Latest news with #Michell
India Today
24-05-2025
- Climate
- India Today
Couple gets engaged in front of Tornado in Oklahoma. Video goes viral
A US-based man proposed to his partner in front of a tornado in Oklahoma. A video of the moment has gone viral on social media. Matt Michell asked Becky Patel to marry him while the massive tornado swirled in the background in Arnett, Oklahoma. The moment, documented by a friend in a video, was shared by Becky in a now-viral post on Instagra. The couple stood near their SUV as strong winds surrounded them and the tornado loomed in the Patel, originally from Canada, described the moment on Instagram. 'On May 18th in Arnett, Oklahoma, in front of the most amazing tornado, Matt Michell got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I think my squealing and jumping tell you what my answer was!'The video shows Michell saying, 'I love you, baby,' while Patel hugs him and jumps with joy. She later posted photos of her oval-cut diamond engagement ring and called the proposal 'epic.' She added, 'Matt, you make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and I love you with all my heart.'Take a look at the post here: advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Becky Patel (@beckypatel)Speaking to local outlet KLAW, Patel said Michell, who is from Illinois, works as a tornado guide with Tempest Tours and has been chasing storms for six years. They met during one of the tours last year.'I was only supposed to chase for two weeks, but Matt asked me to stay an extra week and chase with him, so I did,' she said. Since then, they have chased several storms together, including a major tornado in this proposal stood out, not just for its scale but for the meaning it now holds in their journey together. Meteorologist Damon Lane called it 'a perfectly timed engagement'.For Patel and Michell, the whirlwind proposal may have started with a storm, but it has turned into something solid and lasting.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Storm-Chasing Couple Gets Engaged in Front of Oklahoma Tornado in ‘Epic Proposal'
Matt Michell and Becky Patel had been chasing down a tornado in Arnett, Oklahoma on May 18 when Michell got down on one knee The pair's photos and videos in front of the tornado went viral Patel called the event an 'epic proposal' and said she was the 'luckiest girl in the world'A storm-chasing couple had a whirlwind of an engagement! Matt Michell and Becky Patel had been chasing down a tornado in Arnett, Oklahoma on May 18 when the unexpected happened — Michell got down on one knee and proposed. Patel documented the experience in a Facebook post writing that she had 'the most unforgettable 'yes!'' alongside photos and video of the engagement taken by a friend. In the video, the winds could be heard blowing widely as Michell could be heard telling Patel, 'I love you, baby' as she excitedly screamed and hugged him. She jumped up and down a couple of times as they hugged again, all while the tornado continued to turn behind them. Related: Newlyweds Pose for Dramatic Wedding Photos Outside as Thunderstorm Approaches The large tornado could be seen looming far behind the couple as Michell could be seen down on one knee in front of their SUV, in one of the photos shared. Another snapshot showed the happy couple smiling widely after the engagement, and Michell pointed at Patel's new diamond engagement ring on her finger. The engagement ring appeared to be an oval-cut diamond set on a pavé set with diamonds circling the circumference of the ring. Patel couldn't be happier with the ring, as she could be seen beaming while showing it off to the camera in the photos. 'On May 18th in Arnett, Oklahoma, in front of the most amazing tornado, Matt Michell got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I think my squealing and jumping tells you what my answer was!,' Patel wrote. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'I couldn't have asked for a more epic proposal! Matt, you make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and I love you with all my heart,' she added. Patel, who is from Canada, told KLAW that her new fiancé, from Illinois, had 'been chasing' tornadoes 'for about six years working as a guide for Tempest Tours.' She shared that she 'joined the tour' last year, and that's how the two met. "I was only supposed to chase for two weeks but Matt asked me to stick around with him and chase with him for an extra week, so I did!" she told the outlet. Since then, the two have gone on several adventures, chasing down some of the fiercest storms, including a "great tornado in Wyoming last year.' Patel noted, however, that this tornado in Oklahoma has now become the most memorable one in both of their lives, due to its new significance in their relationship. Several people agreed that it was one to remember, including KOCO meteorologist Damon Lane, who called it "a perfectly timed engagement!" Read the original article on People
The Independent
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Steve Coogan on his very unusual new comedy: ‘The penguin takes the edge off the fascism'
