Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's "compassion" for François Hollande

France's former first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was on US telly earlier this week.

No, it wasn't courtesy of her fleeting role in Woody Allen's 2011 movie "Midnight in Paris" - although that might well have been showing on one of the country's channels.

Rather the 45-year-old was a guest on NBC's "Today" show.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (screenshot from interview on NBC's "Today" show)

She was there to promote her latest album "Little French songs" in a brief but nonetheless predictable interview with the two hosts of the fourth hour segment of the show, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.


To say that Gifford and Kotb gushed their way through the cosy "chat" would be something of an exaggeration, but there again that part of the programme is inevitably lighter fodder for the viewers.

Nice and fluffy morning coffee time stuff.

And while Bruni-Sarkozy happily played along without giving away any state secrets - or at least not saying anything she hasn't already said - right at the end of the interview, she made what was perhaps, a perhaps surprising admission.

Reacting to Gifford's statement posed almost as a question that the current French president "François Hou..Houllande wasn't very popular at the moment" and that perhaps her husband (Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, just in case you've been on planet Zog for a while) "might have to make a return to politics", Bruni-Sarkozy kept her cool without falling into the trap and at the same time almost seemed come to Hollande's defence...well sort of.

"Nothing is easy in politics right now because economies are so difficult all over the world. So it's a hard duty job," she said.

"I always feel very compassionate to everyone who does it because it's a hard job," added Bruni-Sarkozy.

Ah well.

At least someone out there recognises what a sterling job Hollande is doing under the most arduous of circumstances.

Er...that is what she was saying, wasn't it?

Anyway. Here's the interview in all its full four-minute glory.

Enjoy.

Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" - the trailer

US film director Woody Allen's latest movie "Midnight in Paris" will open the Cannes film festival on May 11.

And from the trailer it looks as though it'll be a classic Allen.

It's apparently a romantic comedy which follows a young American couple, engaged to be married, on holiday in Paris with their families.

A Paris which, as the trailer says, "in the morning is beautiful, in the afternoon charming, in the evening enchanting but after midnight is magic."

Without giving too much away the plot reportedly sees the young man (played by Owen Wilson) walk the streets of Paris by night alone, during which he falls under the spell of the city and the couple is "forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better".

Ah! Very Allen with blissfully sumptuous shots of the city of lights in all its glory; clichéd perhaps but inevitable - a delight for any fan of the director's previous 40 films.

Yes it might be very much in the mould of the 75-year-old's other romantic comedies and slightly hackneyed in the way it presents the French capital, but what the heck.

It's Allen and fans probably won't be disappointed and there's that cast of course.

It combines Hollywood A-listers with a splash of European: a mix of Allen favourites, Oscar winners and a couple of bright young(ish) things

Apart from Owen - and in alphabetic order - there's (among others) Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen...and oh yes...a certain Carla Bruni (the "Sarkozy" part of her surname seems to have been dropped for some reason).

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (screenshot from trailer)

Woo hoo. It has finally happened.

After modelling, singing (ongoing), and first-ladying, Bruni-Sarkozy now hits the big screen, just as Allen promised she would back in June 2009

Well if the truth be told it'll actually be Bruni-Sarkozy's second film appearance .

Her debut came back in Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire "Pret-a-Porter". But perhaps that doesn't count as she played herself and that, only briefly.

This time though she speaks. And that, in spite of rumours (hotly denied by Allen) that it required rather a lot of takes (30 or more) for the Finely Chiselled One to get her lines right.

Bruni-Sarkozy has also survived the cutting room floor and although her performance might be overshadowed by the real stars, who cares?

There she is, larger than life and many times more beautiful, adding yet another string to her multi-talented bow of talents.

All right, so it might be a little exaggerated to judge her performance from the virtual nano-second trailer appearance (blink and you might miss it) but the French and others will get the chance to see for themselves on May 11.

That's when it'll be shown as the opening film at this year's annual bash in Cannes whose director, Thierry Frémaux, has described Allen's latest work as, "A wonderful love letter to Paris."

One thing's for sure, if the whole cast pitches up for the showing, the red carpet promises to come in for some serious tread.

The French won't have to wait too long to flood to the cinema to see their first lady as the film will open in cinemas across the country on the same day.

For those though that cannot wait, here's the trailer.

Enjoy.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to appear new Woody Allen film

It's official - well just as much as it can be until "properly" confirmed. France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will be appearing in a new Woody Allen film.

Shooting is reportedly due to begin in Paris this summer.

Rumours of Allen wanting to cast Bruni-Sarkozy in his as-yet untitled film, began last June when the 74-year-old director was in the French capital to promote his movie "Whatever works".

During an appearance on the mid-evening television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal +, Allen was full of praise for France's first lady, and underlined how much he would love to work with her.

"She's an accomplished artist, very beautiful and I'm sure she has a gift for acting," he said.

"I would really like to offer her a role in my next film and what's more I promise that her participation wouldn't create any embarrassment for the president or the image of France."

