Lifestyle
'Under Paris' is a Seine-sational French shark movie
!['Under Paris' is a Seine-sational French shark movie](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2478x1394+0+0/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F3d%2F697a1dc64b3b80b10918a52b3b1a%2Funderparis.jpg)
Sharks in the Seine — mon dieu!
Netflix
/Sofie Gheysens
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Netflix
/Sofie Gheysens
I will be the first to admit I didn’t even know there was a French shark movie until I saw it appear at the very top of Netflix’s top 10 movies. And it’s not as if it’s hiding anything about its topic: It’s called Under Paris. You know why? Because it’s all about sharks under Paris. Specifically, it’s about sharks in the Seine. Initially, there are just a couple of sharks. But then, there are a lot of sharks. And the movie is apparently an enormous hit, although/because it is, while not as silly as Sharknado, very silly.
![How Shark Week became a cultural phenomenon](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/07/12/gettyimages-sb10064075am-001_sq-bd11087d08fb7a2172a14515b45446a33bbb0c35.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Under Paris (aka, to me at least, Sharknadeau) begins as a standard menacing-creature story. Sophia (Bérénice Bejo, Oscar nominee for The Artist) is a scientist studying sharks in the vicinity of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (a real, depressing thing). She and her team get a signal from one of their tagged sharks, named Lilith, and several members of the team go on a dive to obtain a blood sample. This dive does not go well (I mean, I suppose it goes OK for Lilith), leaving Sophia traumatized.
A few years later, a shark-saving group in Paris alerts Sophia that they know where Lilith is: in the Seine. Now, sharks in the Seine are not a real thing, but perhaps the only upside of climate change is the expansion of options for disaster movies. After all, a movie like this can throw its hands in the air and say, “Honestly, you don’t know what’s possible now that you can go to the beach on Christmas, do you?” So: sharks in the Seine. Not just that, but multiplying sharks in the Seine.
![Bérénice Bejo stars as Sophia, a shark scientist.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5760x3840+0+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffa%2Fb8%2F2e93a90f4e3bb0a8a01a77f6bd5c%2Fs-unit-00943-jpg-s-unit-00943.jpg)
Bérénice Bejo stars as Sophia, a shark scientist.
Sofie Gheysens/Netflix
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Sofie Gheysens/Netflix
Of course, Paris has an arrogant, careless mayor who, like all government officials in shark movies, suffers from a pathological failure to be adequately afraid of sharks. She has only one priority: making sure that the upcoming triathlon goes off without a hitch. That’s right: The Seine is infested with ravenous sharks at the very moment when crowds of swimmers are about to throw themselves into the Seine at a highly public event. Mon dieu! Now, if it were you or me, perhaps we think to ourselves, “Better to cancel the event in advance than have it canceled on account of all the swimmers being devoured,” but no, the mayor of Paris has no such caution.
![After 17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orca's 'Tour Of Grief' Is Over](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/12/ap_18224682752235_sq-cb81625b8da34e2838d5c53adb721a17379371cf.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
For the first half or so, Under Paris unfolds like a fairly classy suspense film about a rarely seen threat. It does not look cheap in the way Sharknado did, for instance. It’s quite competently shot and edited, it’s tense, and it’s frightening. In other words, it gets the job done.
In the second half, the movie goes fully bazoo. Certain arguments about the sharks’ intentions are resolved when some participants in those arguments are eaten. You get your first of a couple of overhead shots of a shark leaping out of the water, mouth first, the better to show you someone in its jaws (heh) who is thinking, “This seems bad.” Crowds run in terror. Blood gushes. If you are watching the movie in the original French (which I recommend) and you have the English subtitles on, you will see a lot of the caption “[panicked screams].”
![A study estimates 800 great white sharks are swimming off the Cape Cod coast](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/07/28/ap20211478574161_sq-07b11602a2476dfeeb07dfecfea96a8727ef093d.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
All this to say: It’s not hard to understand why this is such a hot property at the moment. It gives you half of a fairly normal movie and half of an absolutely wacky one. About half of it is suspense, and about half of it is full-on creature horror, incredibly bloody and with a very (very) high body count. And at the end, there’s no question that just as these sharks are under Paris, the next ones will be under London (or New York, or wherever). If you’re looking for a popcorn movie and you don’t mind a lot of cartoonish gore, you could do a lot worse.
This piece also appeared in NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what’s making us happy.
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Lifestyle
Super fluffy 8-year-old Pekingese Wild Thang wins 2024 World's Ugliest Dog contest
![Super fluffy 8-year-old Pekingese Wild Thang wins 2024 World's Ugliest Dog contest](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5495x3091+0+283/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2Fe8%2F4fa9efb843f78bd43457cc840e6a%2Fap24174094287254.jpg)
Wild Thang won first place at the World’s Ugliest Dog competition in Petaluma, Calif., Friday, June 21, 2024.