J onathan Pryce is not a fan of penguins. Steve Coogan tells me this with a sort of 'eh, can you believe it?' arch to his eyebrows. Pryce confirms as much. 'I'm not an animal person,' says the 77-year-old with an air of grave seriousness. So when everyone else on the set of The Penguin Lessons was all too happy to be acting opposite a real-life seabird instead of some inanimate object, Pryce was holding out for CGI. 'I'd have preferred a tennis ball screen partner… Penguins, they tend to poop. Projectile poop.' The penguin is only half the story, though. Set in 1976, the duo's new film follows a school teacher from Cornwall who is newly arrived in Argentina when he happens across a penguin stuck in an oil slick and saves it from death. At the same time as this unlikely friendship between man and bird is growing, a military coup has gripped the country, launching a brutal dictatorship defined by rampant human rights abuses; dissidents are abducted, never heard from again, and babies are stolen from captured parents. It's a convergence of events so random it could only ever happen in real life. Which it did to Tom Michell. He wrote a memoir about his avian pal a decade ago and now, at 73, is watching wide-eyed as his life story is turned into an off-beat drama-comedy starring Coogan, Pryce, and a projectile-pooping Magellanic penguin named Richard. 'All of my Christmases have come at once!' Michell tells me in a separate interview alongside the film's director, Peter Cattaneo. In adapting his memoir, certain things have shifted. For one, Coogan's Michell is considerably more grumpy than the man sitting opposite me, who warmed to his penguin buddy instantly. 'We wanted to make Tom more cynical in the film because it gives him somewhere to go, but we had to square that away with the real Tom and make sure he didn't mind being made a bit more unpleasant,' says Coogan. At 59, Coogan is also considerably older than Michell was when he was an English teacher in Argentina. 'I did insist that I could play someone in their twenties but Jeff thought it was a bit of a stretch,' he jokes. Jeff being Jeff Pope, Bafta-winning writer and frequent Coogan collaborator. The pair earned joint Oscar nominations for their work on 2013's Philomena, which starred Judi Dench as a nun searching for the son she gave up for adoption (also an adaptation of a memoir). Like that film, The Penguin Lessons walks the thin lines of a particularly complex Venn diagram. It is many things at once; a comedic tale of man and beast, a lesson in Argentinian history, a bildungsroman, and an inquiry into morality and the limitations of self-preservation. As the caustic, disillusioned Michell – who only saves the penguin in order to get a woman into bed – grows to love his cute furry friend, he softens and abandons his apolitical facade, waking up to the brutality of the military dictatorship unfolding around him, which reaches a climax when one of his young housekeepers is abducted. 'Cute furry friend' and 'military dictatorship' aren't words you typically see together in a sentence, which speaks to the balancing act Coogan and co are attempting here by bringing the political subtext of Michell's book to the foreground. 'It's not a decision we took lightly,' says Cattaneo, known for his light touch in Military Wives and The Full Monty. That decision was driven by two facts: firstly, that few people in Europe know about this period in Argentina's history, and secondly, that for many Argentinians, it's not history at all. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people were killed in that time, many of them seized by authorities and never heard from again. Still four decades on and over 2,000 marches later, the mothers of Argentina's 'disappeared' continue to campaign for justice – their white headscarves a symbol of their perennial courage. 'It's difficult to make this story, which has this dark political background – but also a penguin,' says Cattaneo, 'but you take it on and be respectful by doing your homework and learning from historians.' He travelled to Argentina and met with some of those mothers and others whose family had been disappeared. 'We were really mindful to try and get it right.' The result is that The Penguin Lessons is an exercise in tonal equilibrium: the sentimental bits aren't too schmaltzy and the dark bits aren't jet-black. Or as Coogan puts it, 'The penguin takes the edge off the fascism and stops it being sanctimonious, and the fascism stops the penguin from being too cuddly.' Penguin aside, it's hard to ignore the parallels today as reports of US dissidents being detained and arrested continue to flood in amid the continued rise of far-right politicians across Europe. 'Although the action took place 50 years ago, perhaps this is a film for our time,' says Cattaneo. 'People need to think about the increase in the number of fascist governments that are growing around the world.' It's a happy coincidence if it resonates with the public at the end of it, but I've never been involved in anything that's set out to change people's minds as its intention Jonathan Pryce 'Mind you,' interjects Pryce. 'In every film today, you don't have to look too hard to find a parallel somewhere.' It's funny that Pryce – historically a proud socialist – is playing Michell's pernickety headmaster, someone who prefers to keep politics outside the classroom. For what it's worth, Pryce says he tries not to be 'judgmental' of those who, like his character and very unlike him, choose to keep their nose out of political matters. 'What is interesting,' he says, 'is that I read just now on my lunch break that Trump has put enormous tariffs on two islands belonging to Australia, which are solely occupied by penguins.' He and Coogan exchange a glance of pure befuddlement. 