What Do The Critics Say?

"Cecile de France, her gamin features accentuated by short blonde hair and a dazzlingly innocent smile, is perfect as the naïve outsider who stumbles into the very heart of French culture: music, art and acting! The screenplay is adroit at making it all credible, and the direction is deceptively simple as Thomson cuts between three interrelated but separate stories." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE "Enjoyable, fluffy comedy drama with superb dialogue and a charming lead performance from rising star Cecile de France." Matthew Turner VIEWLONDON "Cecile De France carries "Orchestra Seats". Her sunny openness and continual sense of wonder is utterly convincing, she nails innocent naivety and avoids any hint of hapless kookiness. A less charismatic lead may have sent this film in a more sentimental direction. 3 1/2 STARS" Georgia Sholl YOURMOVIES "Beautifully directed by Daniele Thompson, Orchestra Seats is one of those films, like "Amelie", that makes you want to hop on the Eurostar. Like its lead character, it’s a delight." FUTURE MOVIES "Some films are typically English. Whether it be the period dramas of Merchant Ivory, the gritty urban dramas of Ken Loach or the light comedy of Richard Curtis - they have the sense that they could only be written and directed in this fair isle. "Orchestra Seats", a slight ensemble drama from director Daniele Thompson has a sense that it could only have come from France." PHASE9 ENTERTAINMENT

"A mother/son collaboration is responsible for Orchestra Seats. Co-written by Daniele Thompson and her son Christopher, directed by Daniele and featuring Christopher in a key role, the film connects three events happening on the same night in the sophisticated area of Paris, the Avenue Montaigne. Orchestra Seats has some charming moments, wry moments, that are intended as a contemplation of art and love and life. 3 stars." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "Daniele Thompson weaves magic into this microcosm of diversity, set in cosmopolitan Paris, where the rich and the famous bump into ordinary folks and the Eiffel Tower shimmers like a glistening giant tree in a fairy tale. The characters are appealing, the situations compelling and as it all unravels, delightful." Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "The film serves as a timely reminder of the tastefully sybaritic terrain that our own mainstream moviemakers have largely ignored in the commercially driven thirst for blood and gore." Andrew Sarris NEW YORK OBSERVER "Orchestra Seats is a delightful comedy which will resonate with anyone who has ever had a dream, or, conversely, thought is this it? Altman-like, its ensemble cast of seemingly random characters runs the gamut from the sweet ingenue Jessica, just up from the country to the cynical but ambitious Catherine and the bitter Frederic (Thompson). Jessica is the common thread; her openness, charm and particular brand of fearless optimism inspires confidence in everyone she meets, and Pollyanna-like, she sprinkles a little fairy dust on them all. Though she is wowed by everything, she isn’t awed, and she is very refreshing and a simply lovely character." FUTURE MOVIES "An absolute must for Francophiles and a great choice for anyone who loves a vibrant ensemble dramedy, Avenue Montaigne is a bustling delight, a slice of Parisian artistic life that will have you dialing Air France the morning after you see it." Don Willmott FILMCRITIC.COM

