I Prefer Paris

Parisian of the Month: Wolfgang Joensson

I am reintroducing my Parisian of the Month interview series. For January, I’m happy to interview Wolfgang Joensson, a very talented and prolific product and industrial designer, and design teacher. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up? 

Right after the war, my German parents emigrated to South Africa, because my father was offered a position with the South African Railroad Company. I was born there, which probably has a lot to do with my preference for mild climates. When I was two, the family returned to Germany, settling in Hamburg in the northern part of the country, where I grew up. I have fond memories of spending most of my summer vacations in Bavaria, quite different from where we lived.

When did you discover you had a talent or appreciation for design? Was a sense of design instilled in you by your parents or present in your environment when were you growing up? 

My father was an engineer and my mother an Arts and Crafts teacher, and as a designer, that makes me a perfect mix. My mother always had us doing craft projects, but I also drew a lot during my childhood and my youth. Anything, but particularly cars, products and floor plans for houses. Up until my mid-teens I wanted to be a pop singer and study mathematics. I am very grateful that my father, looking at my drawings and being a well-read engineer, introduced me to the English term ‘Industrial Design’. With that, I immediately bought a sketchbook and presumptuously wrote ‘Industrial Design 1’ on the cover. And that was basically the start of my career. Being a designer requires a heightened sense of esthetics, as being an artist or architect does. I was fortunate that my parents, who were very urban and open minded, with modern tastes in furniture, were incredibly supportive. That helped to pave my way through what, for every creative person, is a long and winding road towards becoming a designer.

What were some of your early design influences and discoveries? 

At home, we discussed virtually everything, and I was encouraged to develop my own sense of quality, beauty and what is good, desirable, essential or redundant. This shaped me fundamentally. Because Denmark was right next door, I was able to travel often enough and it was there that I discovered Scandinavian design, particularly Bang and Olufsen. I was fascinated by the nonchalant, sober and yet playful expression I observed. A family and subsequent student trips to Italy had me falling in love with the country, its food, its people and their sense of architecture, beauty and design. And in Germany, BRAUN was very present and visible in those days. An early goal of mine as a student was to be able to design like that.

You have lived in many places including Hamburg, Stuttgart, London, Montreux, and Los Angeles. When and why did you move to Paris? 

It was in 2002. I was working as a professor in Northern Switzerland, in a little village between Basel and Zürich at the time. Very different from the Geneva lake where I had been living the previous twelve years. I made some very good friends there but, in the end, it was not my place. I wanted to move to a big city, and considered Barcelona, Madrid, Milan and Paris. Since I had been teaching in Paris since the mid-nineties, I had some friends there and knew my way around. But I did not have any other professional or personal reason or relationship that influenced my decision to come here. Anyhow, I have never regretted it. Au contraire.

Your first career was in graphic design. Do you still do graphic design and what made you move from graphic design to industrial and product design? 

In my first term in design school, to make some spending money I started taking small jobs in the advertising industry. I never learned graphic design, but a good graphic design friend showed me the ropes and introduced me to what was then called key-lining, the preparation of graphic design for print. All that is done on the computer today, but at the time, it was a fairly qualified and very well-paid occupation. I was flexible enough to do that parallel to my studies, and so I had a great life with a nice apartment, a car and lots of traveling. I learned so much in those advertising days! Precision, persuasion and perfection are my big take-aways from those experiences, and I benefit from it still today. Although I had been offered several times to stop studying and become a junior art director with great fringe benefits and education (it was the golden age of advertising), I always wanted to be a product designer and so I finished my studies. Today, I also do graphics, packaging and interface design, where my interest and early training in typography pays off. Of course, I am not a typographer, and I have too high respect for these people to call myself that, but I try to employ lettering, symbols, colors and space consciously, if only to avoid embarrassment when a professional typographer comes across my work.

You also teach design at universities around the world. What brought to teaching? Do the students differ much in the various countries you teach in, and if, yes, how so? 

Whenever I do something, I try to do it consciously. And when I reflect on what I do, in my mind I formulate how I could describe this to someone else. It’s a great, disciplined way of working, and it has this side effect that you are just a few steps away from teaching. Inspired by my parents and teachers, I always wanted to share my knowledge. Though my father never taught in a formal setting, he was a great motivator and could explain virtually everything in the world to me. And during my studies, I realized how many things were missing in design education. It’s a fairly new profession. You might even say that, at least at the time, it was not very professional. I have yet to see an introductory book for young designers. Maybe I will find the time to write one myself one day. 

So, it was a logical next step, in my young career, when I was recruited by an American design school at age thirty, to accept their invitation to become the chairman of their product design department. It was a fascinating time in my life. The campus was on the Geneva lake, my office was in a pretty château and we were very international, with 35 nations in the student body. 

Now you know you cannot extrapolate from one student and draw conclusions about their compatriots. But I did observe Americans to be more playful, Germans be a bit more sincere, students from Latin countries very sensual in their approach, French extravagant and quirky, Scandinavians very socially conscious and Swiss extremely disciplined and conscientious. But all that may well have been a prejudice. I may have seen what I wanted or expected to see. And there were probably as many exceptions to those observations as real occurrences. But what it certainly did was make me aware of something I had until then not noticed, for simple lack of comparison: That I was indeed quite German. Having moved away from Germany in 1988 this has been watered down considerably over the years. I would now describe myself as a European, but thanks to the love of my life, I also have a very strong Southern Californian influence.

Does the environment and climate change play a big part when you currently design things on your own or when you are commissioned to design products? 

Of course. You cannot ignore the challenges we and our planet face today when you create for tomorrow. That is why, in the nineties, I introduced a mandatory ecology class in the Product Design curriculum I was responsible for. We were probably the first to do that. I remember it was very difficult to get good teachers for that course. But that was not a reason not to do it. As a successful product designer, your ideas are literally sold by the millions. That’s a magnitude of environmental impact that you have to face and deal with. There are no simple answers for this challenge, but awareness is the first step every designer must take. A former boss and friend of mine has started the ‘Sustainable Design School’ in Nice, an excellent place to learn how to cope with this.

You recently published and illustrated a book, ‘Iconic Product Design’. Please tell us what sparked the idea for the book and also about the content.

There are products that have moved me, and I know that many people share my obsession with objects, perhaps without even knowing why. Humans like objects, maybe because they remind us of tools and how those allowed us to conquer the world. I wanted to curate a little collection of noteworthy designs and to show people how good design can be very long lasting and how inanimate objects can inspire emotions in all of us. The aspect of emotion in design is so important, and the German design, with all its amazing quality, has in the past sometimes fallen a bit short on creating an emotional bond with an object. French and Italian design often had the edge when it came to that. In any case, there are industrial design objects that we all remember and that is usually because of their visual quality and the response we had to their looks or their functionality. When we agree, those products have become iconic.

From the book Iconic Product Design- Le Creuset Dutch Oven- France, 1925

From the book Iconic Product Design-Opinel No. 10 Knife France 1897

From the book Iconic Product Design-Citroen 2CV France 1948

Do you think modern French design is influenced by its classic design periods from the past, and if yes, which of these periods are most prevalent in modern design?  

Yes, it has! And I am not only thinking of the obvious example, Philippe Starck’s Louis Ghost chair. That is a wonderful witty interpretation and an essential ergonomic improvement of the source material, that is a Louis XVI piece of furniture. I am not sure if that period influenced a lot of other modern design products, but I see Art Nouveau and Hector Guimard’s genius influencing some modern furniture and there is no doubt that Alphonse Mucha had a strong impact on graphics design since the Sixties. Art Deco is a period I love, and I see a mirroring of some of its principles over the last decades.

What are your favorite French design products? 

When I dine at home, I sit on a Philippe Starck chair. I love LIP watches, Pierre Paulin’s furniture and of course a whole panoply of cooking related gadgets and tools. Emmanuel Nardin has created beautiful Hifi speakers and related products for Devialet and Patrick Jouin has created some remarkable public restrooms.

If there’s one designer living or dead, you could invite to dinner who would it be and what restaurant would you take them to? 

I am careful with this one. At a function, I once had the chance to sit next to one of my most admired Italian product designers. He was a complete bore, and he knew it. Nowhere is it written that a great designer also has to be an interesting person. I’d be happy to dine with my Swiss business partner Lutz Gebhardt any time, he’s never boring, or some of my former bosses or colleagues at frogdesign, Hartmut Esslinger, Werner Scholpp or Tom Schönherr. Also, many of my former students. Some of them have become famous designers, some have become good friends, and some both. Rather than dining with a famous designer I think that I would be more interested in dining with an inspiring poet, a successful businessman, a great musician, an experienced adventurer or someone else like that. But come to think of it, I would like to dine with Charles and Ray Eames. I love their work, their work attitude and their perspective on humanity, which is what interests me most in other people. The older one gets, the more one becomes conscious of the fact that our lives do not go on forever. So, you’re looking at how to spend the next decades and you decide that you do not want to waste your time anymore and only spend it with people you like and respect.

If you were on a desert island and could only have three objects, what would they be? 

I’m for survival, so it would have to be a knife, a lens and a rope. As much as I like objects, I am very much aware that most objects are non-essential, superfluous, redundant. There is no object more important than human contact, what we do for our society, for our loved ones, for our neighbor. I know some people who live in a design museum. When you start your studies, you are curious, you want to surround yourself with design if not create it yourself. But though I am a very ambitious designer, my home looks probably fairly normal and not like a design magazine. What’s important for me is a big table and comfortable chairs so I can have my friends and loved ones over and cook for them, eat and drink together. That’s worth a lot more than any rare or expensive design object. The same goes for art. On our walls are paintings from friends or from my mother and from artists whom I have met and have had discussions with about their art.

What do you prefer about Paris? 

