Paul . . . The Biopic

This was in yesterday's Guardian, whicxh in me mind highlights just how maddeningly popular footie is compared to any other sport known to mankind:

The Life & Times of Paul the Octopus

While eight new Paul the Octopuses go head-to-head during the Women's World Cup to choose a successor for the late tipster, his legacy has been preserved on celluloid, reports Der Spiegel.

Filmmaker Alexandre Philippe has captured the mighty one in a documentary entitled The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus. Philippe spent four days with Paul and spoke to cephalopod experts, statisticians and bookmakers. "I think the world is always craving stories like this; an underdog story - or rather an underoctopus story."

"No one has really been able to do what Paul was able to do. It's charged with positive energy and feeling, and people couldn't help but embrace it," he said.

As the search continues for Paul's replacement, Phillipe is unsure he can ever be replaced. "There have been a lot of animals who people have tried to get to do predictions," he said. "They're pretty bitter about the fact that Paul could do it. He could do something that no other animal or human could do."

Perhaps Paul really was unique, the film-maker himself does not want to rule out any possibilities: "There's the significance of the number eight — eight tentacles, eight matches predicted correctly, eight goals scored during the tournament by Spain. It's all very interesting," he said.

Intriguingly, however, it's not the only film underway, as a Chinese company is also at work on a black comedy entitled: The Murder of Paul the Octopus, although Phillipe's movie has the superior tagline: "One mouth, two eyes, eight arms, nine brains … Two BILLION fans."