The Inside Story "One evening, on the sidewalk of the Avenue Montaigne, I watched this crowd spilling out of all these places at the same time: from the Comédie des Champs-Élysées theatre, the concert hall, the auction house, the luxury hotels and the shops. There was this amazing traffic within this small area. I went back there several times. The people come and go, and very different worlds collide. There are artists, stagehands, art lovers and dealers: people who would never ordinarily meet. On the same sidewalk, there are deliveries of costumes, sets, musical instruments, objets d’art, and vegetables and fish for the restaurant on the roof of the theatre or the Hotel Plaza Athénée next door," says director Danièle Thompson. Co-writer Christopher Thompson notes the Avenue Montaigne offers endless opportunities for writers. "It’s a spot of Paris dedicated to showbiz, culture and luxury. To the superfluous, some might say. But it’s a dream place, and if you linger there, you see that it’s has a real neighborhood feel. And because it’s also a place people pass through, like tourists, artists, clients etc." With both mother and son writing team having the same vision, was it a challenge to combine their ideas and make a movie that is, with a couple of exceptions, land-locked in one location? "This setting does have the advantage of several extraordinary locations, but we still wondered if it would prove a constraint. And then we decided that it wouldn’t," Christopher notes, "after all, we can do what we want. For us, the bones of the screenplay are the characters and their development. We often think about Frank Capra saying that what interests people is people. And anyway, the setting has already proved its worth. And we do leave the neighborhood once to go to a hospital and also at the start of the movie, with Suzanne Flon. But apart from these little escapades, we stick around the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées." So, have you and Christopher now gelled as a writing team? "After writing three movies together, we’ve realized that we draw from the same sources each time," states Danièle. "It’s an extremely rich relationship and it’s a wonderful opportunity,"says Christopher. "But of course there must be good, tangible reasons to form such a partnership." "I thought it would be interesting right from the start and I told myself that the fact Christopher is my son didn’t mean it wouldn’t work. I think you have an essential quality, you know how to stop when things are going around in circles. Of course you contribute your imagination and creativity but you also know how to say stop when things are becoming too simplistic," says the director. "It’s a very important perspective to have. This job really requires discipline and rigor. You must never lose the thread, despite the coffee breaks when we chat about family tales." Christopher adds, "You never let go. You’re relentless: have we reached the end of the scene? What exactly does she mean? And that makes us constantly examine the reasons why we are making the movie and what we really want to say. For a scriptwriting partnership to work, you have to bring out the best and the most unexpected in each other. And that is incorporated into a common theme in your films, isn't it? "We’re interested in recounting moments of crisis. The common thread running through our movies is that they’re all comedies about people who are suffering," Danièle said. For me there is a hint of what the arguement in Woody Allen's "Melinda & Melinda" characterized. Which is more appealing? A comedy or a tragedy. With the Thompsons it is a combination of both. "Their problems feed the drama. With these same problems, we could have written a tragedy or a real comedy, but I like finding a path between the two, and trying to find the balance on a tightrope between emotion and laughter," says Danièle. "That’s what the title "Fauteuils D'Orchestre" is about. In life, just like in the theater, you often think you’d be better off sitting somewhere else. You think you’d see better if you were closer to the stage, more to the right, or more to the left. You look around, you change seats, and you go further and further forward until you’re right in the front row of the orchestra seats, and often you realize your view is worse than it was from where you started." "And it's a family expression too," adds Christopher. "It's something my grandmother Marcelle Oury used to say. When she confided in someone in a public place, she’d suddenly mutter 'orchestra seats'. It meant that a stranger was listening in on the conversation. And then there’s that idea that Shakespeare among many others used, that life is like a theatre," says Danièle. There are three stars in "Orchestra Seats". The first is the city of love, Paris. The second is Cécile De France who plays the lead role. So who is Jessica? "She’s a little like how I was when I first came to Paris. At twenty, you have this amazing willingness, perhaps because you don’t really understand danger. You’re thirsty to learn. Jessica doesn’t yet have that closed expression, that mask that Parisians put on to protect themselves from the stresses of their lives. Jessica is totally fresh and available, and I was like that too. I delved into my emotional memory to find that almost carefree state of confidence. In the street, homeless or crazy people used to just come and talk to me because they thought I’d listen. I believe it’s the same for Jessica in the movie. Her personality inspires confidence. Through her, everybody ends up revealing themselves, and that is what is wonderful about "Fauteuils D'Orchestre", says De France, "it’s a movie where one ends up understanding people who on the face of it, one might think were worlds apart from us." And despite her young age, Jessica is the real catlyst for the other characters? "Jessica interacts with almost all the characters in the movie. She’s the recurrent theme thought the story and acts as a guide through this world of luxury and celebrity that she discovers along with the audience. And she throws herself into it passionately. She tackles people in the same way that she 'came up’ to Paris'; like an explorer. Her strengths are the freshness and naivety of her twenty years. She doesn’t have any preconceptions yet and she takes on life with a certain innocence," De France revealed. The second star of "Orchestra Seats" is actress Valérie Lemercier. For her, the film would have two rewards. Working with director Danièle Thompson and being rewarded with the César Best Supporting Actress (Meilleure actrice dans un second rôle) Award for her role as Catherine Versen. "With Danièle, it’s always really upbeat. I tend to work with a closed set. I compartmentalize and put my life on one side and my work on another. But Danièle has a corridor between the two and the doors are open. Friends come by, family too. You go to her place, you eat dinner together. That’s what I imagine an artist’s life would be like. My parents were farmers, but she’s got showbiz in her blood. She worked with her father, and now she makes movies with her son. She’s very maternal on set when we’re filming. When Catherine Versen performs in Feydeau’s "Mais n'Te Promène Donc Pas Toute Nue", it’s one of Danièle memories of her mother, Jacqueline Roman, who actually performed it on stage. For an actress, playing an actress is already very interesting, but I also thought it was a lot of fun embodying Danièle’s fantasy of her mother," says Lemercier. And what about when it came to playing the piano? "To play fourteen bars on the piano, two lines of Beethoven’s concerto #5, I worked humbly for a month. And there are a few shots in the movie where it really is me playing, and I’m very proud of that. My character shows how music, and art in general, is for everybody and that artists owe it to themselves to be accessible to everyone." The third star is that of acclaimed actor and director Sydney Pollack (who played George Fields in "Tootsie" & direct Nicole Kidman in"The Interpreter"). "All the action happens in Avenue Montaigne, but who would be staying there in a luxury Paris hotel to cast his next movie? A foreign director of course. We started out with the idea that he would be a famous Spanish director and we offered the role to José Garcia, who in the end wasn’t available. I was trying to come up with another idea when I found myself talking on the phone to Sydney Pollack. In 1986, I was on the jury of the Festival de Cannes and Sydney Pollack was president. We remained friends and I suddenly realized that Sydney would be great. I found him irresistible as an actor in his own movie, "Tootsie". Previously, he’d given acting lessons but had never taken on a part. Dustin Hoffman managed to convince him to play his agent," Danièle recalls. But Pollack wasn't the only director who played a role in the film, was he? "I saw my actors all together, I realized that there were no fewer than four directors: Valérie, Sydney, Albert Dupontel and Daniel Benoin. They all succeeded in making me forget that fact," Danièle said. And here's a little snippet of trivia. Valérie Lemercier, who was cast in the supporting role of Martine in "Sabrina", a movie that Sydney shot partially in Paris with Harrison Ford, finds herself playing opposite him in "Fauteuils D'Orchestre" as an actress looking for a part. Synopsis