It never ceases to amaze me: the architecture, the climate, the spirit, the language, the food, the arts, the people. I am a city person and Paris has all the stimulation for my senses. It’s wonderful douceur de vie mixed with a touch of the abrasiveness of an urban metropole. Particularly in these times of the pandemic I long for the scintillating life that I know Paris for to come back. But even in its austere moments, the city, with all its elegant grandeur offers you historic insights, a humane future outlook, all the Mediterranean beauties, botanically and meteorologically, the promise of metropolitan buzz and southern sleepiness, technical marvels, architectural artifacts and the smells and the sights of a life deeply rooted in basics instincts.

I can hardly imagine not living in Paris. 

From the book Iconic Product Design-BIC Lighter France 1973

From the book Iconic Product Design-BIC Cristal Pen France 1950

From the book Iconic Product Design-FLOS Ara Lamp Italy 1988

From the book Iconic Product Design-LIP Dark Master France 1973

Click here to purchase a copy of Iconic Product Design

Click here to read my other Parisian of the Month Interviews

 

Parisian of the Month: Cori Coppola

I am excited to have my new friend, Cori Coppola as my Parisian of the Month. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Hollywood in a little bungalow apartment. It wasn’t a great neighborhood, but it was one of those leftover bungalow areas that had originally been built for the larger studios. It was a two-bedroom with one bathroom, and I could go outside and play under the huge palm trees. Then we moved to Hancock Park which I loved, and I could bike or walk over to Larchmont Village every weekend. I went to a private school that was first in Beverly Hills, then they moved to a huge campus up on Mulholland Drive. It was longer to get to school, but it was beautiful up there, you could even see the ocean on a clear day from the football field. I was very much an L.A. girl, growing up in the 70s and 80s in a fairly laid-back atmosphere. In the late 80s, I went to boarding school for high school and spent most of my weekends venturing into the city, NY which was a lot of fun. I liked being a bi-coastal kid. I even played varsity field-hockey which was not a sport one played in L.A. (more a volleyball on the beach kind of place which I can do too!).

What was your first experience visiting Paris like, and how old were you?

I was nine-years-old when I first came to Paris. I was so excited and was so silly in my red beret tilted just so on my head. Laying eyes on Paris for the first time was like coming home. You know it when you see it and can feel it right through, I guess like falling in love. It was instant for me, and I had only been scheduled to come for the summer as a companion to a little French girl. My sister was the au pair for the girl and her brothers, and we went down to stay with her grandparents, we went sailing, there was a vineyard, every place I went just convinced me more and more that I was home, truly home. By the time September came, I begged my mother to stay, and I ended up spending most of 5^th Grade (or CM2) going to public school in Paris. I studied ballet seven days a week under a strict Russian teacher who had been a prima ballerina. In my mind, of course, she was Alexandra Danilova, but I think I watched The Turning Point one too many times. Every Saturday, after school I would walk over the Île St. Louis, stop for a Coke, mostly at l’Escale, which is still there, and head towards the Marais where I would usually go to the Pompidou. I never ever got sick of going to that museum. I still get an annual pass because it is my favorite museum in Paris.

When and why did you move to Paris as an adult? 

I’ve lived here a couple of times as an adult. But the most recent and permanent move was in 2001. I came with a duffle bag and my black Labrador retriever, a three-month apartment rental and a three-month job contract, but I knew I was never moving back to the U.S. I had made a deal with myself to move back, somehow, in the year 2000, but that year I was working in New York (at the World Trade Center no less), and I suddenly just made it my goal to find a way back. The why was really because when you know where you belong, you find a way to get there. Nothing gets in your way because all doubt gets kicked to the curb, and I can be extremely stubborn when I am focused on a goal.

Please tell us how you are related to the Coppola family of the film world? 

So my mother and Francis were first cousins that grew up together. She and Tally (Talia Shire) were very close their whole lives, so I spent a large part of my childhood at her home and playing with her son Matthew (son of David Shire). I remember too when Jason and Robert were born (Schwartzman, sons of Jack), and I didn’t really get to know Sofia too well even though we are about the same age. Her mother Eleanor would send my mother boxes of Sofia’s clothes (she’s just a year older), so I had a lot of her hand-me-downs. She lived up in Napa and San Francisco, but we would go up for Easter and stay in his mansion in SF. My sister grew up playing with Nick Cage and his brothers as they are all about the same age. I haven’t seen much of any of them since moving here full time, but I don’t really think about it either. They are my family.

You recently produced a documentary about Pierre Cardin. Can you tell us about the film and the experience of working on it? Who were some of your favorite interviews in the film? 

House of Cardin is such a special project for me personally. I met some of the most important people now in my life during this project. The directors David and Todd and I all had a rather magical connection that made working together very easy and productive, and I think that was what made the whole experience so special. Nearly everyone we met was magical in some way, especially everyone at Cardin. I enjoyed doing most of the French interviews, and I would have to say that my favourite top two were Jean-Michel Jarre and Jean-Paul Gaultier. They were both very kind and down-to-earth people who are very genuine about their passion for their work, and considering how well-known they both are, they still maintain an almost child-like fascination with life and are intellectually curious people. This trickled down to the people they worked with as well. They had the kindest people around them but also the hardest working. They both really left an impression on me.

Yumi Katsura with Pierre Cardin when she was studying haute couture in Paris

Jean Paul Gaultier 

Cori & Philippe Starck

The directors with Naomi Campbell 

What are some of your upcoming film projects? 

I have recently begun working on an independent film project with the artist and film director Vincent Gagliostro. I have decided to really try to only work on projects that inspire me, and after several lengthy and intimate conversations with Vincent, I felt really excited to see his project get made. He has an amazing visual direction, and the story is so relevant, perhaps even more so now with everything going on in the world. It is early stages yet, and of course, now the world is on hold while we battle a virus that seems to know no boundaries. I have also pitched another feature documentary project to a major designer. Again, that is on hold right now, but I am hoping to get started on that if I can get all of the agreements in place. I had also begun work last year on developing an amazing documentary about mummies found in the Gobi Desert in China. I know I will be back up and running soon. This extra time is allowing me to more fully develop the direction I want each of these projects to take. I will keep you posted!

Who is Yumi Katsura and why are you writing a book about her? 

Yumi Katsura is one of Japan’s greatest fashion designers. She is primarily known as a wedding dress designer as she is really the one who changed the wedding industry in Japan. Although she is well-known among the elite who can afford her wedding dresses and haute-couture, she is not a household name in the West which is a shame. One of her dresses is in the Costume Institute at The Met in New York, a washi dress, which is a stunning example of her delicate and intricately detailed designs. She holds the world record for the most pearls on a dress, and two of her wedding dresses are in the top ten list of most expensive wedding dresses ever made. In her late 80s, she is still a remarkably active woman. She never had any children but has earned the name “fairy godmother” to the women in Japan whose dreams she has helped come true. Her boutique in Tokyo is a very intimate experience, and she is very hands on with her clients. It was a funny coincidence to discover that when she had studied haute-couture in Paris, she had had Pierre (Cardin) as a guest teacher a few times. She even has a photo of an evening when she and the other Japanese students were at a dinner with him. He chose to take a photo with her. He often seems to know instinctively who will be a success, and he was often right. He hired Gaultier and Starck around the age of 17, and there are other examples of this. Yumi and I both really got along well, and she hired me to write her biography. I have not yet found the right publisher, but I am convinced that the right editor will love her story. She is a truly unique and inspiring woman, especially coming from Japan.

If you had an unlimited budget to produce a film, what would it be, and if it was a feature, who would you cast? 

I love this question but I am torn between two types of stories. I have a great 1970s story about an up and coming actress who is mysteriously killed but the killer is never found, so a period piece that takes place in Hollywood, and I also have a more dystopian science fiction story that involves teleportation, parallel universes and something more dangerous even than A.I. If I go with the second one (possibly because I am currently re-reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, during lockdown, I would want a Harrison Ford-type. I haven’t thought much about the cast because I already have an image of my characters in my mind. My agent had wanted Liam Hemsworth, so I had started doing a re-write with him in mind. I am still working on this script right now.

What are some of your favorite French films? 

There are about 100, but I have tried to only list the ones that really left a mark on me at a fundamental level.

Le Magnifique (1973) was, for me, one of the funniest films ever and spoke to the writer in me. Like many writers, much of my life has been spent inside some other land that I am living out in my head, and then there is the sudden interruption of “real life” that cuts into that blissful space, like the maid who suddenly appears on the beach, vacuuming while he is saving the beautiful girl and fighting off a group of armed assassins.

La Piscine (1969) is still one of my all-time favourite films to watch. I love the constant tension being played out, the actors were all perfectly cast in this respect, and to be honest, the clothes were absolutely dreamy too. Romy Schneider was an exceptionally beautiful woman, and since I was also a huge fan of Gainsbourge, I, of course, knew who Jane Birkin was, also a very stunning young woman. Alain Delon is a good introduction to gorgeous French men, so he certainly left an impression on me as well (blushing).

Plein Soleil (1960) is one of those films that you cannot help but be completely taken with. Alain Delon is absolutely delicious to watch, and the story is both romantic and terrifying at once. Patricia Highsmith is an excellent storyteller and translates to film perfectly.

Les Diaboliques (1955) is another favourite to watch. It is an excellent example of psychological horror. It is one of the great films with a hidden twist, and those are always the best, what you don’t see coming.

Diva (1981) is one of the films that made me want to live in Paris. I eventually made that dream come true by living in a huge loft in the 11^th, my second apartment in Paris. I loved the minimalist touch, the empty space filled with the sound of opera (which is how I became friends with my neighbor who wondered who was blasting Maria Callas next door!). It was the first time I listened to music with the idea that it could in and of itself be a sensual experience, and I loved the idea of this illicit performance, unrecorded, to be heard only in the moment and remembered forever.

