Not So Tiny Bubbles...

[ZachMueller]

You'd be surprised how many TV & film actors are magicians but think about it, Who's the President of the Magic Castle? Who was on the founding board of the Castle?

The first time my parents came to visit me in L.A. I took them to brunch at the Castle, it was one of those very odd times when about a dozen major celebrities were there. It was so prolific that my father insisted we leave and go "somewhere normal to eat" so we left and went to a Denny's on Sunset Blvd. where it literally ran into another noted actor from yesteryear fame.

LA is a weird place to live. Literally everyone who shops at Trader Joes (grocery store here in the US) is either an actor, a celebrity, or just gorgeous. It's aggravating how gorgeous everyone is here. Kidding. Kind of.

The Magic Castle is a huge draw for celebrities - I've seen Zach Galifiankis, Lindsay Lohan, Eli Roth, I even did my show in the Close-Up gallery for Aziz Ansari once.

I'd agree that magic is either a heavy fascination or side hobby for a lot of Actors - NPH, of course, Harry Anderson, Steve Martin. Just in this week's Expose we mentioned an article in which Rick Rubin, huge producer for almost every famous musician, talks about his love for magic.

Any other magic actors come to mind for you guys?

 

[WyattSB]

He did a card through window. But the way he did it, the card ended up stuck to the opposite side of the glass, with another card stuck perfectly aligned with it on this side of the glass, with no prep and no one near enough to assist.

Not quite possible. You could come very close to that, though, so I give them the leeway.

Who says there was no prep? As far as realism goes, he'd be sitting in that room all day, alone most of the time.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Who says there was no prep? As far as realism goes, he'd be sitting in that room all day, alone most of the time.

Because they show a clear shot of the window before the card appears on the other side and there's nothing there. No one comes close enough to place the card that perfectly, no method of having it swing into place, etc. could do it, and the character is bed ridden.

I'm not saying that the trick he did couldn't be done, just not the way he did it on the show. What the show had is probably what a spectator would remember from a slightly less clean method, though.

 

[Bryson G.]

Any other magic actors come to mind for you guys?

Let's not forget about Cameron Francis, an actor, who is not only a great magician but a great creator as well. He tends to sway towards effects that he can really "perform" because of his acting background. You can hear a lot more how magic and acting go hand in and hand in his Penguin Live Lecture. I think it all goes down to our (whether you're a magician or actor) need to entertain.

P.S. There are a lot of magicians who turned into actors occasionally. Penn and Teller did star in Penn and Teller Get Killed.

 

[AnthonyL]

so i see that this thread has evolved some. But i just got back from seeing now you see me and im wondering did you ever find out if the bubbles were cgi?

P.S what was the name of the levitation/ was the bubble around Isla Fisher real? because i was in awe of that trick.

 

[S.G]

The Magic Castle is a huge draw for celebrities - I've seen Zach Galifiankis, Lindsay Lohan, Eli Roth, I even did my show in the Close-Up gallery for Aziz Ansari once.

That's so awesome dude! Aziz is literally one of my favorite people ever hahahaha

 

[Josh Burch]

I think this effect stems from Seigfried and Roy's Bubble levitation. I'll see if I can find a clip of it.

The effect at the beginning with the 7 of diamonds was not "enhanced". This has been used by many tv magicians and there are methods to make it virtually self working. A beginner could pull it off.

 

[WyattSB]

I think this effect stems from Seigfried and Roy's Bubble levitation. I'll see if I can find a clip of it.

The effect at the beginning with the 7 of diamonds was not "enhanced". This has been used by many tv magicians and there are methods to make it virtually self working. A beginner could pull it off.

I'm sure we are all aware of that, but the actual method is not 100%, I was under the impression that they altered it just a bit to make it more likely to succeed?

 

[Craig Browning]

I think this effect stems from Seigfried and Roy's Bubble levitation. I'll see if I can find a clip of it.

The effect at the beginning with the 7 of diamonds was not "enhanced". This has been used by many tv magicians and there are methods to make it virtually self working. A beginner could pull it off.

You're correct about the girl in the bubble sequence, I recognized that one. . . and you are correct about the opening bit, I think that's Max's (he developed so many of those bits). I'm just trying to find out more about the creation of the bubbles from the bare hands. I'm beginning to believe what they did was used CGI to get rid of the suds that would be on their hands when doing this the normal way (by dipping hands into suds to create the "hoop" that brings all the soap together in the start).

 

[AnthonyL]

was the 7 of diamonds trick altered? i just thought they used a less "risky" method.

also some of you might enjoy these videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me-wx3XnO3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFsCFOtZWrM

anyone know what the coffee cup trick in the second video was called?

 

[ZachMueller]

anyone know what the coffee cup trick in the second video was called?

It's called MOJOE by John Kennedy.

I'm still unsure about the bubbles. The levitation was I believe somewhat practical, but altered to make it look a bit better for the movie, with the bubble surrounding her CGI. The in the hands bubbles though - still a mystery