Paris in Photos appears in Cheri the Movie
I finally got around to watching the film, Cheri on the Champs-Élysées last week. It was nice to see that the photograph I provided was used on the very opening scene, and I was actually quite surprised to find this website mentioned in the list of credits at the end. It’s down towards the end of the list, and mentions my company name followed by ‘Paris in Photos’ – I pinched Mme. Grenouille and pointed enthusiastically when I spotted it, and spent the next five minutes basking in my lowly ‘fame’.
I hadn’t realised they’d been filming on the road literally just behind where I live, otherwise I would have poked my head around the corner to watch. It is known as the Hôtel Mezzara (60, rue La Fontaine) designed by Hector Guimard one of the most prominent architects from the French Art Nouveau movement. In the film, they show a cobbled street where Cheri approaches the house, but that was filmed at a slightly different location as the actual street runs parallel to the building.
I believe some of the scenes from the background conservatory of the country estate might have been filmed at Serres d’Auteuil botanical garden which is about half an hour’s walk from Lea’s (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) lustrous home.
The attention to detail to the Belle Epoque era in Paris is wonderfully done (I suppose technically the Belle Epoque had finished by 1915; the film being set in the 1920’s), and Michelle Pfeiffer plays her part well. All in all the film itself was a little flat and really not my personal cup of tea, but I could see the appeal it may have to a certain audience.
Reader Comments
Oh, wow, I’m impressed ! I didn’t see Chéri, so you have to explain why there is a PHOTO of you in a MOVIE ???
Your photos of th Hotel Mezzara are far more beautiful than mine. I will have to return there some day, when the rain goes on strike (unlike my first time in the 16th arrondissement).
Hi Anna. Hehe, no, sorry my ‘portrait’ is not in the movie (though that would have been something!), it was an old photograph from the Belle Epoque I was able to provide the production team with, that got used on the opening intro. I guess it makes my lowly moment of fame even more lowly now. 🙁
congratulations nonetheless, the photos are wonderful
OK I thought something like that. 😉 Unless I didn’t think you couldn’t possibly appear in a movie, I had understood that is was a photography of yours, and not a photo of you. Sorry for the error.
And don’t be sad, that mini-fame can not count as your BIG moment of fame, so don’t lose faith : it’s still to come !
wow! congrats! your shots are wonderful.
your site made me miss Paris. it is a very beautiful city and I really fell in love with it. i wish i can go back someday! 🙂
Congratulations! I just saw Chéri on Sunday and it was visually lovely. The sets and costumes were simply breathtaking. You have every right to feel proud of having your work/name associated with the film. Well done!
Merci kg and Texas Dawn. 😉
“the film being set in the 1920’s”
All the action in the film precedes the outbreak of World War I. We are told by the narrator that Chéri kills himself sometime after the end of the war, and that’s how the novel ends as well.
I thought the introduction was very effective. It quickly evoked the Belle Epoque for those unfamiliar with the period. Congratulations on having your photo used.
Thanks for pointing out my mistake; I think my brain must have shut down. 🙂 They certainly did a grand job on recreating the Belle Epoque atmosphere.