Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, FRSL (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British philosopher and author. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published "Essays in Love" (1993), which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include "How Proust Can Change Your Life" (1997), "Status Anxiety" (2004) and "The Architecture of Happiness" (2006).
Alain Delon
Producer Jacques Bar was making a heist film with Jean Gabin with backing from MGM, "Any Number Can Win" (1963). Gabin's co star was meant to be Jean-Louis Trintignant until Delon lobbied Bar for the role. He took the film's distribution rights in certain countries instead of a straight salary. Because this had never been done before in France, this was known as "Delon's method." The gamble paid off well, with Jean Gabin later claiming that Delon earned ten times more money than he did as a result. However, in 1965 Delon claimed "no one else has tried it since and made money." Nonetheless, the experience gave Delon a taste for producing. He also signed a five-picture deal with MGM, of which "Any Number Can Win" was the first. His reputation was further enhanced when he worked with Visconti again for "Il Gattopardo" ("The Leopard") with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. This was the seventh biggest hit of the year in France; "Any Number Can Win" was the sixth. "The Leopard" was also widely screened in the U.S. through 20th Century Fox. Delon was now one of the most popular stars in France. He starred in a swashbuckler, "The Black Tulip" (1964), from a novel by Alexandre Dumas, another hit. "Les Félins" (1964), which reunited him with Rene Clement and co-starred Jane Fonda, was filmed in French and English versions. The latter was distributed by MGM, but it was not a success. In 1964, the Cinémathèque Française held a showcase of Delon's films and Delon started a production company, Delbeau Production, with Georges Beaume. They produced a film called "The Unvanquished" ("L'insoumis") (1964), where Delon played an OAS assassin. It had to be re-edited because of legal issues. Despite being distributed by MGM, audiences were small.