François Ozon

8 Women is the result of a giving-up. On Ginette Vincendeau's account Francois Ozon had really wanted to remake George Cukor's The Women, and because the rights sat with Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan he turned back to a forgotten French play of the 1960s. He separates himself from Cukor besides: Cukor, he says, regards his women as monsters. Ryan Gilbey's piece records him renaming his own filmography after the fact, since Ozon now says Under the Sand was the first part of a trilogy about death, with Time to Leave carrying it on. Gilbey passes on a working habit too: on every film he still consults Claudine Bouche, Truffaut's editor. Jonathan Romney counts the first feature, Sitcom, a serious disappointment, its openly cited model being John Waters. Four nominations stand in the Cesar documents and no wins, By the Grace of God in the original screenplay and directing categories, Summer of 85 in adaptation and directing.