The Unexpected Inspiration: How a French Wine Thief Sparks an Incredible ‘Ratatouille’ Sequel Idea

The Rundown serves as a weekly update, capturing some of the juiciest, bizarre, and noteworthy instances from the world of entertainment. The contents and themes are variable, sometimes deviating from the realm of entertainment or being unrelated to the current week. The primary objective is to enjoy this dazzling roller coaster because, rejoice, it’s Friday!

Sequels tend to be taxing matters. They enthral when they logically extend a narrative, but can often appear as blatant exploitation of an existing audience base for effortless monetary gains. Certain film franchises attempt to tread both paths by teasing sequels via cliffhangers, which can be an irksome gimmick. Think of the most recent Fast & Furious flick, or the latest Mission: Impossible outing, where the credits rolled after a cryptic revelation about a submarine trapped beneath a layer of ice or bursting through it. It was amusing to note that both films included frantic auto pursuits in Rome and twisty plotlines revolving around long-deceased characters. Despite, not being the direction I initially intended to steer this paragraph towards, it’s a relevant observation.

This brings us to the crux: earning a sequel requires a compelling narrative. Originality in storytelling can be a hard nut to crack, and it’s always a pleasant surprise when an amazing story simply falls into your lap. Case in point is this intriguing news from France.

More than €1.5m ($1.6m) worth of wine has mysteriously disappeared from La Tour d’Argent, a well-known Parisian restaurant noted as the muse for the film Ratatouille.

I think you see where this is headed. Especially if you are a regular reader of this column. But let’s illuminate the details about this French wine conundrum further before diving into the main discussion.

The discovery was made during a standard stock-check of the 300,000 bottles nestled in the “largest wine cellar in Paris”, as reported by a sommelier to Le Parisien.

Approximately 83 bottles are presumed to be absent, according to the last stock-check executed in 2020.

Before we continue, here are three important points to take into consideration:

One final quote for consideration.

The lost bottles include wines from the renowned Burgundy estate, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, known for their notoriously costly vintages.

In 2018, a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti reached a record-breaking sale price of €482,000 ($523,878), making it the most valuable bottle worldwide at the time.

Alright, we’ve established enough background for our next idea, which is proposing a sequel to the beloved film Ratatouille. You may have noted from the opening quote that this restaurant somewhat served as inspiration for the film. Therein lies our direction. We journey forward in time from the 2007 Pixar film’s conclusion to the present, nearly twenty years later. We’ll revisit Remy and Linguini, flourishing in their small bistro they started at the end of the movie. We choose to ignore searches such as “rat lifespan” or “how long do rats live.” Everything is just perfect.

However, the bistro, known for its impressive miniature wine cellar, finds itself robbed. The number might not hit the $1.6 million mark but it’s significant enough to potentially close them down. We can blame it on Linguini possibly forgetting to insure the stock, him being the classic Linguini we know. Therefore, it is up to Remy and his rat-comrades to solve this mystery. They do this not only to save their restaurant, but because of their innate adoration for rich cuisine and high-quality beverages. They are compelled to set things right, all this keeping in mind that questioning the lifespan of a rat that appears to live for two decades is off-limits. It’s important to keep that in account.

In my mind, Remy has donned the role of a detective, cruising through the city sewers in a miniature toy boat, his paw clutching a match as if it were a torch. His mission – to track down the expensive wines that have gone missing. This animated venture turns into a full-blown thriller, the action and suspense heightened by a pulsating background score. The antagonist, the thief stealing the wines, is the charismatic voice of Pierce Brosnan. You can now begin to see the picture I am trying to paint.

Coming to theaters next summer…

It’s time for…

Rata2ille.

(Sorry.)

Well, here’s a sentence.

A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” because he wanted to pull off “one last score” is expected to stay out of prison after he’s sentenced Monday.

What’s actually happening here is that the man has months to live and is on hospice care and so everyone is just agreeing that jail isn’t necessary BUT it’s more fun — by a lot — to read this as saying he used “I needed to do one last job” as his actual defense and the jury rolled with it.

Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the slippers in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He gave into temptation after an old mob associate told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court ahead of his sentencing in Duluth.

There are a couple of truths we need to acknowledge:

Carpe diem, right? Including the slippers. Grab both the day and the slippers.

Terry initially refused the offer to partake in the theft. However, old behaviors tend to persist, and the idea of making a ‘final hit’ kept him from sleeping,” DeKrey penned. “After giving it a lot of thought, Terry succumbed to his past tendencies and decided to join in the heist.”

If you scratch the surface, this tale can be quite depressing on numerous fronts, but I’d need heavy machinery like a backhoe to move past the fact that “a mob-connected career crook drove himself insane considering the theft of Judy Garland’s slippers from The Wizard of Oz as his final big hit” — so there you have it….

