rejecting the role, finding the subject matter was "too violent and rough". She was persuaded to star in the film, believing it might win her new fans, even if others were shocked by it. For the title role, Maxime Collin was cast at age 11. For the part of the Word Tamer, who reads Léolo's writings, Lauzon cast his mentor, university professor Pierre Bourgault. Although in reality Bourgault is a strong proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement, Lauzon denied he was cast for political reasons. A bodybuilder, Yves Montmarquette, portrayed Fernand for the scenes after the character builds up his muscles. Lafontaine's son Mikaël had a small part as a swimmer. The film's French producers asked Lauzon to use actor Pierre Richard in the film, which he did not. Filming The film was shot over 58 days beginning in the fall of 1991, originally in Montreal. In one scene, Léolo is seen sitting in front of a house, which was where Jean-Claude Lauzon was born. Reno spent three months filming Léolo over the fall of 1991. A second stage of filming took place briefly in Sicily. Lafontaine found shooting the film difficult because of Lauzon's emotional swings, although Reno found him affectionate. Lauzon asserted those who found him too temperamental to work with did not know him well, and he had a history of good relations with film departments. When Lafontaine traveled to Italy with Lauzon, he gave her a letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make a film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake. In one scene, a boy commits an act of bestiality with a tied-down cat. Lauzon initially intended to use a puppet for the cat in a rehearsal, but the actor objected that it would be ridiculous, insisting on a real cat. Release The film was entered into the Cannes Film Festival and screened on 17 May 1992, where it received a standing ovation. At Cannes, Lauzon supposedly told juror Jamie Lee Curtis he wanted to have sex with her, which Los Angeles Times writer Kenneth Turan believed compromised the film's prospects of winning the Palme d'Or. It was screened at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival in September 1992, distributed by Fine Line Features. The film opened in Quebec in June, and in the U.S. in February 1993. It