'I'm just trying to figure out what it is they've been exporting that's supposedly worth billions. Penguins…' He shakes his head. As much as The Penguin Lessons rings alarm bells about fascism, the film is careful so as not to be didactic. 'Entertaining people is a good way to convey ideas,' says Coogan. 'On social media you end up being pulled into a soap box, which isn't always constructive because people become entrenched in their positions. Telling stories is a good way to get people to laugh and to move them. It's a better way to communicate.' Pryce agrees, pointing to his 1985 film Brazil as an example. Terry Gilliam's dystopian masterpiece, also starring Robert De Niro, was a fantastical satire of totalitarian regimes and technological advancement. 'We didn't think that we were making a film that would have political resonance for the next 30, 40 years, but that's what happened; history catches up with you,' he says. 'It's a happy coincidence if it resonates with the public at the end of it, but I've never been involved in anything that's set out to change people's minds as its intention,' he says. As for what 'penguin lessons' they've taken away from this experience, Coogan says his has been to listen more: 'A lot of people have a lot of opinions these days, but not many people listen.' Pryce pipes up, 'And myself, I've learnt to appear to be listening.' Oh, 'and maybe to be a little more tolerant to a penguin'. 'The Penguin Lessons' is only in cinemas from 18 April
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Penguin Lessons is just the latest film that teaches us how animals rescue men from loneliness
The penguin at the centre of The Penguin Lessons, a new movie by Peter Cattaneo, is nothing if not hard-working. The film, adapted from the 2015 memoir by Tom Michell, uses the political turmoil of Argentina in 1976 as a backdrop for the personal transformation of an English teacher at a boys' school. Michell (Steve Coogan) is an idle curmudgeon when he rescues an oil-drenched Magellan penguin from a beach in Uruguay in an attempt to impress an attractive woman. She leaves, but he is stuck with the bird, whom he duly names Juan Salvador, and who thaws him out sufficiently to bond with students and colleagues, process past trauma and rekindle a political idealism. Naturally, there are hurdles for Juan Salvador to clear before the interspecies friendship spreads its wings. Michell tries a range of methods to ditch his new buddy, only for him to waddle back so determinedly that Michell reluctantly transports the penguin across the Argentine border and installs him on the terrace at the college. A perception shift on the charms of his new roommate is aided by an influx of visitors of all ages. Staff and students alike delight in feeding him sprats and – more significantly – in quieter moments are drawn to unburden themselves. In his memoir, Michell mused on the magnetism of a silent yet sentient audience. 'As with any good pastor or patrician, Juan Salvador was such a good listener, patiently absorbing everything that was said to him, from observations about the weather to secrets of the heart. He never once interrupted. He looked people straight in the eye and always paid such close attention to what was said that his guests were inclined to talk to him on equal terms.' The film is the latest in a remarkably long-legged subgenre: man in or approaching middle age experiences powerful emotional awakening thanks to an animal whom they initially kept at leash's length. Unconventional riffs on the subgenre plunge us into the relationship once it has already hit its stride, but for those that start with teething troubles, their secret is stealth psychological power. While it is tempting to focus on the surface charms of, say, Channing Tatum as Jackson confronting the cost of his military service with the help of a hound in 2022's Dog, or the ominous setup of Nicolas Cage as Robin retiring to the woods with a virtuoso truffle porker in Pig (2021), these films may reveal more about how men are taught to handle themselves than meets the eye. 'For some males, the world doesn't feel really safe to connect to,' says Dr Chris Blazina, psychologist and co-author of a 2019 study, Do Men Underreport and Mask Their Emotional Attachment to Animal Companions? The Influence of Precarious Masculinity on Men's Bonds with Their Dogs. Blazina believes many men find their attachment to their dog to be more secure than their closest human relationships, particularly in middle-age and beyond. He throws into relief how vital a relationship like this can be by saying that a lack of social connection has been found to be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 'We need connection not just to survive growing up but throughout our lives to flourish as whole human beings,' he says, advancing the theory that a loving relationship with a pet can be a lifeline to men otherwise inclined towards emotional detachment. 