A pearl of a statement for the French glossy magazines of course, who spent the next couple of months eagerly speculating whether the offer was a serious one and, if so, whether it would be accepted.

They (and the rest of us) didn't have to wait too long for the answer, as when Bruni-Sarkozy appeared on the very same TV programme in November, she was pretty clear when asked the inevitable question.

"I am not at all an actress and maybe I'll be hopeless," she said. "But I cannot miss an opportunity like this," she added.

"When I'm a grandmother I'll be able to say I've been in a Woody Allen film."

So there you have it. After modelling, singing (ongoing) and first-ladying, Bruni-Sarkozy is venturing into pastures new.

Well not so new if the truth be told. She has of course already made an appearance on the Big Screen, albeit limited to playing herself briefly in Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire "Pret-a-Porter".

But lest you think Allen's faith in Bruni-Sarkozy's potential is misplaced, don't forget she has a family acting pedigree.

Her mother, Marisa Borini, has appeared in several films and of course her older sister, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, is an accomplished film, television and theatre actress and director.

Plus if the deal is as "done" as it appears - and all will be revealed at the end of this week apparently - the success of the film won't rest entirely on Bruni-Sarkozy's shoulders.

The movie is also reported to star Marion Cottilard, winner of the 2007 Academy Award for best actress, as well as Hollywood actors Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's "yes" to Woody Allen film role

France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has confirmed that she'll be performing in US film maker Woody Allen's next film.

The former supermodel and singer admits she doesn't know what role she'll be playing, but has nonetheless agreed to an offer made by the Oscar-winning director and promised him not to do a film with anyone else beforehand.

Appearing on the mid-evening French television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal + on Monday evening, Bruni-Sarkozy said that the possibility of working alongside Allen was too good to pass up.

"I am not at all actress and maybe I'll be hopeless," she said. "but I cannot miss an opportunity like this," she added.

When I'm a grandmother I'll be able to say I've been in a Woody Allen film."

Speculation of a possible role for France's first lady in Allen's next movie had been rife since the summer, when the 73-year-old director was in Paris to promote his most recent film, "Whatever works".

During an appearance on the very same Canal + programme back in June, Allen had expressed his desire to work with Bruni-Sarkozy, saying she was "an accomplished artist, very beautiful," and that he was "sure she had a gift for acting."

Bruni-Sarkozy has made a big screen appearance before - a brief one as "herself" in the late Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire "Prêt-à-Porter" ("Ready to wear").

And of course her "character" recently made it to the small screen in an episode of the US animated television sitcom, "The Simpsons", as a rather unflattering "wine-swigging, chain-smoking man- eater."

In spite of Bruni's-Sarkozy's limited experience, perhaps Allen's faith in her potential could be based on what he describes as her "charisma" and also on the fact that she has a family acting pedigree.

Her mother, Marisa Borini, has appeared in several films and of course her older sister, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, is an accomplished film, television and theatre actress and director.

Filming for Allen's next movie is scheduled to begin in Paris next year.

Carla Bruni to hit the big screen?

Isn't it just the news you've been waiting for? France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is rumoured to be set to appear at a cinema near you sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Well that's if the Spanish national daily newspaper El Mundo is to believed.

It claims that the wife of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has accepted an offer from the US director Woody Allen to appear in his next movie which begins filming in 2010.

But according to the French daily, Le Parisien, it's far from being a "done deal" with unnamed "members of her entourage denying that she has been signed up by the US director."

Speculation of a possible role for Bruni-Sarkozy in Allen's next movie has of course been rife since June, when the 73-year-old director was in Paris to promote his most recent film, "Whatever works".

During and appearance on the mid-evening television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal +, Allen was full of praise for France's first lady.

"I would love to work with Carla Bruni, he said.

"She's an accomplished artist, very beautiful and I'm sure she has a gift for acting," he added.

"I would really like to offer her a role in my next film and what's more I promise that her participation wouldn't create any embarrassment for the president or the image of France."

Should Bruni-Sarkozy - and it's probably still a might big "should" in spite of the story in El Mundo - really have accepted Allen's offer, it wouldn't be the first time she'll have appeared in a film.

She has been seen on the big screen before, albeit briefly and playing herself in the 1994 fashion satire "Prêt-à-Porter" ("Ready to wear") directed by the late Robert Altman.

And acting is certainly in her blood. Her mother, Marisa Borini, as well as having been a concert pianist has also appeared in several films.

And of course Bruni-Sarkozy's older sister, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, is an accomplished film, television and theatre actress and director.

So after modelling and singing (who can forget the hullaballoo that accompanied the release of her third album just months after her marriage to the French president? If you're curious about that and want even more coverage of her musical exploits it's all here) could Bruni-Sarkozy now be ready for the big screen?

Perhaps more importantly, are the French ready to see their first lady slip into a new role as a performer or would it be, as the entertainment and celebrity news site Purepeople.com puts it, simply be "too much"?