OUT TO OWN ON DVD 4TH JUNE 2007Starring Cecile de France, Laura Morante, And Valerie LemercierDirected by Daniele ThompsonORCHESTRA SEATS is a wonderful and warm human comedy about men and women and the people they meet. Directed by Daniele Thompson and starring Cecile de France (Around the World in 80 Days, Switchblade Romance), Laura Morante (The Dancer Upstairs, The Son’s Room), Valerie Lemercier (Sabrina), ORCHESTRA SEATS is the story of three days leading up to a crucial evening for all the characters, and above all, a neighbourhood.Catherine (Valerie Lemercier) is a star on TV – hugely popular and adored by everyone – but all she dreams about is intellectual recognition. By night, she records her 100th episode and by day, rehearses a play at the Comédie des Champs-Élysées theatre. Jean-François (Albert Dupontel) is a gifted pianist – adored and overbooked – and on the 17th will be playing Beethoven next door, in one of the finest concert halls in the world. But all he dreams about is solitude, freedom, and an uncultivated audience.
Jacques has spent his life seeking out and discovering artists, raiding his piggy bank to collect rare works of art. On the 17th, Jacques will sell the lot. In one single evening, his life’s work will be split up and scattered around the world.
Jessica’s (Cecile de France) grandmother, a former five- star hotel lavatory attendant, once told her: “I didn’t have the means to live in luxury, so I decided to work in it instead”. One day Jessica too tries her luck in Paris. On the 17th, the café opposite the two theatres and the saleroom needs extra help and Jessica gets the job.
This is where they all come – actress, pianist, waitress, concierge, collector, son of one, wife of another – to nurse their neuroses over a coffee or a steak tartare. Confronted by this world she once believed was magical, Jessica loses her illusions but she does find the key to a new life – too far away and you miss half the show, too close and you see nothing at all. Orchestra Seats