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One of the Greatest Magicians of the 20th Century Was a Marianist Brother..

One of the Greatest Magicians of the 20th Century Was a Marianist Brother..

By Angelo Stagnaro. 

Image Credit: Hashir Milhan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons..

Of all the performing arts, very few people actively dislike stage magic.

It’s the principle reason I remain gainfully employed.

That, and my incredible humility.

You’ll regularly find people who are bored with opera and flummoxed by modern dance, but what kind of misanthrope doesn’t like a good card trick? Who doesn’t want to see a bunny pulled out of a hat? Who doesn’t gape at magicians, or magiciennes, who flagrantly disregard the very laws of physics and stunningly do the impossible?

But what about if you’re already a magician, or magicienne, and are already privy to all of the arcane secrets of legerdemain? How can magic be entertaining? There are only so many ways to produce a bunny out of a hat. (There are exactly 32.)

Being a professional stage magician, I can assure everyone that it’s exceedingly difficult to create magic tricks and still more difficult to find ones that confound other stage performers.

What do you do when you’ve already witnessed and figured out all the regular magicians’ acts?

You seek out a Magician’s Magician…..  

A Magician’s Magician is a magus so skillful that his legerdemain remains a mystery even to the otherwise most experienced of stage performers. These people regularly amaze even the most jaded magician hoi polloi who’ve already “seen it all.” It’s the highest honor the magic community can bestow on one of its own.After all, even we need to entertained.When magicians are asked as to who qualifies as a Magician’s Magician, the first name that comes up is Br. Hamman.

Read more…..

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/astagnaro/one-of-the-greatest-magicians-of-the-20th-century-was-a-marianist-brother

Director John Chu and Magician Keith Barry Reveal Secrets from Now You See Me 2 ..

Director John Chu and Magician Keith Barry Reveal Secrets from Now You See Me 2 ..

A good movie is always magical, but Now You See Me 2 is truly movie magic, employing the skills of mentalist, hypnotist and magicianKeith Barry and world-famous illusionist David Copperfield to help create real-life illusions and to train the actors to do enough sleight of hand to make it look as if they really are as talented as their characters in the film.

“We said, ‘Let’s build these things, let’s actually prove to the audience that it’s not cut away, that these actors have trained and are doing these things,‘” director John Chu told Parade.com during an interview at Los Angeles’ Magic Castle to promote the film’s DVD and Blu-ray release. “Whether they believe us or not, that’s a different story. We really wanted to do it for ourselves, and, I think instinctually, you feel the reality of it in that way.”

In Now You See Me 2, the Four Horsemen [J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and new team member Lula (Lizzy Caplan)] return one year after outwitting the FBI for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), who blackmails the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only way to save themelves from the  precarious position he has put them in is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and expose Mabry for who he really is.

Also: Watch the story behind Woody Harrelson’s dual role in NYSM2.

Here is more of the interview with Chu and Barry from the event at the Magic Castle:  Read more at:

http://parade.com/505395/paulettecohn/director-john-chu-and-magician-keith-barry-reveal-secrets-from-now-you-see-me-2/