300 Words* From a Beautiful Woman On...
...French Porn, American Cigarettes and Killing Nazis

You may not have a vision of French ingenue Mélanie Laurent burned in your brain just yet, but Quentin Tarantino's Nazi deathpic Inglourious Basterds should help. As should the French porno she just directed, A Ses Pieds. We sat down with her on the still-unopened-but-totally-stunning roof deck of the Standard Hotel and let her French charm wash over us...

UD: You play a smoldering Tarantino heroine whose family was murdered by the Nazis and thinks constantly about revenge. Discuss.
ML: Ya, she's calm, strong, she's a little bit dead inside and she wants revenge.

UD: So obviously, you identified with her…
ML: Umm, I'm very close with her...I'm a little bit like that, sort of, French, rebel actress, like I say everything I want to say. I just want to enjoy that moment, I don't want to think about future. Can I smoke? Sorry, French smoke all the time...

UD: Sure. Have you gotten in trouble for smoking here?
ML: I was dying for a cigarette and it was really forbidden and everyone was like "Gasp! Whattt!!!" And I was like "I'm French, what am I gonna do?" You can't smoke here, but you invented the cigarette!

UD: You can get away with it in some of the clubs here.
ML: I went to a club and loved Amy, but I don't remember the name of the club.

UD: Amy Sacco from Bungalow 8?
ML: Ya, small place, with trees. The club is great. It was lovely. But I heard about how you have criticizes for the clubs. Like magazines who say "Don't go there." That is so American to destroy places.

UD: UrbanDaddy would never do that.
ML: So if I want to go out in NY I have to read your magazine…

UD: Enough about us—tell us about your new porno.
ML: It's a female vision, so it was really soft core and chic and I just dress all my actresses in Chanel…they were the most beautiful girls.

UD: If you had to cast any American actresses, who would you cast?
ML: Natalie Portman. And I love Charlize Theron.

UD: How about actors?
ML: I love Edward Norton. And Clint Eastwood [laughs]. Ya, I can imagine a porn movie with that guy.

UD: Lightning round: Favorite movie?
ML: Boogie Nights—it's about porn [laughs].

UD: Favorite drink?
ML: Vodka grapefruit, cosmopolitan when I'm here—it's so Carrie Bradshaw, ha-ha.

UD: New York or Paris?
ML: Paris. Sorry.

UD: It's okay. French porn or American porn?
ML: French.

UD: Carla Bruni or Michelle Obama?
ML: Michelle Obama.

UD: Guilty pleasure?
ML: Meat. Burgers when I'm here in New York.

UD: And lastly, but most important, French guys versus American guys?
ML: Ah, well...I wish they can be more gentlemen sometimes, the French...

UD: Well in that case, let us get this door for you...