Nic Coury/AP
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Nic Coury/AP
An 8-year-old Pekingese is the winner of this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.
This is the first victory for Wild Thang, a 5-time competitor in the annual event held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in the northern California city of Petaluma. The Pekingese, whose owner Ann Lewis received $5,000 in prize money, placed second three times before coming out on top this year.
With his long and extremely fluffy coat and stick-out tongue, Wild Thang, who grew up in Los Angeles but now resides in North Bend, Ore., was one of eight canines vying for the prestigious title on Friday evening. (According to a spokesperson for the contest, there were 10 contestants, but two dropped out. Wild Thang was a late entry to the lineup, which is why he is not featured on the main web page for this year’s competition.)
![Wild Thang and owner Ann Lewis](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2604x1953+198+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F27%2F7c%2Ff5ff564a4d209d4d75ae3fc1462b%2F2024-06-21-sonomamarinfair-uglydogwinner-wbucquoy-12.jpg)
Wild Thang and owner Ann Lewis
Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
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Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
“Wild Thang was a fan favorite,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, one of the judges, in an Associated Press video at the event. “The fact that he had been competing for five times and only came in second [until now], kind of like the bridesmaid and never the bride, really tugged at our heartstrings. He deserved to win.”
Ma added some fun facts about Wild Thang.
“He’s never had a haircut,” she said. “He likes to sleep on ice packs, believe it or not. And he is just a sweet dog.”
![Rome, a 14-year-old pug took second prize.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2729x2047+135+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F09%2F83%2F2ae643934d22b460343503d4bdbc%2F2024-06-21-smf-uglydog-3000-wbucquoy-4-1.jpg)
Rome, a 14-year-old pug took second prize.
Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
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Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
Most of the dogs in the contest, which has been going on since the 1970s, are rescues. According to his biography on the fair’s press site, Wild Thang contracted distemper from a rescue foster when he was young. “He survived, but not without permanent damage,” his bio states. “His teeth did not grow in, causing his tongue to stay out and his right front leg paddles 24/7.”
“This world-renowned event celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs special and unique,” states the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest website. “The annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest is not about making fun of “ugly” dogs, but having fun with some wonderful characters and showing the world that these dogs are really beautiful!”
![Daisy Mae won third prize this year.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2668x2001+166+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9d%2F33%2F9c17ffb5493699c47bc1a20b1e35%2F2024-06-21-smf-uglydog-3000-wbucquoy-34.jpg)
Daisy Mae won third prize this year.
Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
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Will Bucquoy for the Sonoma-Marin Fair
An elderly pug in a wheelchair named Rome came in second, winning $3,000; Daisy Mae, a mixed-breed dog with a white coat, took the $2,000 third place prize.
Last year, the contest was won by Scooter, an almost-bald, 7-year-old Chinese Crested dog, with reversed hind legs.
Lifestyle
Lily Allen Says She Often Turns Down Husband David Harbour's Sex Requests
![Lily Allen Says She Often Turns Down Husband David Harbour's Sex Requests](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/66/16by9/2024/06/22/6685399b5ee146d0b2196cb47fe39ee6_xl.jpg)
Lily Allen‘s getting real about her sex life … saying she’s just not as experimental in the bedroom as she used to be — and, she often turns down her husband’s sexy time desires.
The actress talked through it with Miquita Oliver on their “Miss Me?” podcast … pulling back the sheets on hooking up with her man David Harbour — and, she says she regularly axes her dude’s desires.
The way LA explains it … she’s not trying to kink-shame DH — but, she admits David will say he wants to experiment between the sheets, and then straight up tells him it’s not happening.
She says she doesn’t try to shoot him down in a mean way … but, she jokes she regularly says she has a headache and doesn’t feel up to gettin’ down in that way.
When asked why she’s not as adventurous as she used to be … Lily chalks it up to quitting drinking — saying she almost never had sex without being intoxicated before getting with Harbour.
Lily also gives some details on her past behaviors … including hooking up with female sex workers — something she previously revealed in her memoir “My Thoughts Exactly.”
Lily jokes she hopes David — who she married back in 2020 — doesn’t listen to the pod … ’cause if so, he might wonder where all her sex appeal went!
Sounds like the two are still very much in love … even if they’re not always getting their kink on.
Lifestyle
Blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer talks news bloopers and TV movies : Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!
![Blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer talks news bloopers and TV movies : Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/06/21/gettyimages-1357821332_wide-7dbb4b61f032e473861fd74476ffae952ce23718.jpg?s=1400&c=100&f=jpeg)
Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for for National Ge
Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for for National Ge
Erik Weihenmayer has an amazing resume as an explorer and adventurer, which is even more impressive since he completely lost his sight as a teenager. He was the first blind person to climb Mt. Everest, and then the first to climb the other six highest mountains on each continent, but nothing he’s done requires as much sheer courage as appearing with us on Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.
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