FEAST OR FAMINE

The Wes Anderson exhibition, the first dedicated to the work of American filmmaker Wes Anderson, follows the chronological evolution of his work, from his first steps as a self-taught director in the 1990s to his most recent works and the most awarded worldwide ( The Grand Budapest Hotel ). The exhibition, from 19 March to 27 July 2025 is held at Cinematheque in Paris.  The exhibition explores Wes Anderson’s almost complete filmography and the meticulous work carried out before filming with his team: cinematographer Robert Yeoman, screenwriter Roman Coppola, composer Alexandre Desplat, and production designer Adam Stockhausen.  Visitors can see the hand-painted model of the Darjeeling Limited train; the books from Moonrise Kingdom; the painting Boy with Apple that sits in the dressing room of The Grand Budapest Hotel; the puppets from Fantastic Mr. Fox and Asteroid City; the miniatures of Simon Weisse; the work of graphic designer Erica Dorn; and the incredible collections of ...

I did not volunteer to be a volunteer when I was nine years old. My mother made me do it, but I’ve been volunteering happily ever since. The culmination was being a full-time volunteer in the Press Operations Team at the Grand Palais during the Paralympics taekwondo, triathlon, and wheelchair fencing events.    Of the approximate 300,000 applicants to volunteer at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, I am grateful to be part of the 45,000 selected. I am grateful for the all the work and support of the Volunteer Committee and team. The process was long but easy, with regular emails, manuals, videos, podcasts, and both online and venue training. During the Games, everyone in the Press Operations Team were the best – ever – in making it an enjoyable and memorable experience.    It takes a multitude of teams to run an event on this scale, so thanks to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), ticketing, helpdesk, ...

Legendary fictional peacekeeper Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the  Star Wars  film series, visited the Grand Palais to see the wheelchair fencing at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.    Of the three disciplines of fencing – sabre, foil, and epée – Friday 6 September was dedicated to the Epée category of sword fencing. The epée is not really Obi-Wan’s weapon of strength. He prefers the sabre.   In fact, Obi-Wan’s expertise is the lightsabre, a rigid metal base with a luminescent laser sword or “energy blade” about 91 centimetres long. The sabre at the Olympics and Paralympics is flexible and short at 105 cm long, and the epée is rigid and 110 cm long.    Real fencing swords do not have a laser. In the  Star Wars  universe, there are blue and green sabres, as well as other colours. The lightsabre can cut, burn, and melt through substances, which of course the real sabre cannot do. The most distinct aspect of the lightsabre is its hum. When it hits ...

  Para Taekwondo competitions came to a close at the Grand Palais venue at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Judges and officials lined up for group photos to mark a memorable journey for all.    Four of us in the Press Tribune team wrapped up the day on Saturday 31 August inside the Taekwondo arena and headed outside to the Pont Alexandre III, the bridge over the Seine near the Grand Palais, to contribute to the preparations for the Para Triathlon.    A selfie sealed the fun we had volunteering in the Press Box. We’re ready for next week at the Paralympics with the Para Triathlons and wheelchair fencing.  MARTINA NICOLLS MartinaNicollsWebsite    I    Rainy Day Healing    I    Martinasblogs    I    Publications    I    Facebook    I    Paris Website    I    Paris blogs    I   Animal Website    I   Flower Websit...

10   August  2024:  On a 30C morning, at 8:00am in Paris, a field of 81 runners started the 42.195-kilometre men’s marathon for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Beginning at the Hotel de Ville, coursing the River Seine to the Versailles Castle and back, 75 runners finished.    Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia won gold in an Olympic record time of 2:06:26. Closely behind was Bashir Abdi of Belgium with a season’s best time for him of 2:06:47, taking the silver medal. In bronze medal position was Benson Kipruto of Kenya with a time of 2:07:00.    Great Britain’s Emile Cairess finished fourth with 2:07:29. USA competitors Conner Mantz and Clayton Young finished together in eighth and ninth positions with 2:08:12 and 2:08:44.   Nicolas Navarro was the fastest Frenchman at 2:09:56 to finish 16 th  – a season’s best for him. Patrick Tiernan was the fastest Australian at 2:10:34 to finish 24 th .    Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge didn’t finish for the first ...