Le Ballon Rouge (1956) is one of those films you never forget. Another film that speaks to the mind of a writer or dreamer, a world, perhaps where a balloon might be your friend. It was also the notion of being somewhat an only child (my half-sister is nearly 10 years older than I am), so I had a vivid imagination. I am realizing through this interview, too, that I saw quite a few French films very early on in my life, and I think I must have fallen in love with Paris before I ever saw it with my own eyes.

A Little Romance (1979) while not technically a “French” film, it did take place in Paris and came out a few years before I myself would move to Paris as a young girl. It definitely stirred some romantic feelings, and as for many people, those feelings combined themselves into what has become a lifelong love affair with the city closest to my heart and being.

Pauline à la plage (1983) was rather eye-opening for me. I think I saw that before Le genou de Claire (1970) which I also loved. In general, French cinema has simply always been a part of my childhood and now my adult life. There are so many great French films, it is quite impossible to list them all!

Where do you live and what’s special about it? 

I currently live in Rueil-Malmaison with my two daughters. It was certainly the right choice when the girls were babies. They used to attend the Waldorf school in the next town over. The whole area is very beautiful as we are right on the Seine. I walk on the Seine every morning usually for about an hour. It is truly peaceful. The Impressionnists were right to come to this area for inspiration. The banks are lined with weeping willow trees that float with the breeze, and there are families of ducks and swans that I have been watching for years. It is amazing that only 20 minutes outside of Paris, you have so much nature to enjoy. It was a wonderful place for the girls when they were little, but I admit, we are all itching to perhaps move back towards the city. As they get older, there is more and more to do with them or even for them to do on their own. I was wandering the streets of Paris from the age of nine, so as my youngest is already eight, it seems to be almost the right moment to move back to the city. I miss it and already spend most of my week at meetings in the city.

Why do you prefer Paris? 

I prefer Paris to anywhere else I have ever lived, and I have lived in so many cities (Los Angeles, New York, Miami’s South Beach, Washington D.C., Nice and London). I guess there was just something magical for me that clicked the first time I came here as a child. As I said before, there was just a knowing that this was home. It was true love in every possible way. I have fallen in love here too, and there is no place more romantic that being in love in this city. Sitting at a café and kissing like there is no one around can only happen here. No one even notices because, it is of course Paris, a place where love abounds. The people here kiss when they meet, kiss when they part and are not afraid to be affectionate with one another. I love also the sound of Parisian French being spoken. It is also a city rich with history that can be found on nearly every corner, and there are so many hidden beautiful spots that you sometimes stumble upon, hidden treasure just behind a door. The bottom line is Paris is my true love. I feel free and at home here, totally and completely myself, in my element and fulfilled in my heart – it never gets old.

Click here to watch official trailer for House of Cardin. 

Cori with Jean-Michele Jarre 

The directors with Yumi Katsura, Japanese fashion designer

Parisian of the Month: Lisa Nesselson

Lisa Nesselson is an American film critic living in Paris since 1978 and is has a weekly program reviewing current films on France 24. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up? 

 

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio but consider myself to be a Chicagoan. I lived there from the middle of third grade through college, before coming to France at the tail end of 1978.

 

Do you remember what the first film you ever saw was, and what kind of impression did it leave on you? 

 

I have a very strong memory around age 3 or 4 of a Soviet Russian animated version of ‘The Snow Queen’ which scared me but in a good, artistic way. It was restored and re-released in French cinemas maybe 7 or 8 years ago and it STILL scared me in a good, artistic way.  I remember really liking ‘The Sword in the Stone’ and I also recall an early expedition to see ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’ — although for that one I remember the magnificent vertical marquee of the theater more than I remember the film itself. I really loved animated cartoons and my way of describing dreams at an early age was to announce “I have cartoons in my eyes!”

 

What films affected you most growing up and was there one in particular that made you want to be a film critic?

 

Something that living in Paris allows me to do is to see, projected, so many of the films from the 1960s and ‘70s I first saw as a young person. You rarely know you’re living through a special era when you’re living through it — Mary Astor wrote that none of the cast had the slightest idea they were making a classic when they were shooting “The Maltese Falcon”  — but damn, there were so many outstanding films when I was forming my taste and my sense of filmic storytelling.  I’m so grateful to have discovered “2001” and “Last Tango in Paris” and “The Mother and the Whore” in real time. Anything by Woody Allen, anything by Robert Altman, anything by Luis Bunuel. Bliss.  The audience freaking out at “The Exorcist” after waiting 3 hours to get in.

 

I had no idea I wanted to be a film critic, but that hey-wait-a-minute moment hit me in a cramped hotel room during a family car trip to, I think, Florida. I couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9. A movie was on the TV set and there was a man face down in a swimming pool but he was talking — he was narrating the story. And I remember thinking: But he’s DEAD. Isn’t being dead a major impediment to talking? It was, of course, “Sunset Boulevard” which I usually still cite as my favorite movie of all time. 

 

I never cease to marvel at how brilliantly Billy Wilder captured the essence of American life and American characters in what was a second or third language. The richness of the screen classics by directors who could just as easily have fallen prey to the Nazis never fails to send chills down my spine. I can’t imagine a world without Ernst Lubitsch’s “Ninotchka” or “To Be or Not to Be,” or without at least half a dozen gems from Wilder. 

 

I don’t understand how people get to the point where they make sweeping statements about “hating Jews.” Is that so? Then I guess you don’t like “The Twilight Zone” or the Theme from the Twilight Zone? Two Jewish guys: Rod Serling and Bernard Herrmann.

You don’t like Kirk Douglas? You don’t like all the classic early pop-rock written by Neil Sedaka, Carole King, Lieber and Stoller, Neil Diamond? You hate the classic comic book characters invented by Stan Lee? You hate the character of Black Panther — written and drawn by white Jewish guys?  The list goes on and on.

 

‘Peter Pan’ starring Mary Martin was on TV every year and my parents say that when I was maybe 4 years old I demanded to know “What was Captain Hook’s name before he lost his hand?”  Well…think about it. What’s the statistical likelihood that his last name was ALREADY Hook before that crocodile got the upper hand, so to speak?

 

“The Wizard of Oz” also holds a special place in my heart. I was lucky to grow up watching — on stage or at the movies or on TV — musicals with catchy lyrics and worthwhile melodies. Any car full of kids being driven somewhere or any band of friends walking home from school could sing all the songs from “Fiddler on the Roof” or “Mary Poppins” or “The Sound of Music” among others.  It wasn’t exactly the same as memorizing the Iliad or the Odyssey but it WAS a good foundation for a certain kind of popular taste. 

 

Everybody had the phonograph record of “My Fair Lady” — I think it’s salutary for a 10 year old to absorb the deadpan humor of a song like “Ascot Opening Day.” Everybody could sing  “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from ‘Mary Poppins’ and relish the fact that it rhymes with “atrocious” and “precocious.” That paves a space in your brain for a style of creative rigor that’s not remotely pretentious, and it lasts a lifetime.  With few exceptions, the Academy Awards nominations for Best Song  nowadays are shamefully mediocre.

 

Several outstanding directors had mothers who took them to the movies — all kinds of movies — from an early age. Oliver Stone’s mom — who was French — took him to the movies. Quentin Tarantino’s mom took him to the movies. My mom took me to see such films as “The Pawnbroker” and “The Trip.” Very serious fare destined for adults. Apparently I turned out ok.  When I interviewed Jack Valenti, who was instrumental in putting the studio rating system in place, I told him some of the movies I saw as a youngster and he said, “Now, Lisa, I am certain your parents did not take you to see ‘The Pawnbroker.’” Oh, yeah? Then who did take me — space aliens?

 

Did you study film in school and university? 

 

 I attended Northwestern University’s School of Speech in the Department of Radio, TV and Film.  I thought I wanted to MAKE movies but figured out that I don’t have what it takes to marshal an army of techies and actors and bend everybody to my artistic vision. Radio is probably my first love — you can do so much with so little.

 

All of my filmmaking and sound recording skills are strictly analogue. You load the film into the camera, you have to make sure the lens is focused and the light levels are viable to get a proper exposure, you think hard before you put your finger on the trigger because celluloid costs a lot, developing and printing it costs a lot and you don’t know whether you got what you wanted until it comes back from the lab. 

 

I started making movies in Super-8 in the Young Artists Studios of the Art Institute of Chicago the summer I was 13: 1969. I’m grateful that my parents always let me go Downtown by myself on public transportation and that our teachers set us loose with Super-8 cameras. Oh look — hippies! Oh, look — Hare Krishnas. Oh look, a concert in Grant Park turning into a bit of a riot.  We had the run of one of the world’s great Art Museums and one of the world’s great cities.

 

The Art Institute owns an awful lot of great Impressionist paintings — I swooned regularly over Seurat’s ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte” from a very early age, although, come to think of it, I’ve never visited the real location!  Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks,” Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.”  During my brief stint as a jeune fille au pair in 1980 I took my two young charges, age 9 and 10, to the Pompidou Center. They behaved like unhinged banshees. When I told their parents, the mother said, “Oh, they’ve never been to an art museum! We’re waiting until they’re old enough to appreciate it.”

 

I made movies in 16mm at NU. I did an internship in the audio-visual department of the San Francisco Public Library in 1976. Editing on reel-to-reel video was nerve-wracking. If you got the timing wrong on a segment you had to go back and re-do everything that went before. But it seemed miraculous to have synch sound already paired up with the images.

 

I spent WEEKS and lots of money at the lab trying to do pretty elementary special effects on an optical printer in 16mm — stuff a 3 year old with an iPhone could do now in a matter of minutes.  There’s something to be said for ease-of-use but there’s definitely something to be said for the tactile side of analogue media.

