Woody Allen chucks out 'wonderful' Carla

London (ANI): Filmmaker Woody Allen has replaced French First Lady Carla Bruni with Marion Cotillard in his new film. Allen had last year said that Bruni would be the "natural" choice to star in his forthcoming flick, set in France, describing her as "wonderful".

However, earlier this year rumour mills went into overdrive around Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy"s marriage, which seemed to have left the Allen sour, reports the Daily Express. “Carla Bruni is not a woman who earns her living as an actress," he recent said. “She is a first lady. She could be taken away at any moment by other duties. I have to take account of the risks there could be and hiring her is far from certain," he added.

Bruni may still get a cameo role but insiders say she will be eclipsed by Cotillard. “As far as the film is concerned, Marion will definitely be the French First Lady," a movie insider said.