Johnny-on-the-spot...

Or rather... IN the spot(light)! For yes ladies and gentleman, this is Johnny Hallyday, a French signer who is extremely popular in France. Sometimes he also appears in movies and that is exactly the reason why I got to photograph him last evening... I went to see Salaud, on t'aime, a movie by Claude Lelouch in which a friend of mine had a small part. It was fun to see all this fuss around a movie and its actors from up close. The photo is a bit fuzzy of course, but I like it, precisely because it is... fuzzy! 

French films

One thing I like very much about Paris is that we still have a pretty dynamic movie industry. This is due to specific financial dispositions (for example anybody in France can invest in a movie and get a tax cut), but also to the fact that even if the big American blockbusters are extremely successful, we still have a wide variety of choice when we want to go to the movies. We have what we call Cinémas d'art et d'essai like this one, the Studio 28, located in Montmartre. There you can watch "quality films", the very ones that led Phil in Modern Family to say "Why do I have to watch a French movie, I didn't do anything wrong" -;). Jokes aside, I'm glad these theaters still exist.

Amélie's café

Believe it or not, I only discovered Amélie's café (that is le café des 2 moulins, where part of the French movie Amélie was shot) a couple of days ago. It's located at rue Lepic, a typical Paris street, near Montmartre. The setting did not look familiar at all (well from what I could remember, because the movie is already 12 years old!), but I did a little research and found out that the owner who bought it in 2002 totally reshuffled the place. Cool place though. And for those of you who have no idea of what Amélie is, here you go!

Paris through Hollywood's lense

What do "The Three Musketeers", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "the Aristocats" or "Da Vinci Code" have in common? They all take place or feature Paris! Apparently there are about 800 American films that have Paris for scenery and the Paris town hall is currently honoring them in an exhibition that can be visited until December 15. A great idea! Find out more here (in French only!) or here where 5 main films are commented by Antoine de Baecque, the exhibition curator

Chapeau l'Artist!

You know I'm generally not too patriotic on this blog, but today, I'm compelled to be! Tonight, the Academy Awards will take place in the City of Angels and perhaps, a French film - the Artist - may win... Needless to say, most of the French are holding onto their berets with anticipation! We won't know before tomorrow morning's news (or your comments on PDP...) for it takes place at 4 am French time. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for not showing you Paris today, but today Silence is a virtue!

Classic cars for classy movies...

I already mentioned it here, but it always surprises me: there are about 750 movies shot yearly in Paris, according to the Paris town hall. Very often they are historical movies, that is why they have to bring "accessories" to the set, like in this photo that I took Place des Pyramides (1st arrondissement), a location that is often used for movies. Shooting a film in Paris is free - unless you use venues that belong to the city (museums, public buildings...), but you have to pay the parking fees! If you're a film maker and if you're interested in shooting your next movie in Paris, do check this site.

Home!

OK, it's not the most glamorous photo you've ever seen of Paris, but I could not really miss the occasion. This is the first time a movie is going to be released simultaneously in 100 countries and distributed through a lot of channels (including Youtube in HD). The movie is called "Home" and it was made by famous photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand (whom I met once, remember?) to make us realize how endangered - according to him - our planet is. Given his talent, whether you believe him or not - it's probably worth watching hos movie. I will probably this weekend.

Coco "before" Chanel

If you're a true francophile you've probably heard of Audrey Tautou, the French actress who was in Amélie. Well, as of yesterday she's in a brand new movie, called Coco before Chanel, so basically a story about her life before she became the famous designer we all know about. I've only seen the trailer so far, but I'm really tempted to see the movie. Besides, Audrey Tautou is, in my opinion, the perfect cast. I'll tell you more when I see it. That's all, I just wanted to keep you informed of what's on at the moment in Paris! BTW, I took this photo opposite to the Senate.

No to Yes!

When I first saw this billboard in rue de la gaité, I was really puzzled. What company on earth would promote such a basic message... And then I found out by guessing the web address underneath the other bills, that this was to promote a movie with Jim Carrey called the Yes Man! The whole scenario is based on a simple idea: in order to spice up a little his miserable life, Jim commits himself to saying yes to just any proposal. The web site (in French) they made looks pretty cool and the scenario sounds like a good idea for a comedy, the problem is that Jim Carrey gets on my nerves! I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no to yes! Besides, I already say "yes" far too often in my life, I don't need to be encouraged LOL!

The most successful film of all times?

I'm just back from the movies... I had to see the most successful film of the moment: "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis!" Don't expect to see it in your country, there is very little chance this film will ever be exported because it's... er... very very French. Ch'tis is what the people in the northern part of France call themselves - and also the language they speak (with a very strong accent!). Let's be honest, this movie is not a masterpiece, but it's funny and highlights all the stereotypes that people from the South have about the French Northerners! What is interesting is that it's a huge success ; eventually it's very likely that more than 10 million people will have seen it. Talking about accents, have a look at this.

Crime scene?

No, this is not the Police investigating after my burglary! Just a way to evacuate the cars in one of the streets in my neighborhood... And do you know why? Because they are going to shoot a film/movie pretty soon. There are about 700 filmings every year in Paris and from what I could see on the site that the Town hall dedicated to filmings, not only do you have to apply for a permit but you must also pay... It's not too expensive though: 380€ per day for an average location and much more for an exclusive one.