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Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in World War II Epic ‘The War Magician’..

Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in World War II Epic ‘The War Magician’..

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Benedict Cumberbatch is attached to star inThe War Magician, a World War II epic tale that Studio Canal is financing.

Storyscape Entertainment principals Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein, who made the announcement on Tuesday, are producing the pic, which has Garry Whitta adapting the fact-based book by David Fisher. No director currently is on board the project.

Cumberbatch will portray British hero Jasper Maskelyne, the titular spellbinder whose clever illusions helped the Allied forces fight the Nazis during World War II.

According to the producers, Maskelyne put together a rag‐tag “dirty dozen” of accomplices dubbed “The Magic Gang” who used illusion tricks to hide strategic targets such as the Alexandria harbor near the Suez Canal, in the process concealing 150,000 men with 1,000 guns and tanks. The book says the illusions helped turn the tide of the war against General Rommel and the Germans in North Africa, leading up to the Battle of El Alamein. Read more.. (photo via Wikipedia)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/benedict-cumberbatch-star-world-war-846899

That one time England recruited a magician to trick Hitler..

That one time England recruited a magician to trick Hitler..

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The history of WWII is brimming with legends of incredible heroism, death-defying bravery and sometimes, stories that are just too ridiculous to be true.

The tale of Jasper Maskelyne, the British magician who joined the Royal Engineers once the King declared war on Germany, dances on the line of the third category.

Many people believe that Maskelyne’s “war contributions” are mostly tall tales that have grown more and more fantastical over time, while others contest that his feats of deception are completely factual and actually happened. We may never know for sure how much of history’s account of Maskelyne’s contributions are folklore because there are very few pictures detailing his accomplishments, which is exactly why so many people are skeptical.

Whether or not the illusionist was the real deal or just smoke and mirrors, the story of his contributions to the Allied war effort are too incredible to ignore.

Maskelyne had magic in his blood — he was a third-generation illusionist, so you could say that being awesome ran in his family. He also really, really hated Hitler. Because of this, rather than enlist as a common foot soldier or sailor when Britain began to gear up for WWII, he wanted to offer a flashier form of service: military magician. For whatever reason, the Allies thought that they could actually benefit from having a magic man amongst their ranks, and promoted Maskelyne to major.

But they didn’t stop there — Maskelyne was allowed to assemble a team of the best artists, tricksters,engineers and illusionists around to help him pull off his stunts. The team’s official title was the A-Force, nicknamed “The Magic Gang,” as if The A-Force wasn’t cool enough.  Read more:

http://www.wearethemighty.com/magician-hitler-2015-08

HOW A MAGICIAN MADE A HARBOR VANISH..

HOW A MAGICIAN MADE A HARBOR VANISH..

Jasper Maskelyne was, depending on who you ask, integral to the war effort or marginally successful at best.

Born into a family of established stage magicians in 1902, Jasper Maskelyne followed in his family’s footsteps, carving out a fruitful career as a stage magician. Prior to World War II, Maskelyne was performing in London. One of his most famous tricks—“swallowing” a handful of razor blades without ill effect—had the crowds flocking to watch his act. When not swallowing sharp objects, he was also skilled in a range of tricks from sleight of hand, card and rope tricks, as well as supposed “telepathy”.

When the war broke out, which surely brought down Maskelyne’s ticket sales, he began to wonder how to best utilize his considerable magical talents. Well, the front lines were not the best stage for picking pockets or chomping shaving implements, so Maskelyne decided the camouflage unit may have a place for him. Read more of this interesting article at:

https://wargaming.com/en/articles/blog/insights/jasper_maskelyne/