'They can turn to animal companions as a friend or family member, and it helps. It's not the complete package, but it sustains some men in a way where they don't give up on connecting.' Men are susceptible to a close attachment with an animal, thinks Blazina, because it is a relationship that can blossom in private, while in public they can underplay its importance. Back in movieland, Tom, Jackson and Robin find that in the non-judgmental space provided by their pets of choice, suppressed feelings surface and they end up more fully inhabiting their emotions. This leads them to connect more authentically and deeply with the people around them. As Blazina says: 'We're hardwired to connect. Sometimes, as human beings, we do such a good job of putting up barriers that say we don't need that. And with dogs, it can be a little cleaner.' The relationship between men and dogs has a special status in cinema and the wider culture, whether powering the entire John Wick franchise (2014-), exposing the true colours of humans in The Call of the Wild (1997) or showing a devotion that not even death can halt as in the tear-jerker Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009). It is not always the case that a canine outlives his master: indeed, their demise is so often weaponised to help a repressed hero confront grief that the website, Does the dog die?, was created to help sensitive viewers navigate the cinematic landscape. As Rudyard Kipling put it in his 1909 poem, The Power of the Dog, 'Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware / Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.' Dogs tend to turn up in soulful dramas or family films. Primates, on the other hand, are infantilised as naughty children, as in Monkey Trouble (1994) and (to verge into TV) Friends (1994-2004), or have their humanoid features exploited to position them as a menace to civilisation, such as in King Kong (1933) or Planet of the Apes (1968) and their many spin-offs and reboots. Creature-features, like the above, may introduce the beasts as brutes but eventually come round to the idea that man is a greater menace and animals have overlooked depths. This chimes with a reflection expressed by Michell towards the end of his memoir. Having spent much time meeting people on his travels around South America, he realises: 'I would never have opened my heart to them, as I had to Juan Salvador, and the same was true of all those who encountered him. How was it that a penguin brought such comfort and tranquility to the people whose lives he touched? Why did they go to his terrace and bare their souls to him as though they had known him for a lifetime, treating him like a real friend who could be relied upon in adversity?' While the mysteries of life-changing attachments to animals cannot be boiled down in one article, there is an infectious quality to this subgenre of cinema. Watching Coogan slowly stripping back his character's protective plumage to expose a sincere and vulnerable man, creates emotional space for the viewer to feel as Michell does. It may occupy the opposite role to Juan Salvador (talking rather than listening) but, nonetheless, cinema can provide a safe, sounding board for our buried emotions.
Reuters
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Steve Coogan gets schooled in true story 'The Penguin Lessons'
LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - A movie industry adage warns never to work with children or animals, but British actor Steve Coogan says he learned mindfulness playing a teacher and co-starring with real penguins in his new comedy drama. Set in 1976 and inspired by true events, "The Penguin Lessons" tells of an unexpected friendship between Buenos Aires-based boarding-school teacher Tom Michell and a penguin he rescues during a holiday in Uruguay. After unsuccessful attempts to return the sole survivor of an oil slick to the ocean, Michell is forced to bring the bird back to Argentina. Gradually, the penguin's presence helps unlock the potential and trapped emotions of Michell, his colleagues and their students, while around them the country grapples with a military coup that led to widespread repression and disappearances. Coogan worked with several penguins, with partners Richard and Baba acting out the key scenes. "I thought working with penguins and children would be a chaotic experience, but because we had to look after the welfare of the penguins and not make any loud noises, the atmosphere on set was actually quite calm and it had a ripple effect through the crew," Coogan said premiering the film in London on Thursday. "People talk about mindfulness, and when you look at a penguin, you realise he's not anxious about tomorrow and he's not preoccupied with what happened yesterday. He's just sort of in the moment, being a penguin, so there's something we can all draw from that," he said. Based on Michell's memoir of the same name, the movie is directed by "The Full Monty" filmmaker Peter Cattaneo, with screenplay by Jeff Pope. The film team held long conversations about combining the penguin's story with one of the bloodiest periods of Argentina's history, and even considered changing the movie's timeframe. "When I started researching it, one of the first things I came across was 'disappeared denial' being a growing thing in Argentina, and that swung it. I thought, well, I'm not going to deny it. I'm not going to write it out because it's difficult to deal with," said Cattaneo. "It's a story about how we can do something to affect those around us, small acts of kindness, small acts of generosity. When all around you seems lost, there is still something you can do," added Pope. "The Penguin Lessons" is out in U.S. theatres now and released globally from April 17.
