Romance at the Ritz
A video invite to the remodeled Paris hotel
In July 2012, the Ritz Paris closed its doors to begin a top-to-bottom renovation that upgraded everything from the hotel’s infamous red-carpeted entryway to the quality of its water pressure. “It needed a redo, but maintaining its essence and strong identity was essential, and my vision was to keep the Ritz exactly as it was but better,” said Thierry W. Despont, the New York-based architect tasked with giving the Ritz its facelift. To coincide with the hotel’s reopening, the Ritz enlisted filmmaker Zoe Cassevetes (the daughter of filmmaker John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands) to create a film to entice travelers back into its rooms. The result? This seductive film called “Behind the Door,” starring French actress Ana Girardot and the Spanish model/actor Andrés Velencoso.