 

Before I ever got to college, in high school, the visionary short film “Why Man Creates” made an indelible impression on me.  And I don’t know if the City of Chicago paid for them or they were a gift from the distributor but I remember being given free tickets to see restored Chaplin films in a movie theater on the Near North side. The Filmotheque here in Paris just ran 10 restored Chaplin films for about a month and I was so so so happy to see parents bring young children. Take your kids to “Modern Times” instead of “Frozen II” is my advice. The kids laughed and enjoyed themselves. French kids still have attention spans and they know how to behave in a movie theater. 

 

What was the first film you reviewed and what was the review of? 

 

I dabbled in reviewing current films on French radio starting in 1981 (in English). I think my first review for The Paris Free Voice — a monthly give-away tabloid I wrote for for 14 years — was David Byrne’s “True Stories” in 1986.

 

It took a long time to get French publicists to give me the time of day, so I was often writing about films after they’d been in theaters for a while.  To this day I’d much rather see a movie with regular folks but I’m frequently obliged to go to press screenings to offer an opinion on release day.

 

When and why did you move to Paris? 

 

 I thought I was coming for 3 weeks to visit my boyfriend — now my husband, also from Chicago — who was conducting research for a biography of Henri Langlois, the founder of the Cinematheque Francaise. The book was published, in French, in 1986. I translated it into English in 1995 (Henri Langlois: First Citizen of Cinema). In retrospect I can’t really explain why, but we just stayed. I was an illegal alien for the better part of 3 years. When Francois Mitterand was elected president in 1981 he decreed an amnesty for illegals who could prove they had a job, we fit the criteria and I like to think we’ve contributed to French society in our own modest way.

 

How does film culture differ in France than the USA? 

 

+ There’s a fairly endless reply to that question. The short-ish version is that the cinema is an integral component of French society. Movies are understood to be an art form as well as commercial objects. You can earn your high school diploma — your baccalaureat — with a specialization in cinema and some years, I assure you, the essay questions are so sophisticated and complex I’m not entirely sure that I would pass.

 

Something that jumped out at me when the Yellow Vest protests began in late 2018 was that in interviews — be they in French or English-language publications — when describing their hardships, protestors kept telling reporters  “We don’t even have the money to go out to the movies” or “We don’t have the money to take our kids to a movie.” The cinema is seen as part of the roster of things that define a life worth living: food, shelter, a job, trips to the movie theater.

 

I suspect a low income American would complain about not being able to buy gas or pay their cell phone bill or their cable bill. But ordinary working class French folks with jobs and families were saying the government should do something so they could go out to a movie now and then.  And nobody said, “How frivolous, everybody knows movies are optional!”

 

I get into verbal jousts with English-speaking colleagues who have been insisting for years that “movie theaters are over with, streaming is the future of movie-going.”  All I can say is that brick and mortar cinemas are most definitely NOT “over with” in France. Twenty-five percent of the movie theaters in EUROPE are here in France. In smaller communities, the government will step in to rescue a struggling cinema because it’s understood that citizens should have access to movies. To put it bluntly, the American attitude is “If it’s not a sustainable business then it deserves to die. If a movie theater becomes a supermarket or a parking lot, what’s the big deal? Just stay home and watch movies there.”  That attitude seems shockingly craven and stupid to the average French person.

 

Since after WWII the French have counted the number of tickets sold, not the amount of money taken in. So it’s very very easy to generate extremely accurate statistics (I wrote for “Variety” for 17 years and it was a losing battle to convert box office receipts from francs into dollars because the exchange rate changed all the time.) And in terms of people leaving their homes and going out to the movies, 2019 was the second best year since 1966! There were 306 French film released in theaters and almost 400 films from other countries. About a third of those were American but the range of countries represented is simply breathtaking. Last year 4 million people bought tickets to see restored older films on the big screen — the market for classic films in theaters has been growing for 20 years.  Paris, especially, still has dozens of art houses and quite a few rep houses.

 

They can turn on a dime. Anna Karina died and the next week all of the films she made with Jean-Luc Godard were in art houses anew, along with the film she directed in the early 1970s. Sue Lyon died on December 26th and the next week you could go see “Lolita” and “Seven Women” and “The Night of the Iguana.”

 

I am heartened to see everybody from college students to people pushing 80 line up every time “Manhattan” or “Annie Hall” is programmed. Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” came out on September 18th on 27 screens in Paris, the same number as “Ad Astra” and almost as many as films like “The Lion King” and “Star Wars.”  It’s still playing on one screen as of January 29th. A film that is considered un-releasable in the U.S. has been playing for 4 and a half months in France. One out of every 10 Parisians has bought a ticket.

 

I could go on, but you get the picture. Film-going is a part of life, like food and sex. French people ARE subscribing to streaming services but they’re still buying DVDs and they’re still going out to the movies.

 

If you could invite three people in the film industry-living or dead- to dinner, who would they be and what would you serve? 

Billy Wilder, Anita Loos, Georges Melies.

I know Wilder loved hamburgers but sushi would be kind of hilarious for this trio. “Mr. Melies, have some cold raw fish wrapped in seaweed.”

 

Do you find that commercial French films are now similar to American films? 

 

 Not really. If a French hit comes across as formulaic it’s unlikely that the filmmakers were TRYING to follow a formula. So far as I know, a fair amount of market research goes into creating TV shows but most movies are still a question of somebody wanting to tell a story and somebody else agreeing to produce it. Most French movies don’t cost that much in the first place. I think the average budget is around 4 million euros — I doubt that would even cover the catering budget on something like “Star Wars.”

 

Most years the top-grossing French films are dumb comedies. This past year was exceptional in that of the 16 films that sold over 1 million tickets — many of them a LOT more than that but that’s the benchmark — almost all of them were about serious topics: tensions in lower class suburbs (Les Miserables), the Dreyfus Affair(J’accuse/ An Officer and a Spy), mentally challenged people (Hors normes), the damage wrought by a pedophile priest in Lyon (Grace a Dieu). There is unquestionably an audience for “tough” subject matter. French film-goers still have wide-ranging tastes and a sense of adventure.

 

Americans are more likely to be in “consumer mode” when it comes to choosing a movie. The average potential movie-goer in the U.S. wants to make sure they’ll like the movie before plunking down the price fo a ticket which is part of why American movie trailers show so much.

 

The typical French film-goer is way more willing to branch out, to take a chance. It helps that for a decade now the major chains have been offering all-you-can-watch subscription cards. For less than $25 a month you can buy a card — you have to make a year-long commitment — that gets you in to hundreds of cinemas at no additional cost, except a few euros for 3-D glasses.  It’s like a monthly transit pass, only for movies. So far, American experiments along those lines have failed. It helps that in France the government keeps tabs on every ticket sold and makes certain that the percentages that should be distributed to the producers, the exhibitors, the filmmakers, etc. reach their proper destinations.  Hollywood studios are kind of famous for telling people who worked on massive hits that, sorry, there aren’t really any profits. Yeah, right.

 

It seems as though almost every French film in recent years feature American pop songs, whether in the films or in their trailers. Do you know why or have a theory why that is? 

 

+ It’s an odd phenomenon, I agree. It’s not like soundtrack albums are a going concern. Decades ago, France instituted rules about the percentage of music on radio or public places that had to be French-language. The first generation of pillbox pay toilets had piped in music and it used to crack me up that if you spent enough time in one you’d hear, say, a Beach Boys song followed by Edith Piaf followed by Bruce Springstein followed by Charles Aznavour. The quota even applied to pay toilets! My understanding is that that protectionist gesture rescued the local music industry. Because French material was required, it started getting played.

 

What are your favorite movie theaters in Paris? 

 

I love the hole-in-the-wall vintage cinemas in the Latin Quarter. They still show 35mm prints during retrospectives and I get misty-eyed when I hear the sound of film running through a projector. The main auditorium at the Grand Rex is unbeatably majestic. I believe they have the largest screen in Europe. The Max Linder has superb sound and a huge screen.

 

The Publicis on the Champs-Elysees near the Arc de Triomphe is terrific — super comfortable, great sight-lines. I have great affection for the Studio Galande, a rep house with, I think, 72 seats, that has been showing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Friday and Saturday nights for decades.

 

I’m sure you have already been asked this but I’m going to ask anyway. What were your favorite French films of 2019? Do you have Cesar award predictions? 

 

+ If one agrees to fall into the trap of comparing apples and oranges, the “best” French film of the year, hands down, is Roman Polanski’s “J’accuse.”  Polanski is an absolute master of every aspect of filmmaking, he works with the best actors and technicians — which means they are eager to work with HIM — and the result is an incredibly important film that’s also thrilling to watch.

 

I’m typing this on Jan 29th — the Cesar nominations were announced today and “J’accuse” leads with 12 nominations. That means that a majority of the 4,313 members of the Cesars Academy are in the mood to champion excellence. Whatever you think of Polanski himself and his confirmed and alleged bad behavior in decades past, it’s impossible to deny that “J’accuse” is outstanding.  I see no rationale that holds up to scrutiny for contending that he shouldn’t have been given the money to make it in the first place or that it shouldn’t be shown. The hypocrisy makes me ill. It has been a matter of public record since 1977 that Polanski raped then-13-year-old Samantha Geimer and now, all of a sudden, mostly young (but not exclusively) protestors are vandalizing the areas around theaters to write “Polanski is a Rapist” and “Theaters Are Complicit With a Rapist” on buildings and the street. The City has to remove that stuff — it costs money.

