Vlad Kraven

Forrest Gump Backstage Magic

It seems that there’s a magical connection in everything nowadays. Many that have seen Forrest Gump witnessed the mystical transformation of Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) from two-legged actor to double-amputee. The illusion was amazingly convincing, and those guessing that it was digital editing are only partly right.

Enter Ricky Jay, magician extraordinaire. The famous scenes of Lieutenant Dan in a wheelchair were actually a specially designed illusion chair by Ricky Jay. The magic seat allowed Sinise to convincingly make his legs disappear with no amputation required.

There you have it — the little bit of Magic behind the classic Forrest Gump.

Magic Notes (Week 21)

Still trying to work blog updates into my new schedule. All-video edition of Magic Notes:

-David Copperfield on Funny or Die.
-A classic from a classic: Paul Daniels Chop Cup routine.
-You may remember my mentioning Ricky Jay in the old Celebrity Magicians post I made some time ago. On youtube I just found Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, an entertaining and intellectual show directed by David Mamet.
-Speaking of Ricky Jay and Funny or Die: Ricky Jay on Funny or Die.

Loose Ends (Week Seven)

Seven weeks in the Theater of the Unreal. Quite an engagement I’ve signed up to! The loose ends:

-Video/psychological illusion of the week is this clip from Richard Wiseman.

-Follow me on Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo, Myspace and subscribe to my RSS feed if you haven’t already. It’s hard to perform without an audience, so grab some front-row seats while you still can!

-Whoever said magic isn’t dangerous, has clearly never seen what Ricky Jay can do with a pack of playing cards. Likely the greatest card thrower ever. Click here.

-Below: I found a very elegant 18th century painting by an artist named Phillippe Mercier. Called, L’escamoteur, it depicts a scene of a period magician entertaining with a card trick and the cups and balls.

18th Century painting

Simpsons Magic Special: The Great Simpsina

A quick heads-up that this Sunday (4/9/11) there will be a brand new magic-themed episode of The Simpsons called The Great Simpsina. With guest stars Penn & Teller, David Copperfield and Ricky Jay, it has all the makings of a Simpsons classic. Tune in!

Celebrity Magicians — the 5th degree

Here’s one of those fifth-degree-of-separation-deals, but with celebrities…who do magic. Talk about a stretch.

We start this journey with Neil Patrick Harris (Doogies Howser, Harold & Kumar), and his coming out of the closet as a magician. Not only has he performed numerous times on the Ellen Degeneres show, but he also participated in a fantastic, intelligent theatrical piece called Palingenesia:

The co-star of Palingenesia was a brilliant performer and  actor named Jonathan Levit. Mr. Levit also played the part of a criminal magician in an episode of the x-files called The Amazing Maleeni, alongside another magician/actor named Ricky Jay:

Ricky Jay, with his vast wealth of magic knowledge, has consulted on many films, including the Illusionist, where Edward Norton learned some advanced ball manipulation:

A young Edward Norton starred in a terrible Woody Allen movie called Everyone Says I Love You. As many people know, Woody Allen is a very big magic enthusiast.

Woody Allen caught one of his earliest breaks on Johnny Carson’s legendary late night show. Johnny Carson, also a devoted amateur magician, provided air time for a hysterical magical number from Stever Martin:

Well that’s the curious list for now. Stay tuned for more magician-celebrity facts!