Trivia / Parking (1985)

• Creator Backlash:
  • Francis Huster is embarrassed by his performance in the film, especially his singing.
  • Jacques Demy disowned the film shortly after making it and considered it, at best, So Bad, It's Good.
• Inspiration for the Work: Orpheus and Eurydice's characters and general relationship were inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, with Eurydice sharing the latter's sculpting hobby.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The film is very hard to find even in its native France, only being included in the Region 2 Integrale Collection of Demy's entire filmography. Outside France, it's impossible to find.
• Reality Subtext: Jacques Demy was suffering from complications due to HIV/AIDS when making this film, and his own mortality is woven in as subtext when the characters contemplate death, the afterlife, and people remembering an artist's work after they die, as well as Orpheus's relationships with Calais and Eurydice. Demy would pass away 5 years after making the film.
• Troubled Production: The film was first conceived in 1971 and spent many years in development hell, as neither David Bowie nor Johnny Hallyday were interested in the project. When Jacques Demy's producer suggested Francis Huster play Orpheus, Huster insisted on interpreting the songs himself. The producer included the clause without telling Jacques Demy, who had to accept or else the film wouldn't get made. Between that, budgetary issues due to lack of advance receipts, and being shot in a short amount of time in a failed attempt to make the Cannes Film Festival, the experience was so draining that Demy disowned the film shortly after completion and contemplated leaving the film industry entirely.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The film's working title was Monsieur Orphee.
  • Parking was planned to be shot with David Bowie as Orpheus, then Johnny Hallyday, but neither were available or interested in the project. Jacques Demy's producer suggested Francis Huster play Orpheus, and he agreed.

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