 

For some useful perspective, I urge everybody to read Geimer’s excellent autobiography “The Girl” from 2013. She’s very smart, very funny, very self-aware and she was delighted when Polanski won the Oscar for “The Pianist” in 2003. Hey, protestors — that was 17 years ago! They’re hardly pals but the only person he owed an apology to was her — not us, not society, not people so ignorant that they think “Somebody else could have made that film.”  Geimer was delighted when “J’accuse” won the Silver Lion in Venice in September 2019 — “Joker” won the Golden Lion. We’re told that we must listen to women but hardly anybody cares to “listen” to Geimer — who is in her 50s and (understandably!) hates being frozen in time as a 13 year old to feed other peoples’ misplaced outrage. When she says that it’s pointless to protest or boycott Polanski and to please take your outrage elsewhere where it might do some good and make the world a better place, the but-but-but-he-raped-you-and-you’re-a-victim-for-eternity crowd won’t accept her own clearly stated assessment that being sodomized by a grown man at a tender age was highly unpleasant but not eternally traumatic.

 

I think she’s a role model for overcoming the fallout from sexual assault but hardly anybody wants to view her that way. By the transitive power of faulty reasoning, an awful lot of people think Polanski shouldn’t make movies and if he does, you certainly shouldn’t go see them.

 

I’m the president of l’Academie des Lumieres de la Presse Internationale — currently 130 foreign journalists from 41 countries in an organization that has been honoring French films for 25 years. We have 13 categories and we nominated “J’accuse” in 5 of them. At our awards ceremony on Jan 27th, Polanski won Best Director. I just watched the video of the show and director Arnaud Desplechin leapt to his feet to applaud. He was competing in the same category and was overjoyed that Polanski won. High ranking film professionals came up to me afterwords to say how happy they were that we had had “the intelligence” to recognize Polanski’s accomplishment and to add that they hoped the Cesars would follow our example.  It certainly could have gone either way, but 12 nominations for a film by an 86 year old master at the height of his powers gives me renewed faith in French discernment.

 

That doesn’t mean the film will WIN in any of the categories in which it has been nominated. But I don’t see how self-respecting film professionals could ignore so much artistry assembled in one gorgeous, disturbing, painfully pertinent 2-hour package.

 

French filmgoers have turned out in large numbers and “J’accuse” has been a success in each of the countries where it has been released so far. (It was sold to 27 territories and it pains me that none of them are English-speaking.) In Spain they had to add theaters when it came out — it was the only movie in their Top 20 besides the new Star Wars to sell over 500 tickets per showing.

 

People are INTERESTED in the topic — the shameful judicial error that tore France apart for 12 years in a morass of raison d’etat and anti-Semitism, from the point of view of the military official (played by Jean Dujardin) who didn’t care for Dreyfus but had proof that he was innocent. 

 

I am a huge Snoopy fan. I read that you played Lucy in a production of You are a Good Man Charlie Brown. Was that in Paris and was it in French or English? Is there going to be a film version with you in it?

 

I played Lucy during a 6 month run in the 1980s at the now-defunct Galerie 55 at 55 Rue de Seine, an adorable little theater with a storied history that used to put on English-language plays. It was a minor dream come true. As an adolescent and teenager I had probably MEMORIZED most of the Peanuts strips to date. I bought every paperback anthology and enjoyed reading them cover to cover. I still have the unopened commemorative Snoopy coin for the moon landing. And some Peanuts sweatshirts I outgrew in my 20s — wonderfully thick cotton. I had the cast album and was thrilled to meet Bob Balaban who originated the role of Snoopy in the original New York production, when he came to Deauville for the American Film Festival. Talk about great songs! I had exactly the right luxuriant curly hair to look the part. I can’t imagining anybody NOT enjoying that show if the cast is reasonably competent.

 

What do you prefer about Paris? 

 

Access to movies, outstanding public transportation (aside from strikes, of course). The fact that it’s extremely safe for a major city. In 41 years I’ve only had 2 scary experiences (being trapped in a phone booth by a homeless person, being chased though the Montparnasse Metro station and making it onto the last Metro in a split second before the guy caught up with me.)  When the internet hookup isn’t working at home and I absolutely must send a script or article, I’ve often ended up sitting on a bench at 1 in the morning  — even as late as 2, when some of the street lights click off — to swipe a WiFi signal. I wouldn’t sit on a bench by myself at that hour with an expensive laptop in Chicago or NY and expect to hang on to my status as a sane person. In central Paris I really don’t give it a second thought. The energy I’ve saved not having to be hyper-alert to my personal safety pro-rated over 4 decades adds up to a lot!

 

May in Paris- My Marais Apartment for Rent May 12 to May 23

I am renting my Marais loft from  May 12 to May 23. May is one of the nicest months in Paris, with temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit during the day and low 60s at night. All the gardens and flowers are in bloom, the outdoor cafes bustling, and lots of cultural events. 

Minimum rental period is 7 days/one week, price 1500€ for 7 days/one week,1900€ for 11 days-May 12-23. 

Conveniently located by the Saint Paul metro, in the heart of the Marais, the apartment is a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft  with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S.  The apartment is located on the second floor with a large elevator

Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested. 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

 

Where Are They Now? Parisian of the Month, Susan Oubari

I interviewed Susan Oubari as the Parisian of the Month in May 2011. At the time Susan, who is American, was working in the fashion business wearing many different hats as an art director, stylist, writer, agent, photographer and producer.  She started her career in Milan working for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and later on at a photo agency which represented top notch fashion photographers. 

Finding the fashion business stressful at times, along with having to raise a family, she turned to Reiki therapy, which changed her life view. Eventually she would study and practice Reiki, which led her to a new path of self-preservation and care, and also wanting to share it with other people.

In between the time of the last interview, Susan had some life changes. She moved to Vancouver for five years in 2012 because of her husband’s job, which uprooted her Parisian lifestyle she had so become accustomed to. Although she appreciated the much more relaxed lifestyle, she missed the excitement of the fashion world. She got a job as a personal shopper at Nordstrom, in addition to brand ambassador for Stella McCartney  and was one of the top producers in terms of sales. 

In 2017 Susan moved back to Paris and she wanted an outlet to share her 14 years of studying the work of wellness masters Amma, Jack Kornfield, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Vicki Noble, Eckhart Tolle, and Dan Brulé.

On the suggestion of her sister, Susan went to Los Angeles and embarked on an intense course of Breathwork, a therapy that uses breathing exercises to improve mental, physical, and spiritual health. 

In 2017, Susan started Breathe in Paris, a 90 minute to two-hour class which incorporates meditation, breathwork, and Reiki. Classes are led in English and in French. 

I attended a class during the summer at Le Centre Element, a  spacious, and calm wellness studio in the Marais. The class started with Susan explaining the different stages of the work we were going to do, with a meditation before the breathwork that would take place the last 30-45 minutes of the class. The breathwork was intense and vigorous, really pushing our breathing limits. I felt an emotional and clear release towards the end and was invigorated yet spent. Of course, everyone else in the room had a different result and at the end we shared some of our feelings and emotions. 

Breathe in Paris has had much success in its short life. Besides teaching group classes, Susan also has a thriving business with private clients. The classes have received some major press coverage with articles in Madame Figaro, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Yoga Magazine. 

Breathe in Paris schedules weekly, 90-minute classes at the American Church in Paris for a very reasonable fee of 20€.

 I highly recommend you try a class. 

For more about Susan’s work and schedule of classes, click on link below. 

http://susanoubari.com/

Click here to read my original interview with Susan. 

All photos by Anaka photos.

  

In my latest  A Bite of Paris video, I've taken a break from food tasting to visit my friend Jessica at La Vaissellerie, my favorite tabletop, dish ware, and kitchen shop, located in the Marais. 

Click here to watch or link below 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfIOVl7188&feature=youtu.be 

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel.

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Parisian of the Month: John Baxter

I am taking a blogging break this week. I am reposting some of your favorite Parisian’s of the Month. See you next week with all new content. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Sydney, Australia, but mostly grew up in a country town called Junee. Think Modesto, California, and you'll have some idea. When George Lucas, who was born in Modesto, had his STAR WARS hero Luke Skywalker say of his home planet "If there is a bright center to the universe, this is the place furthest from it," he caught both places exactly.

When and why did you move to Paris?

I moved here in 1989. The "why" is simple. In Los Angeles, I met a French lady and felt compelled to follow her back to Paris. We married shortly after and have been together ever since.

You were a film buff at an early age. What films and movie scenes made the strongest impression on you?

As a creature of Hollywood's golden age, cinema, for me, begins around 1928 with the coming of sound and expires in or about 1955 with the introduction of wide screen.

It's not to say that a western like THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, a Sci-fi fable like BLADE RUNNER or the melodramas of Douglas Sirk such as WRITTEN ON THE WIND don't induce a frisson, but in me, it never goes deep.

By contrast, the almost square proportions of the Academy Frame and the burnished tones of nitrate stock constitute, I believe, a paradigm that has never been equaled Films made within those restrictions can be emotionally moving out of all proportion to their content. They are cinema's sonatas and string quartets. SHANGHAI EXPRESS, NOW VOYAGER, CASABLANCA and THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL touch me profoundly. As Noel Coward remarks, "Strange how potent cheap music is."

You’ve written film biographies of Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas and Robert De Niro. Was there a favorite out of these? What were some of the most surprising things you found out about them you didn’t know before?

It hard to top the experience of hanging out in Rome and being lied to by Federico Fellini but I got most fun out of unpicking the secretive life of Stanley Kubrick. Among the greatest surprises of my other film books was discovering that Robert De Niro's father, the painter Robert De Niro Sr., was gay, a fact the actor kept secret but which informs many of his best roles, not to mention his private life.

You live on a rather historic street. Please tell us some interesting facts about your street.

Because it runs between St Germain and Montparnasse, rue de l'Odéon has gathered literary associations as burrs stick to a rug. At No. 18 - our building - Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier shared an apartment from 1922 to 1936. They were visited there by every major figure of Paris's literary society, both French and expatriate, including Joyce, the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein, Alice Toklas, and of course Ernest Hemingway, who famously "liberated" the building in 1944.

