Results tagged “france”

There is no Santa. George Bush did not win the 2000 election. And Jean-Luc Retard and Bonnie Day are frauds. Inspired by 1960s French pop, these ex-Brooklynites have been spreading their cheeky, retro pop all over the world. We sat down with Jean-Luc Retard and Bonnie Day (aka Dan Crane and Emily Welsch) for brunch in Silver Lake last Saturday, in order to get to our burning questions answered. How French were they? How many Skittles did Emily have to consume in the Loli video? Was it true that Dan had an alter ego that was an air guitar champion? And did they really get sued by their former band member? Here is some of what was said. For frauds, their answers were surprisingly honest.

OK, we've all heard The Four Seasons, Vivaldi’s classic musical masterpiece that has served as the mainstay for every symphonic orchestra across the globe, scored or inspired many films and has even been turned into muzak to entertain you in your nearest elevator. Well, leave it to the French and Ballet Preljocaj to put a contemporary spin on this tried-and-true aural landscape and make it jump (a video clip is below, it's pretty amazing).

The Oscar winning director fled to France, who does not extradite anyone for any reason, 30 years ago after admittedly having sex with a 13-year-old at Jack Nicholson's house. So he chose: jail for France? But now he wants to be back stateside as a free man, the LA Times finds: "Lawyers for Polanski, a French citizen, cited misconduct by prosecutors and a judge in papers filed in L.A. County Superior Court today. The attorneys said that a recent HBO documentary about the case, 'Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,' 'revealed a pattern of misconduct and improper communications between the Superior Court and the district attorney’s office in violation of the rule of law and without the knowledge' of the director and his defense."

Just a mere week old on the Interwebs, this video by French DJ team Justice has already managed to cause serious controversy throughout the French media, meaning said controversy will undoubtedly cross the pond upon further exposure. The video's nascent beginnings can be traced back to Kanye West's blog, wherein he claims to be the first to have shared it on May 1st. First or not, this video is pretty cool.

Many great gifts have come from the French; the Statue of Liberty, "French fries" and of course Gerard Depardieu. None of these gifts, however are going to be much help should James Bond or John McClane come running for you. That's where the urban art form rooted in the streets of Paris known as Parkour, or l'art du déplacement, will come in handy. If you'd like to learn this art form without tasting concrete, PK...