Yeah, let’s just leave it there.

This is a video of Larry David physically assaulting Elmo on The Today Show and then being forced to apologize for it like a child, which is complex to understand with or without context. The explanation of how we all reached this point makes it no less peculiar. Yet, it is entertaining. Here’s the briefest explanation I can construct.

Early this week, Elmo – or the individual managing Elmo’s social media account – shared this tweet.

Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?

— Elmo (@elmo) January 29, 2024

And Lord in Heaven, did people ever tell Elmo. It became a whole thing. Thousands of people around the world replied to an adorable fuzzy red puppet to unburden themselves of piles of pent-up stress and anxiety and existential dread. There were write-ups and stories about it on the actual news, like the news normal people who aren’t online-addled weirdos consume. It achieved the escape velocity to get to the civilians, which is always a good barometer of whether something is an actual big deal or just something the rest of us goblins are screaming about.

A little while later, Elmo tweeted this follow-up, which is also adorable and a testament that Muppets and Sesame Street characters are more stable than the humans watching them.

Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you.❤️ #EmotionalWellBeing pic.twitter.com/jhn2LNKfHf

— Elmo (@elmo) January 30, 2024

According to the series of events, Elmo, a beloved character, found himself on The Today Show. Larry David, another guest on the show, whose purpose was to publicize his television show’s final chapter, engaged in a slight squabble with Elmo. This series of words depicting the events, in this sequence, is presumably the first of its kind.

In relation to the incident, I came across an interview during my research. Here it is. Christina Vittas, the one managing Elmo’s Twitter handle, was interviewed before all this turmoil took place. She seems quite an interesting individual.

To be honest, I consume more Elmo content than an entire class of preschoolers. However, my learning isn’t restricted to alphabets and numbers. I’m gaining knowledge about humor, character development, and so much more which directly contributes to my profession. I feel connected to my inner Elmo, and I’m thankful for the shared experiences of happiness, curiosity, and the essence of friendship which comes naturally to me.

In conclusion, please imagine being the person behind the couch in that video who has the Elmo doll slipped over a hand that is getting battered by world-famous comedian and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. There’s a story you can dine out on for years.

The Larry David CLAW! Elmo’s had a week. pic.twitter.com/739kA8KuNg

— Travis Chapman (@Travispaints) February 2, 2024

We can get through this one in three bullet points and a blockquote:

Here’s the description in the as-promised blockquote:

A young man ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he’s beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

We are absolutely going to see this movie.

Calista Flockhart is out doing the promotional rounds for the new season of Feud, which is titled Capote Vs. The Swans. I haven’t seen any of it yet and don’t know if or when will, but I do like this for Calista Flockhart. She’s always struck me as a cool lady, dating allllllll the way back to Ally McBeal, the show that made her a network TV icon almost 30 years ago. She’s not as active now, picking and choosing roles as opposed to gobbling them up as they come along, but it’s good that she’s doing it today because it means people can ask her about her decades-long romance with Harrison Ford. They’ve always struck me as a fun celebrity couple, one that just kind of adores and is proud of each other and doesn’t feel the need to shove it in anyone’s face.

This piece from the new detailed portrayal of Flockhart on the New York Times does nothing to dissuade me from believing this.

They are seen holding hands on the red carpet; they are spotted intimately interacting at the airport as they move between Brentwood and their ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and they enjoy playing practical jokes on each other.

I’m breaking up this extract merely because I really want you to concentrate on this upcoming part. Please. Ensure full attention to the screen.

“In our household, I’m referred to as the ‘Scare Monster’ because I enjoy hiding behind every corner,” she expressed. “Hence, when Harrison enters, I’ll surprise him with a, ‘Raaah!’ and he’ll respond, ‘W-uy-aah!’ This usually results in me laughing uncontrollably. I even place a plastic spider within his large ice cubes and watch as he drinks it. However, then I’ll retire to bed two weeks later, when he’s away in Jackson, and as I pull the covers back there would be a small rubber scorpion. It’s all in good fun.”

Three things worth noting here, once again via bullet point:

The people who truly deserve a reality show are the kind of people who would never want to star in one. It’s cruel but kind of beautiful.

If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me at

brian.grubb@uproxx.com (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.

From Paul:

I’m interested in hearing your opinion on the recent Christopher Reeve documentary. Your injury is similar to his, right? I’m not trying to make it uncomfortable but I find it exciting that a documentary is being released about a renowned actor who also had a spinal cord injury like one of my favourite entertainment writers. However, ignore this if you are not in the mood for discussing.