At No. 12, Sylvia Beach managed the original Shakespeare and Company bookshop and published Joyce's ULYSSES. Adrienne Monnier's Maison des Amis des Livres was just opposite at No. 7. Thomas Paine wrote THE RIGHTS OF MAN at No. 10 and at No. 8 Robert McAlmon's Contact Editions published Hemingway's first book, THREE STORIES AND TEN POEMS. At the top of the street, on Place de l'Odéon, the Theatre de l'Odéon, under protest by its then director, Jean-Louis Barrault, housed some of the most riotous of les evenements de '68.

You are an avid book collector. What are some of your rarest and most special books?

From two garages packed floor to ceiling, it's hard to choose favorites. One of the rarest is a first edition of THE GREAT GATSBY. I also have firsts of TENDER IS THE NIGHT and other Fitzgerald titles, as well as Hemingway's A FAREWELL TO ARMS, THE SUN ALSO RISES etc. Among modern novels there's Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, Faulkner's PYLON, Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD, my favorite John Updike, his short story collection PIGEON FEATHERS.... In French, Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE, inscribed by both he and his star Jean Marais, some books from Sylvia Beach's lending library inscribed by Adrienne Monnier; much science fiction and fantasy, most of it signed by Ray Bradbury and others. Manuscripts, photographs, letters, posters... bibliophily is less a hobby than an illness, and I'm a terminal case.

What books are currently on your night table?

Marcel Pagnol's LA GLOIRE DE MON PERE and the memoirs of book dealer and collector David Low, ...with all faults, published in Tehran (!) with a foreword by fellow bibliophile Graham Greene (both of these in connection with writing projects.) For pleasure, THE BOOK OF FUB, a collection of comic pieces by the British novelist Michael Frayn, and HAUNTS OF THE BLACK MASSEUR: THE SWIMMER AS HERO, Charles Sprawson's quirky memoir of aquatic feats performed around the world

Science fiction is another passion of yours. Who are your sci-fi heroes and villains and what do you consider the best sci-fi?

My first published writing appeared in science fiction magazines, often in the same issues as another neophyte, the substantially more gifted J.G. Ballard, whose dystrophic novel THE DROWNED WORLD I've re-read countless times. Of the same vintage, Alfred Bester's THE STARS MY DESTINATION recycled THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO in a swashbuckling style that engendered the baroque futurism known as Steampunk, a leading exponent of which, William Gibson, is among my preferred writers, in particular his deconstruction of modern media, fashion and cinema, PATTERN RECOGNITION.

If you could invite one literary character to dinner, who would it be and where would you take them?
As a lapsed Catholic, I would enjoy debating dogma with one of Graham Greene's tortured apostates, probably Scobie, the spy exiled to Africa in THE HEART OF THE MATTER. And one wonders what became of the boys from LORD OF THE FLIES when they returned to civilization. Their reminiscences would make absorbing after-dinner conversation.

You started series of books in the last few years concentrating on specific neighborhoods of Paris including St. Germain des Pres and Montmartre. Your latest book is about Montparnasse. Please tell us some of the highlights and what attractions in Montparnasse we must visit.

I like a good anecdote, but the Paris histories of Hemingway, Kiki and Man Ray at the Cafe du Dôme and the Closerie des Lilas and the Jockey are as frayed as the cuffs of shirts too often in the wash. I hope that readers of MONTPARNASSE: PARIS'S DISTRICT OF MEMORY AND DESIRE will be encouraged by its slightly unconventional approach to visit or re-visit the traditional sites but see them with new eyes.

For this book, I looked elsewhere for stories; among the artists of rue de la Grande Chaumière,for example, whose stays in Paris are barely documented - painters don't write memoirs - or the models and menials who blush unseen in the lives of the great. Who knew that Ernest and Hadley Hemingway had a servant, or that Ernest slept with his concierge?

Everyone writes about La Coupole, but seldom mentions its basement dance hall or the craze incubated there for a French version of the Argentinian tango, a dance one writer characterized as "a black and juicy Havana metamorphosed into a slim golden cigarette."

Hemingway has left us his take on his first meeting with Scott Fitzgerald but I had the advantage of knowing Donald Ogden Stewart, the man who introduced them. This book was my first chance to publish his account of that historic event.

What writing this book taught me that, once you clear away the false tinsel that envelops Montparnasse, the real tinsel underneath is even more exciting.

What do you prefer about Paris?
In nine books, I've tried repeatedly to answer this question, and always, partly at least, failed. The societies in which I lived before coming here were committed to the vision of a perfectible future achievable by hard work, enterprise and luck. None satisfied me. I felt like Jay Gatsby, reaching out for the light across the water that receded the closer he approached.

Paris forced me to abandon these ideals, to become instead the classic "stranger in a strange land." France's tradition of scholarship encouraged me to embark on a series of biographies, a form in which I'd never worked, and then to attempt the equally forbidding memoir form. The results more than justified the effort.

I prefer Paris because it encourages visitors to see the world with new eyes. Uniquely in my experience, the French look on their heritage of paintings and works of literature not as collectibles but as windows or lenses through which the world can be made sharper, more explicable. I write about it in the same spirit.

Taking visitors on walking tours introduced me to Paris all over again. There's no better way to learn of something than to explain it to others. Each walk is a new voyage of discovery. I hope to continue leading them as long as my feet and the stories hold out.

If you love salted butter caramels, please watch my newest A Bite of Paris video about Henri Le Roux, the man who actually invented the salted butter caramel.

Click here to watch or link below

https://youtu.be/Am22oSA_UYc

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel. 

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Parisian of the Month: Sylvia Whitman of Shakespeare and Company

I am taking a blogging break this week. I am reposting some of your favorite Parisian’s of the Month. See you next week with all new content. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born opposite Shakespeare and Company in the Hôtel de Ville hospital. I grew up in Paris, Norfolk and Scotland.

You spent your formative years in England and moved back to Paris to be with your father. How were those gap years in England and what was it like coming back to your father grown up?
School was school and returning to live and work in Paris was a real discovery and exploration of books and characters.

It must have been an enormous task to take over the bookshop after your father passed away. What were some of the difficulties?
I had to install a phone to start with (in 2003)! The book industry has undergone drastic changes over the recent years. Adapting to online competition and the use of e-readers was one aspect to consider, the other was how to modernize this bookshop without altering the atmosphere. That balance has been both my aspiration and challenge.

Obviously you had big shoes to fill regarding your father’s legacy. What were the expectations from other people?
No idea! I’ve never tried to replace George because he is irreplaceable. I try and focus on what is needed for the bookshop and am constantly inspired by the writers I meet, the booksellers and the unique space.

How do you balance maintaining a modern day bookshop so steeped in the past?
There are too many books to read and too many shelves to repair to think about anything else! Seriously I love the combination of the 17th century building, the old books and the new titles that arrive every day. It’s incredibly stimulating.

What are some of the myths about Shakespeare and Company you would like to publicly dispel?
A lot of people who visit the store often ask where James Joyce slept or where Hemingway used to sit and borrow books and sometimes it is hard to break it to them that they are in the wrong place. We are the second incarnation Shakespeare and Company. Here, at 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, we were home to the beat generation, not the lost generation, though their impact is very much a part of the bookshop and it’s chameleon like history.

You are expanding the bookshop soon. Please tell us about the expansion and what to expect ?
A café, a website… there are lots of others on my list but I might be dreaming: a bookshop farm, a shop around the corner dedicated to poetry, more space for children and their noise and songs.

There was a major spread about you, your father, and Shakespeare and Company in Vanity Fair magazine recently. What was the reaction and what benefits did it reap?
Bookstores are becoming more and more of a rarity nowadays and so any opportunity to remind people that we are here, next to the bells of the Notre Dame, carrying on a tradition of selling good literature can only be a good thing.

Who are some of your favorite writers that have spoken at the shop?
I was born after Allen Ginsberg and Richard Wright were here but I would have loved to have seen and heard them. For me, Lawrence Durrell was an incredible person to see reading from his quartet when I was just a child. We carry on the tradition and keep getting incredible writers over here from Martin Amis to Carol Ann Duffy and recently we even had the rock legend Jimmy Page!

What are your best selling books?
I would say our biggest sellers are Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast”, Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince” and not surprisingly, given where the bookshop is located; Hugo’s “A Hunchback of Notre Dame”

If you could invite one author to lunch, living or dead, who would it be and where would you have lunch?
I think it would be really fun to share a Madeleine with Proust or sip at a Tomato Juice with Bram Stoker. We would have to meet at the shop, it is where I am most comfortable and I could get them to sign some first editions for our bookshelves.

What do you prefer about Paris?
Everything. The architecture, the smell of fresh bread everywhere in the morning, the smiles on peoples faces as they enter the shop. It is the most beautiful city in the world. Francois I summed it up best way back when: “Paris isn’t a city, it’s a world”

Shakespeare and Company
37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005
Metro: Saint Michel
Open daily 10AMto 11PM
http://shakespeareandcompany.com

If you love salted butter caramels, please watch my newest A Bite of Paris video about Henri Le Roux, the man who actually invented the salted butter caramel.

Click here to watch or link below

https://youtu.be/Am22oSA_UYc

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel. 

Parisian of the Month: Ajiri Aki

I am happy to have Ajiri Aki who has had a diverse career in fashion and who also launched tabletop website last year as my Parisian of the Month. 

Where were your born and where did you grow up? 

I was born in Nigeria and grew up in Austin, Texas.

When and why did you move to Paris? 

I moved to Paris 7.5 years ago after marrying my Swiss German husband who was already living here. We dated for a year and half long distance before having a big Nigerian and Texan wedding. 

You lived in New York City, my hometown, for ten years working in the fashion industry. Please describe some of the jobs you had. 

