Club 13 in Paris, Lelouch’s temple to cinema – Technologist

To discover Club 13, Claude Lelouch’s inconspicuous kingdom at 15 Avenue Hoche in Paris, near the Parc Monceau, you first have to pass through a wrought-iron gate, then a glass door. On the right is Les Films 13, the offices of the filmmaker’s production company. Down a long staircase, visitors pass a restaurant and a reception room. Further down, they reach the club’s famous screening room. Then there is a staircase, at the bottom of which editing rooms and another screening room appear, while the walls display photos and posters of the French director’s films.

Lelouch bought Club 13 in the late 1960s, with the money earned from the worldwide success of Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1966 and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay the following year. He dreamed of a film house, like the studios and production offices built by Jean-Pierre Melville in a former garage at 25 bis Rue Jenner, in the 13^th arrondissement of Paris.

“I wanted to fashion a working tool for myself, to make my films where I wanted and when I wanted. I made 51 of them, without realizing it, thanks to the success of A Man and a Woman,” noted the director, who has just celebrated his 87^th birthday and is about to release his new film, Finalement, with Kad Merad.

13, his lucky number

When he bought it, 15 Avenue Hoche may have been a private mansion, but above all, it was a ruin. The cellars had to be demolished, the rats driven out, and life breathed into a ghostly place. Lelouch wanted to build his domain, 1,000 square meters on four levels, in the golden triangle of the Champs-Elysées, then the center of gravity of French cinema. Here were the capital’s biggest movie theaters, as well as its most important production houses and talent agencies.

Ideally, the building should have been located at 13, the director’s lucky number. One of his sailboats was named Vendredi 13. Claude Lelouch’s first and last names total 13 letters. His year of birth, 1937, is a multiple of 13. Even his cell phone number ends in 13 (“by chance,” he admitted). When one of his films is released, it’s usually on the 13^th day of the month. Finalement is no exception, since it hits theaters on November 13.

When Lelouch designed his screening room, he wanted it to be the most beautiful in the world. It’s certainly a masterpiece. Great filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Milos Forman and Francis Coppola have insisted on using it for press screenings and previews of their films. “I thought carefully about the quality of the projection. I installed very comfortable armchairs and ashtrays, as there was a lot of smoking in those days. The seats are a must. If the film is good, viewers will feel comfortable. If it’s not, they can sleep. There’s no need to punish them.”

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