because he said the character had to have an orgasm in the movie and he needed to see what my orgasms were like. He said it in French and I pretended I didn’t understand.”
Fonda added, “I’ve got stories for you, boy,[but]we don’t have time.”
Clement was 51 at the time of production, while Fonda was 27.
Clément was one of the most prolific directors in France in the 1950s and 1960s, winning five Cannes Film Festival awards during his career. He died in 1996 at the age of 82. The MGM-backed Joy House featured a woman who falls in love with a shark on the run from American gangsters.
Fonda’s revelations come amid ongoing criticism against the French film industry for perpetuating its abuse. Portrait of a Lady on Fire actress Adele Heinel published an open letter this month announcing she was leaving the business.
She criticized the Cannes Film Festival for being “willing to do anything to defend their usurping bosses,” citing directors such as Roman Polanski and Gerard Depardieu.
Cannes festival president Thierry Frémaux dismissed Haenel’s claim, telling the press at the 2023 festival: “She didn’t think so when she came to Cannes unless she experienced a crazy dissonance.”
He added, “But if you think they’re festivals for rapists, you wouldn’t be here listening to me, you wouldn’t be complaining about not getting tickets to shows.”
Fonda is currently on a promotional tour for “Book Club: The Next Chapter.”
– Jans
DC/cv