I loved spending my Twenties in The City. I first went there as a fashion intern at W Magazine then got a job working as a men’s fashion editor at DNR, which was eventually folded into WWD.  (The fashion industry’s main newspaper.) I basically learned everything working on a weekly publication because I had to go out into the market to meet designers then come back and produce my own shoots and write my own copy. It was the best learning experience. I also got to style lots of celebrities like Boy George and Pharrell. Then I went on to work at Suede Magazine, a short-lived magazine from Time Inc. for women of color. I was the accessories editor, but also styled many celebrities like Lenny Kravitz, Misty Copeland, Kerry Washington, and Joy Bryant. It was one of the crazier fashion jobs that included going to Morrocco on a day’s notice to meet a crew I didn’t know with 5 suitcases of clothes.  

You worked at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of the City of New York. What was that like and what are your most significant memories? 

Calm and inspiring, which was the opposite of my magazine and styling days, and I was desperately in need of that. I loved every day at both museums trolling through magazine archives and seeing beautiful garments and pieces from the 17^th to early 20^th centuries. I also got the chance to get to know and work with the legendary Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton. At the MCNY I was the research assistant on a show about Black Style from the 1920s to the present, but kept proposing so many ideas and solutions that I was bumped up to Associate Curator. It was an absolute dream and I got to talk on the phone with LLCool J, meet Diddy, Dapper Dan, and so many famous photographers like Mark Seliger and Albert Watson. 

You’ve had such a versatile career, including co-authoring a book about the recently departed Karl Lagerfeld. Please tell us about the book and also your feelings when the great Karl passed away. 

Yes there have been so many things that interest me and I am not afraid to take a hard right in my career path and try things. (Of course I get scared but do it anyways.) Working on Where’s Karl? was insanely exhausting but so rewarding. Me and my co-author Stacey Caldwell made Pinterest boards of every single person you see in the book and lists of what they would be doing and who they were standing next to. Everything was so detailed and curated before we passed it on to our illustrator. Even for the cities we would send over loose line drawings and cultural references. So much work!! However it all paid off because the book became a New York Times best seller and Karl loved it!! He was buying up all the books in Paris until we sent him boxes. Then after we wrapped up a 5 city book tour in the States, he sent us on a 7 city European tour to all the Karl Lagerfeld stores. The president of Chanel even requested a custom scene. The whole experience was wonderful. 

Stacey and I were so sad when Karl passed away because he was so generous to us and supported our book. We were also clearly big fans.  

You started a new business last year, Madame de la Maison. Please tell us about your new venture and the services and merchandise you offer. 

Madame de la Maison is a linen and antique sales and rental business. I am in the business of bringing people together at the table with beautiful objects. I rent everything you need for the table such as linens, mix and match antique plates, silverware, crystal stemware, brass candelabras, etc…for weddings as well as private events. You can even rent for your next dinner party of 2!  In a few months I will also have a modern contemporary collection of brands we all know and love. I want people to be able to rent items they actually want to own in real life. So many rental companies just offer boring basics you can find at Ikea or Hema and wouldn’t want to buy. I want to be Rent the Runway for home and entertaining. For the online shop I have saved you the time of scouring the flea market or wasting time with online marketplaces with pages and pages of objects. It is a tightly curated collection of objects at price points you can still get excited about. 

On your website you say you scour France to find the best pieces. What are your favorite flea markets and brocantes in Paris and throughout France?

I love visiting the street flea markets in Paris, which change locations every weekend. However my real jam is getting in my car and driving around Provence or through the Loire looking for treasures. 

What are some of your favorite home and tabletop boutiques in Paris?

There sadly aren’t too many that get me excited or that I don’t feel kinda bored of. I honestly feel like Paris is lacking in this department. In New York there are so many good home stores. I still love La Tresorie and Ailleurs Paris though. 

If you could decorate a table for anyone or any event, past or future, who or what would it be and how would you style it? 

I would love to decorate a table for a big art benefit dinner and I would play with the shades of the same color to match a painting. I love when I get the freedom to style the table.   

Do you have some cool tips about how to easily decorate and dress up your table without too much fuss? 

Linens, simple low flowers, and votives add color, ambiance and joy instantly. 

What do you prefer about Paris? 

I prefer that life in Paris is slow living in the big city. 

https://madamedelamaison.com/

Last week to see my photo exhibit at Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 Metro: Rue du Bac

Don't miss it! 

Parisian of the Month February 2019: Bernadette Martin

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Los Angeles….grew up there and did first degree in French at California State University Northridge…. Spent one year abroad in Aix-en-Provence

When and why did you move to Paris?

2002 to explore opportunities. Started out lecturing at various universities then launched my own company called Visibility Branding.

You have been very successful with your Story Telling Events. Can you tell us the format of these evenings and also what you attribute their success to? 

Format is that once a month I welcome guests (max 25) chez moi with a glass of champagne and they then mingle and dine (5 course meal ) Following the Storyteller presents 75-90 minutes. Dessert is served during the presentation. The Storyteller chooses the format. Is and informal and intimate setting with the focus on either just the Storyteller or Q & A format with “moi”. Often a performance is weaved into the evening. Normally in English, a translator can be provided.

The flow of the evening is "roughly" the following:

              7:30 - 8:45 welcome, aperitif, mingling, and dinner

               8:45 - 10:00 presentation and Q & A

              10:30 - ???? (open)  Guests linger and mingle with the Storyteller 

 

I attribute the success to the fact that the setting is welcoming and intimate…. a residence not a café or public place. Guests hail from all walks of life…locals, expats, people passing through and the idea of gathering storytelling enthusiasts who mingle, dine then listen to a storyteller (entertainer, artist, musician, actor, singer, dancer) who recounts their story and performs. These are often compared to the French “salons” of the 18^th century which provided a place for intellectual discourse under the roof of an inspiring hostess and held to amuse, to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation. These modern day “salons” are through storytelling where the idea is to ENTERTAIN, AMUSE, EDUCATE, ENLIGHTEN or any combination thereof. The physical event is attended by 25-30 Storytelling aficionados, passionate about storytelling and are a mix of locals, expats or people passing through Paris. These events are also live-streamed via Facebook and attract viewers from across the globe. The 5-course menu that starts with a glass of champagne is an important part of the evening and is always different, corresponding with the theme and/or the storytellers’ origins or preference.  I do all of the cooking which I love as gives me a chance to explore various cuisines.. I know several chefs who give advice on the menu, recipes etc…

How did you come up with the idea of the Storytelling Evenings?

The fact that I love to entertain and I moved into a bigger apartment

Who is the person you most want to have speak at your Storytelling Evenings? 

I don’t have anyone in particular……as the 60 plus to date have been quite varied. I find so many people who have interesting stories that others would enjoy and when I discover this I am delighted to showcase their story and talent.  Perhaps I live vicariously.. I do play classical piano but would rather showcase others. 

You are also a brand and marketing strategist and congratulations on the recent 15^th anniversary of your company Visibility Branding. How and why did you start your company and what was your background in this field? 

I am all about storytelling whether my Storytelling Evenings or in my career where I help professionals tell their story. 

And thank you….yes it has been 15 years when I founded Visibility Branding where I am a Career Transition Personal Brand Strategist, Storyteller, Speaker and Author of "Storytelling about Your Brand Online & Offline" . I offer career development services working with individuals (executives, professionals, entrepreneurs, consultants, Executive MBA ) and organizations (start-ups, universities, associations and corporations). My areas of expertise are Personal Branding, LinkedIn, e-Reputation Management and Storytelling. I call the US and France both home, and connect virtually with most of my clients.

My background running up to this was a 15-year international corporate career with brands such as Procter & Gamble, Ford, Saatchi & Saatchi, American Express, Citibank, DHL, Jaguar and Nestle. I transitioned in 2003 to working with personal brands offering career development services for individuals, corporations and academic institutions in virtual and on-site environments.

Do you have some short tips about how someone would market their small business? 

Network to find synergies, get ideas, and to share yours. Search out experts that can help you and advise….don’t feel you can do everything on your own. 

Who are some of your future guests for your Story Telling Evenings?

This Saturday February 23^rd, Brigitte Beling is featured. Our paths crossed in 2008 in Paris at the US Election Night. I have heard her sing on several occasions and in discovering her story was delighted that she could feature where she will tell her story and perform “Sweet Home Chicago” (where she grew up) plus selections of some of her jazz, blues, gospel and musical favorites and her own compositions.

I would be delighted to welcome some of your readers this Saturday Feb 23^rd to hear Brigitte.. here is link to RSVP

http://visibilitybranding2015.eventbrite.com

What arrondissement do you live in and what do you like best about it? 

11^th. What I love most is the marche every Thursday and Sunday morning to 13:30. As I understand it’s the largest in Paris. Is where I buy fruit and vegetables and I feel like a local. The area in general is animated…..borders on the Marais is chock full of cafes, restaurants,  opera at Bastille, clubs, shops and almost everything I need is within walking distance.. 

What do you prefer about Paris? 

The cultural diversity.

 Visibility Branding    

www.storytellingevenings.com

If you haven't already seen my Eye Prefer Paris exhibit, it's on until March 31. 

