BROTHERS BLOOM IS TOTALLY RAD

Everyone knows that I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Brothers Bloom. Not only do I typically enjoy a good caper/con flick, but we've seen clips of Rachel Weisz doing a bit of sleight of hand and the film features narration by Ricky Jay. See what Alex Albrecht, Dan Trachtenberg & Jeff Cannata think of the film in this clip from the most recent episode of The Totally Rad Show

Additional film info from IMDB: 

Long awaited in the wake of his 2005 debut Brick, Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom is a magic trick of a film; the second it's over, you want to see it again so you can try to catch how you were tricked, but you also want to see it again so you can return to the joy and wonder of being wrapped up in the nimble, deck-shuffling hands of a born showman. Watching it at first, some of The Brothers Bloom's creative and thematic elements seem like they're on loan from Paul Thomas Anderson (opening narration by Ricky Jay, pop-whiz-bang camera work, the troubled-but-tender relationship between the two brothers) while others feel as if they've been cribbed from Wes Anderson (deadpan confessions, whimsical set design, a parallel-universe setting where people still travel to Europe by steamship). The truth is, as much as The Brothers Bloom

MANDRAKE MOVIE CAST ANNOUNCED

A film adaptation of Lee Falk's "Mandrake the Magician" has been talked about for some time. Today, at ComingSoon.net we get the details. Hayden Christensen (Jumper, "Star Wars" prequels) and Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, Amistad) will star in "Mandrake" with Mimi Leder (Deep Impact, The Peacemaker) will direct the film, written by Josh Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly, JV Hart, and Ian Jeffers. The film is based on an original story by Kevin Bernhardt. The plot : Jackson Mandrake lives life on the edge. Working as an underground magician and escapologist, his act has grown increasingly dangerous. Following a daring escape from an SUV that has been dropped out of an plane at the Burning Man Festival, he is coerced by the CIA into breaking a deep-cover agent named Xi Shing Lung out of a maximum security jail. Hypnosis, contortion, distraction and technical wizardry all come into play as Mandrake breaks the agent out from the inside within a 24-hour deadline. He must overcome the dangers with daredevil escapes that require all his conjuring skills.

HEATH LEDGER AT CANNES

A short and previously unseen clip of Heath Ledger in the ‘The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus’ was featured in the opening night reel at Cannes. The film, set in the present day, follows the immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) as he leads a travelling theatre troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession. Members of the troupe include a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer); Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), who now comes to collect on the arrangement, targeting the doctor’s daughter (Lily Cole). The troupe, which is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (portrayed by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell), embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl. 

PENDRAGONS SALUTE TO ABU GHRAIB?

According to a source who attended this weekend's 100th Annual Salute to Magic show in New York, Jonathan Pendragon unveiled a "stunning new illusion"  in which his is bound in a straight jacket, hooded and then 'Water Boarded' while he attempts his escape." I guess it is only to be expected that we'll see some such techniques which have been recently discussed in the news work their way into stage acts, but it is my understanding that the concept was a bit controversial among the audience in attendance. According to Sal Perotta, other surprises in the show included a live satellite feed from David Copperfield who delayed the opening of his Salt Lake City show to participate in the intro of the show, a film from Penn & Teller and a film from Lance Burton. Unfortunately, Scott Interante was unable to perform as scheduled due to an injury that occured when he was loading the water torture cell for the trip to NYC.  Stay tuned for more as we'll have a detailed summary of the event online very soon.

DYNAMO LEVITATES LITTLE BRITAIN

From Gordon Smart's "Bizarre" column in The Sun we get the above photo of magician Dynamo levitating British comedian Matt Lucas at the North London home of the Arsenal football club. Dynamo comments in the article saying,  “It comes easy to me. I can’t even explain to you how I do it, I just do. I used to levitate myself quite a bit. It’s something I’ve always been fascinated by. We thought we might as well try it with Matt.”  Dynamo will be performing at Arsenal’s Legends & Youth end-of-season ball in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust on Thursday, which Matt will host and will appear live on SunTalk today.

Update: It sounds like our friends over at iTricks may have some more info on this soon. 

