The Spirit of Laetitia Casta

To be hot in Italy is to inevitably invite comparison to Sophia Loren; to be hot in France is to be hailed as the new Brigitte Bardot. Semi-retired supermodel Laetitia Casta, whose face and boobs have already stood in for Bardot’s in the form of France’s “Marianne” busts, will now be channeling the rest of her on the big screen.

Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot in the French edition of Elle from April, 2009

The film is Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque, and is slated to come out next year. It’s based on the graphic novel of the same name by Joann Sfar, who also wrote and directed the movie — his first attempt. How big a role Laetitia has in it is unclear at this point, but to have the still-reigning Hottest Woman in France at all (even though Laetitia moved to London years ago, purportedly to escape France’s high taxes) has got to bode well for any movie.

Unless, of course, one remembers another recent movie by an acclaimed graphic novelist and first-time director: Frank Miller’s The Spirit, featuring the vampy cleavage of our own Sexiest Woman Alive, Scarlett Johansson. Neither Scarlett, nor Eva Mendes, nor all the king’s men could defuse the bomb that Frank Miller made. Why? Because sometimes there’s simply no substitute for experience, and a brilliant graphic novelist is no substitute for a brilliant director.

Meanwhile, actress Lucy Gordon (who plays Jane Birkin in Serge) hung herself during post-production of the film for reasons not yet clear. My guess is that she caught a glimpse of The Spirit and feared the worst.

Much has been made of Laetitia’s resemblance to Brigitte ever since she started modeling; personally, I find this to be true only if one stares at her in the strained way one stares at a 3D art poster in order to see the hidden spaceship or unicorn or whatever. Which — not to put too fine a point on it — is not the way I prefer to strain myself when I’m staring at her.

However one stares at her, though, at least we have the promotional photos to tide us over until Serge’s release.

Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot in Spanish Vogue