Parisian of the Month: Patricia Laplante-Collins

This is a posthumous Parisian of the Month of Patricia Laplante-Collins from 2009. Sadly, Patricia suddenly passed away last month. In case you don’t know who Patricia Laplante-Collins was, she was an ex-pat social lynchpin of Paris, hosting her famous and popular Paris Soirees. Almost every Sunday night for over two decades, Patricia would open her home and make dinner for whoever wanted to come, as long as you were pleasant and open to meeting new people. (She charged a very nominal fee for her expenses). Even though she had many faithful regulars attend over the years, it was more importantly a safe place for new ex-pats to meet new people or have a community to relate to. She also invited a guest speaker, from poets, to historians to musicians, to kick off the evening. I was quite flattered when Patricia invited me to speak about my blog and tours in 2008 and it was a wonderful way to share my stories with a new audience. The best part of the evening was when Patricia would introduce each person and ask him or her to briefly tell something about themselves, making everyone feel special and welcome. Patricia had lots of ups and downs over the years, frequently having to move or change locations for her soirees, but she always managed to have them happen every Sunday night, no matter the circumstances. She brought thousands of people together for a common purpose, making her guests feel at home and at ease, sometimes with an unexpected benefit; new friendships were formed and at least one person met their future longtime partner. I remember Patricia’s reaction when I first invited her to be my Parisian of the Month and then published it. She was beyond thrilled and overjoyed, as if she had won an Oscar or the lotto jackpot, and every time I would see here she would thank me again. Sunday nights in Paris just won’t be the same anymore without you Patricia, and I hope you are hosting your fabulous Paris Soirees in heaven.

Patricia Laplante-Collins is the genial hostess and proprietor of Paris Soirees, a twice weekly salon-like gathering that includes a home-cooked dinner and/or cocktail hour. The intimate meetings are held in Patricia's living room and always include an interesting and inspiring guest speaker. Patricia was kind enough to invite me as a guest speaker last year to talk about my tours and read some of my blog posts. The evening was quite a success and I gained a whole new audience for my blog and tours.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
 I was premature and born in Cleveland, Ohio where my Mother was on vacation.

Actually, four generations on both sides my family are from Atlanta (where I grew up) . An ancestor, Colonel McHenry, was one of the first African Americans in the Georgia House Of Representatives after the Civil War (the era of carpetbaggers and other scoundrels a la Gone with the Wind).We also have lot of Georgia Indian blood, but do not know the names of the tribes).
 
I attended middle-class Spelman College for one year, then transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, which opened my eyes to the world.
 
What brought you to Paris and how long have you lived here?
 I was traveling and living in different places around Europe - especially Italy and Sweden, after having lived in NY and worked in advertising. I thought I had a contact in France who had started a company and I knew could help get me working papers. Although I had a fascination with Paris, always had had since being a kid growing up in Atlanta, having that contact was a decisive factor for me coming here.  I also decided to enroll in the University of Paris IV, the Sorbonne, in Art History on a graduate level.
 
August 1st will be the 26th anniversary of my arrival in Paris to live. 

How did you come up with idea for your Paris Soirees and when did you start them?
 When I first came to Paris I volunteered for American organizations which held events. One day I wanted to do my own events. At first they were social issue oriented. Then they became literary cocktails in about 1994 - most notably the African American Literary Soirees .Ernest Gaines was the special guest and for the occasion, I made a creole dinner. It was a success. I continued the cocktail format though also used an art gallery, Cafe Marley (it was different then) and a web cafe art gallery and at the 7 Lezards Jazz Club.
 
Then in 1999 I added on dinners, in my living room, had the literary cocktail on Friday and the dinner on Sunday. Eventually I merged the two and now have African-American and all sorts of subjects.  Its very eclectic. There are all kinds of subjects which draws a wide range of intelligent people.
 
I often do cocktails on Wednesdays and there are often subjects about self development and practical matters. But it's really social and cultural too. Sometimes subjects about being single. Looking forward to Wednesday Sept 18th when Jamie Cat Callan presents her new book French Women Don't Sleep Alone
 
It was really hard for me to make friends and meet nice people when I came to Paris. That's one of my motivations in organizing dinners. Just remembering how difficult it was for me. Through Paris Soirees events, I've met a tremendous number of nice people and have made many friends.
 
Also I love cooking and was a trainee at the Cordon Bleu and La Varenne while being a jeune fille au-pair. I find handling food therapeutic.
 
Tell me how they work.
 It's easy to come. To reserve just email me on [email protected] or call me on the cell 33 6 43 79 35 18. Your donation gets collected during the evening. I send out notices by email so you can just return the notice also - but well before noon on Sunday. I pencil in advance reservations so you have to call the day before to confirm. I don't read emails after 12h00 noon on Sunday. Please feel free to call on Sunday anytime, if you suddenly find that you're free. Groups should email in advance.

Happy hour is 18h30  - 19h30. The Special Guest presents at 19h45 and dinner is at about 20h30 (buffet but you're served.)It's casual and fun. The evening ends at about 10h00-10h30.

 

Who was the most interesting speaker you ever had?
 Director Bob Swaim who won the Palm D Or at the Cannes film festival for La Balance with Nathalie Baye. The film involves the life of a prostitute and Bob worked with plain clothes policemen to learn the atmosphere. His stories about his experiences were compelling.
 
If you could invite one person living or dead to speak at your soirees, who would it be?
 Al Pacino interviewed by Larry King (I've never heard Al interviewed and I know that Larry would do a great job).

 What’s the most unexpected surprise that happened at your soirees?
 When author Rosine Bramley, who wrote a book called Do Women Still Need Men? had reciprocated love at first sight with an American from Florida and now spends much of her time there with him. He was one of the few men in the audience. What a surprise.
 
Besides your living room, what would be your ideal space to have one of your soirees in?
A trendy and homey gallery with a kitchen big enough to cook in or a river barge that I could afford in the dead center of Paris. (I once rented one for a short time but it became too expensive and was only available for a few months of the year at bad times of the evening.)
 
What are some of the things that Paris offers that no other city does?
 It makes you feel that you are in the most special place in the world. The center of the universe, the best that Western culture has to offer.

What do you prefer about Paris? 
I love people watching. I can sit all day in a cafe on a nice day and watch people go by - in a fun neighborhood of course.

If you want to reserve a spot for one of Patricia's soirees, got to her website
 http://www.parissoirees.com/

Mural of Patricia by Tom Byrne and Sheila Kern

Parisian of the Month: Liv Monaghan

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a Parisian of the Month and happy to start off the New Year with an interview with Liv Monaghan, a singer and songwriter with a fresh, unique style. 

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Cork city in Ireland. I went to university in Dublin.

When and why did you move to Paris?

I moved to Paris in 2012 to pursue a post graduate program in Theatre design (my background is in theatre design) at the Ecole Jacques leqoc and planned to stay a year but I’m still here!

When did you first realize you wanted to become a singer and what age did you start singing? 

I always loved to sing but I didn’t consider it a career path - ever - until I found myself jobless and Frenchless about 3 months into moving to Paris, and quite by accident discovered singing in small bars could round up a few centimes. It grew from that. 

Which singer or singers did you most want to be like when you were growing up? Did that change now that you are an adult? 

I loved musicals when I was a child, Julie Andrews was a favourite, and I also liked Maria Callas and Judy Collins. Now I listen to a lot more jazz singers, known and some lesser-known. I really like Esperanza Spalding.

Do you think that Paris offers more opportunities for performers starting out than other cities? 

It did for me, but I think it’s all about being in the right place with the right people at the right time.. being a young Irish woman in Paris was something a bit different and it probably played to my advantage. However, Paris is a slow burner, I think a lot of performers can get their careers to take off more quickly in cities like London or New York.

What would be your dream concert including venue, city, accompanying musicians, etc. and what you would wear? 

The Appel Room in New York, with Bill Frisell on guitar, Kenny Wolleson on drums, and Lee Alexander on double bass. For my dress - I would commission the designer Thibault Martin to create something goddess-like; He made my accessories for the album art of Slow Exhale, and besides being brilliantly talented, he’s a great friend and understands my style inside out.

Please tell us about your new record Slow Exhale and the process of writing the songs. Does Paris have a place in any of the songs? 

Slow Exhale was released in December. It was recorded in Paris in just over six hours in quartet, with Sava Medan (double-bass) Soheil Tabrizi-Zadeh (guitar and trumpet) and Adrien Cao (drums). It’s an eight track album and I’m really proud of it and grateful to everyone who helped make it happen, from the brilliant musicians to the gang who got behind me for my Crowdfund campaign. The process of writing with me doesn’t really fall into a regular pattern. I create songs as a kind of way to work through my feelings or respond to things, and the songs themselves, while having elements of personal truths, go through a process of collage and camouflage and collaboration until they are something beyond me and hopefully that comes across to the listener where they too can find themselves in the sound.

You perform mostly your own material but what are your favorite songs written by other people? 

I love Joni Mitchell. Her songs are both a joy and a challenge to sing. I also like to sing songs from Elliot Smith and Amy Winehouse. I have a fairly healthy jazz standard repertoire under my belt and  there’s something about Duke Ellington’s songs that pluck strings in me I didn’t know existed. 

Can you please list upcoming concerts in the next six months? 

1st February - Club Babilo, 20h, 9 Rue du Baigneur, 75018 Paris

12 February - Les Disquaires, 20h , 4-6 Rue des Taillandiers, 75011 Paris

30 March - Le Baiser Salé, 22h, 58 Rue des Lombards, 75001 Paris

11 April - Dolans Warehouse, 20h 3-4 Dock Rd, Limerick, Ireland

1 June - Walrus Disquaires Bar - 34 TER Rue de Dunkerque, 75010 Paris

12 June - Peniche Marcounet Paris

Where in Paris do you live and what are the highlights of your neighborhood?

I live in Montmartre near Lamarck Caulaincourt and I love it. I have wonderful neighbours, and everything I need is a stone’s throw away. There’s a great thespian atmosphere and La Femis is beside me. I escape the hustle bustle of Paris because I’m on the more local side of the hill. It’s got a quaint village vibe; There are great restaurants, bars and cafes near me. It’s a real community.

What do you prefer about Paris? 

The pace. The art. The laid-back casual-chic. The je ne sais quoi. 

You can download Liv's album Slow Exhale on I-Tunes or go to her site https://www.livmonaghanmusic.com/ for more info. 

Please don't forget to RSVP to Pauline Bernard event@hotel-pont-royal for the opening of my photo exhibit on February 5.