A Wing and a Prayer on the 405

Now here’s a SigAlert: A DC-10 landing on the San Diego Freeway.

That’s the plot of “405,” a three-minute film by Bruce Brant and Jeremy Hunt, subtitled: “A story of the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

And you can see it at your friendly neighborhood computer. It can be downloaded at https://www.405themovie.com.

The story was shot “in two days on location on the busy I-405 freeway in Los Angeles and Orange County,” the filmmakers say on their Web site.

Several computer tricks are employed in “405,” which stars Hunt and Angela Burns as two drivers in the shadow of the big bird. For one thing, Burns, 89, actually doesn’t know how to drive.

And, the filmmakers point out, “The DC-10 was created digitally.”

Guess that was a bit easier than renting an airliner and getting permission to shut down the 405 for a shoot.

MYSTERY QUESTION: After I asked the meaning of a sign that was photographed in Paris by a Long Beach resident, three readers theorized it forbade fathers to take their daughters into the men’s room (see photo).

SECOND OPINION: Anne Cummings, a French teacher at El Camino College, disagreed. “I just returned from Paris myself and saw the sign pictured in your column,” she wrote. “What it indicates is the end of a pedestrian, or car-free zone, where you are once again at the mercy of those crazy Parisian drivers.”

Or as David Fortier of Lompoc put it: Interdit aux pietons.

Meaning, no pedestrians.

A PLACE FOR A GOOD CUT OF MEAT? N.L. Williams of West Hollywood noticed what seemed to be a one-stop shopping opportunity for a hungry customer in need of a haircut (see accompanying). Actually, an ad for a hair salon (Saints Studio) was inadvertently combined with that of a restaurant (La Serenata de Garibaldi).

ON THE ROAD: Robin Serfass of Leucadia found a spa in Istanbul that offered the usual services (weight reduction), as well as a field of dreams for the bald and a touch of Hollywood (see accompanying).

IN THE THROES OF A PROBLEM: Believe it or not, the place where Lois Rufer of Fountain Valley spotted this menu item was not a sports bar (see accompanying).

MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: John Wade of Newbury Park read that one of the employees who cooks lunch for students in the Ventura Unified School District is named Cookie Lively.

WHAT THE NEIGHBORS ARE SAYING: “Too many cars in San Francisco?” wrote columnist Scott Ostler in that city’s Chronicle. “Lakerize ‘em. Invite a couple of busloads of Laker fans up here for a celebration party. They would roll and torch a few hundred vehicles. It’s not vandalism, it’s thinning the herd.”

We may never know how San Francisco’s pro basketball fans would act at a celebration party. The Golden State Warriors last won a world title in 1975.

miscelLAny:

I notice that the digital display in my Bank of America branch now says: “Watch this display for next teller.” It used to say, “Watch this display for next smiling face.” With the old sign, it could be a long wait.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.