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HBO: How did you gain access to Sirio Maccioni and
his larger than life family?
Andrew Rossi: I grew up in the restaurant business: my father owned a restaurant in NY that was similar to Le Cirque, and he and Sirio were peers. So when I approached the Maccionis they felt that I would understand their world and not try to sensationalize or simplify it. But ultimatley, it's about gaining the trust of a subject over time. During four years of production, they kept letting me in more and more, and that is reflected in the film as the stakes heighten.
HBO: Sirio made his name and reputation in the
heyday of New York café society, which for
people who never experienced it seems like a
glamorous, bygone era.
Andrew Rossi: Sirio started as a waiter in the resort towns of
the Italian Riviera during the 1950s and '60s,
when old-school celebrities like the Duke and
Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace, Gary
Cooper and Frank Sinatra were on the scene.
Back then the food was usually very good, but
not as important as the scene itself. Sirio was
a master at catering to these people, to create
this kind of society "happening," so that every
night people would come and get the perfect
table and watch each other, and there would
be this magic happening, which is quite
different from today's dining model where it's
more democratic, and the food is really the
focus.
When Sirio struck out on his own in 1974, he
was able to call upon all of those relationships
to get his restaurant crowded right away. And
he had a way of combining politicians with
fashion designers with actors and singers,
and an incredible ability to scan the room and
see who needs something, or how to create a
little combustible energy in the restaurant.
And that's what people went to Le Cirque for -
an excitement that felt like, in the era of
Studio 54, you could have a sort of nightclub
feel, but in a restaurant.
HBO: Sirio is a quite a character. How did you see
him within the film?
Andrew Rossi: I saw Sirio as a Felliniesque character, kind of
like Marcello Mastroianni in 'La Dolce Vita,'
courting the paparazzi, but at the same time
kind of ambivalent about it all. Or in '8 & 1/2,'
with Mastroianni's character who's sort of in
his third act, and kind of ready to retire and
having all these personal misgivings about his
life.
HBO: What do you think are the differences
between 4 star restaurants of today and those
of the past, like the original Le Cirque?
Andrew Rossi: In the current restaurant culture, there are
millions of dollars spent on interior design,
but without the same soul or character of a
lot of restaurants that were started by
families. I'm not talking about the trattoria on
the corner, but places that were designed and
built with the soul of either a waiter turned
restaurateur, or somebody who had spent
their whole lives trying to build one place.
When you go into restaurants today, you often
feel like you're one of a thousand customers.
It feels disposable, whereas Sirio is more like
the director and star of a show that's taking
place in his restaurant. Ultimately, I hope
people take away a vision of this glittering
world in New York, in this four-star
restaurant called Le Cirque, but then also
have a warm feeling about the family, who are
really the heart of the story.
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