CELEBRACADABRA FINALISTS ENGAGE IN A WAR OF WORDS

HAL SPARKS INTERVIEW

The Boston Globe recently talked to Hal Sparks regarding his career and specifically about Celebracadabra. In the case of "Celebracadabra," he had always wanted to learn magic, and he saw the show as a good opportunity. "Quite frankly, I approached it like most laypeople would approach it," he says. "If somebody came to you and went, 'Hey, we'll pay you to go learn magic for the next six weeks. You interested?' I'd be like, 'Hell yes!' "

THE LAST MAN... ERRR.. MAGICIAN

Indy filmmaker Jared Blaut duscusses his work on a series of movies to be based upon the DC comic "Y: The Last Man" by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra at Chud.com. The critically acclaimed graphic novel tells the tale of a world in which a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome, magician Yorick Brown suddenly discovers that he is the only male left in a world inhabited solely by women. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on Earth. But with a gang of feminist extremists and the leader of the Israel Defense Forces hunting him, Yorick's future, as well as that of the human race, may be short-lived.

MANDRAKE DELAYED BY OLYMPICS?

UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture talked to SuperheroHype.com about his role in the upcoming Mandrake Movie and the impact of the upcoming Summer Olympics in China on the production. "It's been reset, and I think now I think they're waiting for the dust to settle with the Olympics in China, 'cause most of the movie is shot in China," he told us. "I'm attached to play a U.S. agent that's intricately wound up into the plot of the movie."  He went onto compare Mandrake to Criss Angel saying, "It reminded me a lot of Chris Angel and some of the stuff that he does in his persona a little bit."

MAGICIAN REVIVES LENNY BRUCE

Comedian Steve Cuiffo, who also happens to be a member of the board of directors for The Conjuring Arts Research Center, is profiled in the New York Press after being accused of "not being Lenny Bruce." According to the article, Steve has been given unprecedented access to the Bruce’s notes and life by his estate who find's the comedian's work to be of interest. “So I started to learn Lenny’s material and perform it as is, without any kind of theatrical frameworks,” says Cuiffo. “I spent a lot of time getting his rhythm, his timing, his tone of voice. The idea was to get it as close as possible as what it would be like to see him in a live nightclub.” A friend of David Blaine, Cuiffo spends his spare time traveling to VA hospitals where he teaches magic to the terminally ill. 

CELEBRACADABRA :: MURRAY SAWCHUCK 2

Award winning magician and Celebracadabra coach Murray Sawchuck joins the Magic Newswire for the first part of his interview in which he discusses his background in magic, his experience on VH1's Celebracadabra and his relationship with his celebrity student, Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt.  REMINDER: Celebracadabra has moved to a new time. Catch the next episode on Thursday May 29th at 10 PM on VH1 and see who survives "Escape/Phobia Magic." PART 2 OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH MURRAY:   PART 1 OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH MURRAY:    

BATTLE OF THE TV MAGICIANS

Irish Illusionist Keith Barry told a Toronto radio show, Mad Dog & Billie, that he recently "Tried to beat the crap out of Criss Angel in Vegas" because "He was a rude guy. Host Billie seemed to agree with a visual assessment of the Mindfreak star saying, "I can tell that Criss would be a rude guy. He just looks angry." This only adds to the recent stories of such encounters between the "Mindfreak," and various personalities. "To ask.. or not to ask...?"

RENO 911 DEPUTY AND FORMER MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT (AND CELEBRACADABRA PILOT JUDGE) TO HELP IRAQI POLICE

FINAL APPEARANCE :: CYRIL CRITCHLOW

The Grand Theater in Blackpoole hosted "...hundreds of mourners gathered (snip) to pay their respects to heritage campaigner, former theatre proprietor and world's oldest magician Cyril Critchlow who died earlier this month aged 85. According to the Gazette, "Mr Critchlow's coffin started a procession from Blackpool Town Hall to the Grand to the haunting sound of bagpipes. On arrival a wreath shaped like a magician's top hat was placed on top alongside a famous photograph of the entertainer."

CELEBRACADABRA OUT-TAKES :: JONATHAN LEVIT