FEUD BREWING OVER MERLIN'S ORIGINS

The City Council of Glasgow revealed on Monday that the name of King Arthur's magical adviser, Merlin,  had been added to its list of Famous Glaswegians. According to an article from NewKerala.com,  "An amateur historian has pointed to the fact that the legendary Merlin lived a 'comfortable life', with his wife Gwendolyn in Partick, not Camelot. Author Adam Ardrey, in his book 'Finding Merlin - The Truth Behind the Legend', had previously alleged that the iconic wizard had been a Scottish. He said: 'I am thrilled that Glasgow has recognised Merlin as a Glaswegian and that, almost 1,400 years after his death, he can take an official place in Glasgow's glorious history.' " Challenging the claim are some Welsh citizens who have long claimed a connection to the magician. One senior member of the Carmarthen Town Council said: "People will be irate when they hear about this. Everyone in the Carmarthen area is very proud of our long-established links to Merlin and we certainly won't accept that he is from Scotland."

WONDER THUNDER #1

Because the Magic Newswire has a listening audience that spans the globe, I am thrilled to announce the introduction of a new weekly addition to our site.  Professional Australian Magician Adam Mada, is now hosting a weekly radio segment on FBI Radio 94.5FM in Sydney, Australia. Adam and Chris Coucouvinis will explore the many aspects of the world of magic . In Episode #1, they discuss such topics as why saw a woman in half, and the connection between a deck of cards and the Gregorian calendar. While talking about cards, Adam does a bit of long distance magic with someone else's deck.

SPONSORED BY:

The Sorcery Shop • Maxello Magic • NY Magic Project Street of Cards • Magic Show Builder • Listener Donations

LISTEN TO WONDER THUNDER #1 WITH ADAM MADA:

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RICKY JAY'S CANADIAN TOUR

As previously reported, Ricky Jay was in Canada earlier this week for several performances of his new one man show "Rogue's Gallery." Not only was the area abuzz with stories leading up to the weekend, reviews and reports on the show. From in an email from the show's publicist, Sarah French, I learned that opening night was very well received and that another well known magician had attended, namely David Blaine. In "The Ampersand" section of the National Post we found a review which reads: 

"Billed as "an evening of conversation and performance," the one-and-a-half-hour show skewed towards conversation, though the peformance aspect showed Jay is still one of the most impressive conjurers in the world. <snip> While A Rogue's Gallery features several impressive card tricks -- "effects," as Jay prefers to call them -- and feats of mentalism, it feels more like a really interesting university lecture than a magic show. Jay's in his element on-stage, whether reciting passages from A Midsummer Night's Dream or cracking jokes. The show suffers on the few occasions where Jay sits back and runs old clips -- of movies, a Steve Martin routine of the Great Flydini, and the into to his new TV show -- rather than engaging with the audience. Still, both amateur magicians and theatre lovers should visit Jay's Rogue's Gallery while he's still in town."

MNW #111 :: ERIC DECAMPS

Award-winning magician and world-renowned sleight of hand artist, Eric DeCamps joins us on the Magic Newswire "Spirit of Magic" Podcast before appearing as a featured performer at the SAM's 100th anniversary Salute to Magic! Eric has been performing for more than 30 years and was voted Magician of the Year by The Society of American Magicians. He is the second person in the 107 year history of the organization to receive the prestigious Gold Medal of Excellence for Close Up Magic. Join Eric and me to discuss his background in the craft and his upcoming appearance at the SAM's anniversary show. LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH ERIC DECAMPS

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MICHAEL JACKSON'S MAGICIAN IDENTIFIED

The rumors have been many and diverse as to the identity of the magician that is consulting with Michael Jackson to produce magic for his upcoming fifty show London concert schedule. Is it David Copperfield or Criss Angel as has been so widely reported? Nope.. Fresh of the Britney Spears' Circus tour, it is Ed Alonzo!

Ed is pictured above with the Pussy Cat Dolls on tour with Britney Spears.

 Hey Dodd,

Thought I would help you put the rumors to rest. I've been secretly working on ideas for Michael for the last couple of weeks. I met with Michael in Burbank, CA a couple of days ago and he described his visions for magic and Illusion that he wants in his show. I have been hired to create the Illusion's that he will perform in his concert starting in July in London for a 50 show run +. I will not be in the show, I'm still on tour with Britney until December now. I've been home on vacation from the Circus tour and will work closely with Michael over the next two weeks. So far Michael has two illusions he wants to present. It should be some unbelievable stuff. On my next Circus break, I will teach Michael the routines and help in the staging of the effects. Michael was very friendly and excited about the project. 20 years ago I did a private show for Michael and his 6 guests at his Neverland Ranch theater. It was a one hour Illusion stage show. I hadn't had contact with Michael since.

Thanks

Ed Alonzo