Palme d'Or-winning film 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' director Abdellatif Kechiche and its two stars -- Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos -- have publicly sparred with the actresses accusing the helmer of being harsh on them during the shooting of a lengthy sex scene.
Lea, 28, and Adele, 19, have accused Kechiche for treating them badly during the shooting of lesbian drama in a recent interview with the Daily Beast, leading Kechiche to slam their remarks as "indecent" during Los Angeles press conference for the film on Thursday.
In their interview, Lea and Adele had said the director was particularly brutal during the shooting of the 10 minute long intimate scene.
"He warned us that we had to trust him - blind trust - and give a lot of ourselves. He was making a movie about passion, so he wanted to have sex scenes, but without choreography-more like special sex scenes," Adele said, adding that she agreed to it without realising how difficult it would be.
"But once we were on the shoot, I realized that he really wanted us to give him everything. Most people don't even dare to ask the things that he did, and they're more respectful-you get reassured during sex scenes, and they're choreographed, which desexualizes the act," she said.
According to Gala Magazine, the 52-year-old director slammed the actresses during the press conference.
"How indecent to talk about pain when doing one of the best jobs in the world! The orderlies suffer, the unemployed suffer, construction workers could talk about suffering. How, when you are adored, when you go up on red carpet, when we receive awards, how we can speak of suffering?," he said.
The director said the alleged gruelling shoot was to accommodate Lea as she needed extra time to prepare for the role, forcing Lea to backtrack tearfully.
"I have given a year of my life to this film. I had no life during this shoot. I gave everything. I have not criticized the director... I'm just complaining about the technique. It was my dream to work with him because, in France, he is one of the best directors," a tearful Lea said.
It is headed to Toronto international film festival after getting glowing reviews from Cannes and Telluride.