Catherine’s a star on TV, hugely popular and adored by everyone, but all she dreams about is serious movies and intellectual recognition. Jean-François is a gifted pianist, adored and overbooked, and on the 17th will be playing Beethoven in one of the finest concert halls in the world, with the most talented musicians and the most sophisticated of audiences. Jacques has spent his life seeking out and discovering artists, raiding his piggy bank to collect rare works of art. On the 17th, Jacques will sell the lot. In one single evening, his life’s work will be split up and scattered around the world. Jessica’s grandmother, a former five-star hotel lavatory attendant, once told her: "I didn’t have the means to live in luxury, so I decided to work in it instead". On the 17th, the café opposite the two theaters and the saleroom needs extra help and Jessica applies for and gets the job. This is where they come: actress, pianist, waitress, concierge, collector, son of one, wife of another, to nurse their neuroses over a coffee or a steak tartare. Confronted by this world she once believed was magical, Jessica loses her illusions but she does find the key to a new life.

The Verdict "For Francophiles, "Orchestra Seats" will provide a wickedly delicious outing. Solid cast, beautiful setting and the music of Nicola Piovani makes this film a near must. Directed by Danièle Thompson and co-written with her son Christopher ("Season's Beatings" & "Jet Lag") the film has many outstanding moments and contributions including those of 2003 César Best Supporting Actress Award winner Cécile De France; 1994 César Best Supporting Actress Award winner Valérie Lemercier; three time César nominee Albert Dupontel and the iconic dual Academy Award 1986 Best Director & Best Picture winner ("Out of Africa" 1985) Sydney Pollack. Thoroughly delightful and quite entertaining, "Fauteuils D'Orchestre" (a.k.a "Orchestra Seats") will captivate audiences. Recommended. 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "ORCHESTRA SEATS" stars .......
2003 César Most Promising Actress Award winner Cécile De France ["Around the World in 80 Days", "The Russian Dolls" and "The Singer"]; Valérie Lemercier ["Sabrin", "Palais royal!" and "Arthur and the Invisibles"]; Albert Dupontel ["Irréversible", "A Very Long Engagement" and "Président"]; Daniel Benoin ["Les Grandes bouches", "Le Tombales" and "Blanche"]; Laura Morante ["The Dancer Upstairs", "Remember Me" and "Private Fears in Public Places"] and Sydney Pollack ["Death Becomes Her", "The Majestic", "Changing Lanes" and "The Interpreter"] as Brian Sobinski.
"ORCHESTRA SEATS" was .......
directed by Danièle Thompson ["Season's Beatings" and "Jet Lag"]; screenplay by 2000 Lumiere Award winner Danièle Thompson ["Paparazzi", "Beautiful Mother", "Jet Lag" and "Le Cou de la girafe"] and Christopher Thompson ["Season's Beatings", "Jet Lag" and "Une vie à t'attendre"]; costume design by Catherine Leterrier ["The Truth About Charlie", "Bon Voyage" and "A Good Year"]; production design by Michèle Abbé-Vannier ["The Man Who Loved Zoos", "Chaos", "Jet Lag" and "18 ans après"]; edited by Sylvie Landra ["The Fifth Element", "The Dancer", "Catwoman" and "Viva Cuba"]; cinematography by Jean-Marc Fabre ["Fast Food Fast Women", "Les Sentiments" and "Nathalie"]; original music by Nicola Piovani ["No Trains No Planes", "Running Free", "Pinocchio" and "The Tiger and the Snow"]; produced by Christine Gozlan ["One Way Ticket", "Chaos", "18 ans après", "Nathalie" and "Vera Drake"]. Who's Who?

Cécile De France Valérie Lemercier Albert Dupontel Laura Morante Claude Brasseur Christopher Thompson Dani Annelise Hesme François Rollin Sydney Pollack Daniel Benoin Françoise Lépine Guillaume Gallienne Christian Hecq Julia Molkhou Suzanne Flon Michel Vuillermoz Laurent Mouton

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Jessica Catherine Versen Jean-François Lefort Valentine Lefort Jacques Grumberg Frédéric 'Fred' Grumberg Claudie Valérie Marcel Brian Sobinski Daniel Bercoff Magali Garrel Pascal Grégoire Bergonhe Margot Madame Roux Félix Serge

Run Time 110 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Rialto Films - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.