Psychic Octopus Paul in the spotlight once again.

An octopus housed in a German aquarium, Paul rose to worldwide fame when he managed to accurately predict each of the winners in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, soccer’s premier event. He went on to predict — again, accurately — the winner of the final.
Paul retired from predictions after the World Cup and died later that year. He’s gone, but not forgotten…

Alexandre O. Philippe, the Swiss-born filmmaker who now calls Denver home, is preparing for a March release of a documentary about Paul’s amazing feat.
“The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus” isn’t Philippe’s first attempt documenting quirks in the animal and human world. He made “Chick Flick: The Miracle Mike Story” in 2003 about the famed chicken that continued to live after his beheading.
A year later, he followed that up with “Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water,” about Klingon-obsessed fans of “Star Trek.” Philippe delved into the fanaticism of “Star Wars” fans in his 2010 documentary “The People vs. George Lucas.”
Philippe says he started thinking about a documentary about Paul soon after the World Cup began. He wasn’t following the matches closely. Despite being European, Philippe confesses he’s not a huge soccer fan.
But what Paul was doing was impossible to ignore.
“It was inevitable to find Paul in the news during the World Cup because he was everywhere,” Philippe says. “It’s the story I’m really drawn to because it’s pop culture, it’s really quirky and unique and it starts a lot of debate.”
Each day during the World Cup, Paul was presented with a choice of food: a mussel was placed in two boxes inside his tank. Each box was decorated with the flag of one of the competing countries. Whatever box Paul picked from was considered to be his prediction.

Story by L. Wayne Hicks
Managing Editor – Denver Business Journal

Full story at Denver Business Journal