Movie to cash in on Paul the oracle octopus
The story of Paul the psychic octopus will be made into a film scheduled to hit the big screens around China next month, a mainland movie producer announced yesterday.
The dark-humoured thriller, The Murder of Paul the Octopus, had completed its shooting schedule in South Africa and started filming in Beijing, the producer said in Shanghai. The film, produced by China Film Group Corporation and Beijing Filmblog Media Co, was slated for national release at the end of August, the Shanghai Daily reported yesterday.
Company spokesman Song Ping said Paul the Octopus - who was allegedly hatched in English waters and now lives in a German aquarium - would be played by a Chinese octopus instead.
Paul became renowned worldwide for correctly predicting the winner of Germany's seven matches at the 2010 World Cup, as well as the final match between Spain and the Netherlands. Aquariums and companies around the world, including those in China, have tried to sign him, either on loan or in a permanent move from its German owner.
But the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen has turned down all the bidding offers. 'It's totally out of the question to sell Paul or lend him out,' Sea Life official Kerstin Kuhn said last week. 'Paul will enjoy his greatly deserved retirement in Sea Life in Oberhausen.'
The Chinese filmmaker said the move would focus on Paul's incredible winning streak. It will explore 'how the octopus acquires the ability and discuss his possible fates'. The movie will also feature popular mainland soccer commentators Huang Jianxiang and Li Chengpeng.
Although the Chinese national team failed again to reach the World Cup finals, the country was gripped by World Cup fever from mid-June to mid-July, and was completely enamoured with Paul, arguably the biggest star of the tournament.
The oracle has acquired such a pop culture icon status on the mainland that everybody wants to get a piece of him - albeit not literally. Shanghai's World Expo organisers have issued a special Paul's stamp. Paul's tentacles have also reached Taobao, the leading online shopping portal, with octopus-related merchandise, such as T-shirts, stuffed toys and USB flash drives.
It was uncertain whether the movie had got Paul or the Sea Life Centre's approval. And while the film is scheduled to hit the screens next month, it is not clear if it has passed the mainland's notorious censors.
