Trivia / Clouds of Sils Maria

• Enforced Method Acting: Juliette Binoche revealed in an interview she took a role in Godzilla (2014) so she could believably deliver Maria's line about acting in blockbusters.
• Reality Subtext:
  • The scenes where Valentine breaks down Jo-Ann's acting sounds suspiciously like Kristen Stewart defending herself (especially over her acting in mainstream-blockbusters like Twilight).
  • Also, the film's writer/director Olivier Assayas co-wrote André Téchiné's 1985 movie Rendez-vous, in which Juliette Binoche had one of her first starring roles as Nina, a 21-year-old actress who gets into an intense love triangle with two guys. That film, like this one, ends with Binoche playing an actress, waiting for the play she's in to begin.
• What Could Have Been: Although Kristen Stewart wanted to accept the role of Valentine, a misunderstanding with her agent led to Mia Wasikowska being cast. Stewart reached out to rectify what happened, after which she was offered the role of Jo-Ann. While she was trying to make up her mind, Wasikowska dropped out, and Stewart was officially cast as Valentine.
  • Daniel Brühl was originally cast as Klaus, but dropped out because he was busy with promoting Rush (2013).
  • Tom Sturridge was originally cast as Christopher Giles, but he dropped out.

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