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How realistic is it for French Immigrants to move to NYC and plot this?

posted 9 years ago by MrCharmingMan
15 replies | jump to latest

How realistic is it for French Immigrants or any immigrant to move across the world to NYC and successfully plot this project?

He was a street performer both in France and NYC making literally what people threw in his hat right? I mean the plane ticket from France to NYC would probably be out of his budget alone.

Then finding an apartment in NYC to live in several months as he was plotting and preparing this project while again only living off of a street performers income. His girlfriend too was a street performer playing a stupid guitar which probably earned her even less than he did right?

It just doesn't seem all that realistic and possible unless they were doing something illegal on the downlow like selling drugs or prostitution to make ends meet?

I mean even after he performed the walk its not like he was getting tv and movie roles and book deals right after was he? He was ordered by the judge to perform the walk again for kids at a park for free.

I mean today with social media you could pull a stunt like this get millions of views on YouTube and get a few thousand dollars from YouTube and maybe score some talk show appearances that pay like $1,000 each. That still would not really enable you to pay rent in NYC.

I understand he was an artist and had an artist mentality and lifestyle but still unless he was homeless I don't see how he'd be able to even survive?

[–] robobalboa 9 years ago

Based on a true story.

[–] MrCharmingMan 9 years ago

u do know how much rent is in NYC right?

also how much a plane ticket is from paris to ny?

[–] Judger 8 years ago

He clearly had money.
More important, it did happen and the movie did not take liberties with the important facts of the tale. He recruited a team to help him and they did it.

It's like saying it was unrealistic for Columbus to survive the crossing of the Atlantic. Sure, he was wrong about his small globe theory (Noone doubted the world was round, by the way). So you can doubt that he made it to india, which he did not, but you can't say he did not survive the trip.

I was born in the house my father built

[–] HumanTheONLyRace 9 years ago

Isn't it as realistic as in it actually happened?

Also, guitars aren't stupid.

[–] louiseculmer 9 years ago

I don't quite see how it can be unrealistic since it actually happened. i imagine street performers can earn decent money if they are good. And after he'd done the walk and become well known, presumably he would make more money from his performances.

[–] mikainen 9 years ago

You're arguing against reality?

[–] wazzaa-1 9 years ago

are you suggesting that the whole thing is a hoax?

[–] MrCharmingMan 9 years ago

Not so much a hoax, but that they were probably doing some shady downlow stuff to make ends meat. Like prostitution, drug dealing, etc. Just not realistic to live in NYC and pull off an elaborate plan like this, especially back then with no technology or advanced knowledge like we do today.

[–] AngelRedhead 9 years ago

Petit was financed by a a German juggler callled Francis Brunn. The walk between the towers took 6 years to plan. Petit was really well known at this point, he had crossed the towers of Notre Dame & the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You state that he was probably a criminal, not sure where you are getting this information from. Petit was a passionate performer who realised his dream, nothing wrong with that! I remember this walk between the Twin Towers & it was amazing!

I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul....... Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights

[–] titanman083 8 years ago

The lack of advanced technology helped him achieve this goal. Try doing things like this nowadays and surveillance cameras will catch you in no time.

[–] mdelvecchio 8 years ago

complete idiocy. the film doesn't have to show you every way in which they made their money or spent their time.

how are you able to use the Internet?

[–] dirussel 9 years ago

What part of this are you missing. This actually happened. I saw it on TV when I was a kid.

[–] dkrass-orders 8 years ago

In addition to the previous responses, you appear to have missed where his mentor handed him an envelope full of all the money he'd been giving him over the years. It was a pretty thick envelope.

[–] cherylelliotcrna 8 years ago

I confess I was thinking "You can earn enough to live in Paris by doing street entertainment in the park??!!" I'm always amused when House Hunters International does a Paris location and people realize that a dinky two room flat costs $2000 a month!