Friend, I’m open to discussing it. I somewhat appreciate when someone inquires because it lets me address their specific questions concisely and more efficiently rather than giving a long monologue on Life In A Wheelchair. I enjoy discussing other topics as well, like heists, Jason Statham films, and sandwiches I’ve eaten, but you’re cool.

A bit of background would be helpful, mainly for those who are first-time readers of my work and have thought scrolling this far after finding this article via Google search of “ratatouille sequel” (lol) (hi). Yes, I too have got a spinal cord injury. Mine is not as critical as Christopher Reeve’s was. His injury was higher up at the C1 and C2 vertebrae. These are the ones responsible, for instance, for breathing. That’s why he was entirely paralysed from the neck down and had to use a ventilator. My injury is a bit down, at C4, plus some recovery below that point. I still use a power wheelchair but can use my right arm a bit – that’s how I’m typing this lengthy sentence – and I can breathe independently and drive an accessible van using a joystick like a nerdy fighter pilot.

Anyway, in short, I believe this documentary is cool. I haven’t watched it yet but I am a fan of anything that elevates the understanding of disability issues like this and I am fond of it potentially initiating conversations that people should start having. Christopher Reeve was a remarkable man who didn’t shy away when misfortune struck, and he did more to elevate the public perception of disability advocacy than just about anyone else I can name. Someone of his caliber deserves a documentary. I am content that it appears to be a good one rather than the cheesy sentimental ones that often get produced. They always irritate me to the core. Usually, they are easily recognizable as the term “inspirational” is prominently placed. In my somewhat prejudiced opinion, these are utterly nauseating.

As part of my Wheelchair Blogging series, I’d like to reiterate: while I find disability-focused documentaries and narratives quite supportive, they often overlook the simple fact that being a wheelchair user doesn’t sum up one’s entire personality. It’s vital to create inclusive movies and shows that portray a character not just as A Wheelchair User, but with other facets to their persona. One significant step in this direction could be to cast actors who genuinely experience these disabilities, instead of temporarily seating an able-bodied individual in a wheelchair. This seems a fairly reasonable request to me.

Interestingly, we’re transitioning from this serious discussion about disability representation to… well, something little more lighthearted…

Let’s take a journey to

New Orleans!

The vibrant hues of purple, gold, and green, the toy babies nestled within, all make the king cakes an integral part of Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. Curiously, these cakes aren’t just symbols of celebration anymore, but it seems they’ve become valuable enough to attract thefts, especially during the Carnival season.

Do…

Do we have a cake heist?

A Mardi Gras cake heist???

A thief stole seven king cakes — about as many as he could carry — during a break-in last week at a New Orleans bakery. The thief also took cash and a case of vodka from Bittersweet Confections last Wednesday, according to New Orleans Police Department.

MARDI GRAS CAKE HEIST

Despite the exciting title, the concept does arouse curiosity. Precisely, what might one do with nine cakes? While understanding that alcohol, such as vodka, doesn’t spoil, the quantity of cake seems excessive. It’s more than a solitary consumer or even a family can consume. This appears to be an ill-conceived crime…and suddenly there’s news of 100 stolen cakes..

An audacious thief with a penchant for sweets absconded with 100 king cakes in a break-in that occurred in New Orleans on an early Tuesday.

100 CAKES

According to Mike Graves, the proprietor of the King Cake Drive-Thru, an individual smashed a window on his van and made off with the cakes. These cakes were scheduled to be sold at the company’s temporary popup in Meridian, Mississippi today.

It’s difficult to decide whether this should be the same person who inadvertently stumbled into a surprisingly profitable underground cake business or a different culprit who noticed the initial nine-cake theft and thought, “I can definitely outdo that.”

Regardless, a series of cake thefts is occurring in the Big Easy. It appears to be shaping up to be an exciting Mardi Gras.

Graves explained that while he was upset about the theft, he felt relieved that no bakeries were left in a bind because he had already compensated for the stolen king cakes. According to him, theft is just one of the things that happens in the city.

This guy is remarkably chill about getting 100 cakes — ONE HUNDRED CAKES — stolen from him. We should all strive for this attitude. Good for him.

“Nobody got injured, and everybody has been very sweet and supportive,” said the victim. “There’s more good in the community than bad.”

THE CAKE HEISTS WILL UNITE US ALL.

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About the Author: Chris Lehoux

Meet Chris Lehoux, an experienced wine connoisseur and dedicated blogger with a deep passion for all things wine-related. With years of expertise in the industry, Chris shares insightful wine reviews, valuable wine tasting tips, expert pairing advice, and captivating tales of vineyard visits. Join Chris on a journey through the world of wine, where every sip is an adventure waiting to be savored!