'Paris Vinci'

If you've seen True Detective S2 you'll know the best thing about it is the setting, Vinci, an industrial estate no-zone in the centre of LA.

​I finally got around to staying in the Paris hotel in Wes Anderson's HOTEL CHEVALIER
but I didn't, it was expensive and I got guilted into staying somewhere less ostentatious
(I'll do it next time)

Instead I find myself in a hotel so far out of town the local metro station gives only only location - 'Paris'
And I walked here from Paris Nord​. This seemed like a good idea last weekend when I walked ten miles from N1 to the Millenium Dome. Less so today.

Just read the wiki page on Syd Barret in the only open earterie in the district...
 (August means everywhere including hotel bar and restaurant in the district is closed)

...and apparently when Syd Barret moved back from his London flat to live in Cambridge with his mum he walked the whole distance. 50 miles.
I just starting to think "oh I bet that was fun" when I realised the poor guy man was totally cuckoo for coco-pops at the time.

Anyhoo
Some of these these out of town, out of time, out of this world hotels on the outskirts are more interesting than staying in a tourist trap in town. My week long stay at the Jerry Anderson-esque Hesperia Hotel "in" Barcelona at the start of my 2010 roadtrip was so good I'm planning to drive back next year.

This 'business hotel' in a half abandoned industrial estate would probably be really depressing in say.. Slough.. but the French never allow anything to get that boring.

Just wish the bar was open.

A lesson in film production and man management : ANT-MAN vs FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

There is actually a great conversation to be had about Ant-Man and Fantastic Four which is actually about competent/incompetent movie production and basic man management skills.

Film director starts work on a singular, perhaps risky, vision of an existing property. Studio backs him initially.

• Marvel Studious with Edgar Wright
• Josh Trank with Fantastic Four (2015)

Movie/movies are released during production which makes the studio hesitate;

• Iron Man and Avengers create a connected world which doesn't fit with Edgar Wrights vision
• Guardian of the Galaxy proves bright and cheery space opera and superheroes is a valid mix after all

Studio has to make a decision;

• Marvel amicably splits with Edgar Wright but salvages most of his vision for another director to complete. Result - Ant-Man is somewhat faithful to Edgar Wright and pretty much everyone is happy.
• Fox lets Josh Trank complete the majority of his movie, then spreads rumours about his onset behaviour, then sacks him and reshoots it. Result - a complete car crash.

And lets not forget this is Fox's second disaster of this kind with this iconic comic property. In their previous failed attempt to adapt the most famous plotline from this set of characters Fox executives similarly got cold feet during production and slashed the budget, resulting in one of the most famous and recognisable characters in comics being portrayed onscreen as a cloud.