Number 72 - 10th
November 2001
Anthony
Trollope's satirical The Way We Live Now comes to BBC1 television this
Sunday (and the following three Sundays) and features on the cover of this
week's Radio Times. Filmed during the Summer, both on location and at the
Elstree Film Studios (home of the original Star Wars movie), the drama
features a number a poker sequences involving card cheating. Duncan Trillo
was brought in to coach the actors for the shoot, "The props department
supplied original decks of cards from the 1870's but they were impossible
to manipulate due to years of wear and tear so I set about trying to locate reproduction cards and managed to
find a supplier, via the internet, in France. The cards that we used were
an authentic replica of a deck first manufactured in 1864. All
the sequences feature the actors themselves as I wanted to avoid the
obvious 'close-up cut-away' type shot that is so often seen in this type
of production using a magician's hands, and director, David Yates, was in complete agreement." Look
out for the odd one-handed cut and actor Mathew Macfayden (Sir Felix
Carbury) dealing the four aces from a shuffled deck in a later episode. BBC 1, 8.45pm - 10pm. Sunday nights, for the next four weeks.
(Photo: L to R Richard Cant, Mathew Macfayden, Duncan Trillo, Stuart
McQuarrie, Angus Wright.)
10.11.01
Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
premiered at the Odeon, Leicester
Square, London on Sunday 4th November and will open in cinemas across the
country on
November 16th. The movie looks set to break many box office records all
over the world. The
soundtrack CD, composed and conducted by John Williams, is available now from
amazon.co.uk
10.11.01
Friday night's
London Tonight on ITV ran a piece
on magic, highlighting the differences between
the "wizardry" of Harry Potter and the "magic tricks" performed
by magicians. Filmed at The Magic Circle HQ in London Magic Circle president Michael
Bailey and Mandy Davis (The Young Magician's Club Team) discussed the
current popularity of magic, together with a number of young magicians who
also performed. 10.11.01
Top London magician
Fay Presto found herself in court on Friday 2nd November losing the right
to ride her rhinestone clad scooter to gigs in London without insurance.
Fay was stopped by police on the way to perform at Marco Pierre White's
Criterion restaurant. In court PC William Wright maintained the vehicle
was a moped under the 1983 Road Traffic Act and that she therefore
required insurance to ride it. But Fay argued that she bought the
City Bug scooter on
the understanding it was an electrically-assisted bicycle (because it was
fitted with one-inch pedals at the front) and therefore didn't require
insurance. She also said that she used the scooter because it could be
ridden without a helmet so her hair style was not crushed, Bow Street
magistrates court heard. District Judge Geoffrey Wicks said he would not
punish Fay Presto because she had been misled into believing her actions
were legal, and had pursued the case for the benefit of the wider public.
She didn't have her license endorsed and didn't have to pay court costs.
(Anyone who knows Fay would have been able to tell
the court that there was no way they'd win from the start!)
10.11.01
Illusionists Safire
must be one of the busiest illusion acts in the country. They've just
completed a 17 week summer season in Blackpool's Palladium Nights show at
the Wintergardens, with one-nighters on their days off, and now gear up
for panto at the Preston Charter Theatre starring in Aladdin (13th
December until the 6th January). Then towards the end of January they go
on tour for 10 days with Danny La Rue. From February 3rd 2002 they tour
Theatres for Qdos/AMG in one of their variety productions up until 31st
October 2002 - totaling about 140 dates. We'll let you know the details
next year. 10.11.01
Want to see some magic? Then don't miss Monday Night Magic on November 12th, 19th, 26th, December 3rd and 10th. Venue: Upstairs at The Gatehouse, Highgate Village, Highgate, London N6 4BD Telephone: 020 8340 3488. Time: 8pm. Tickets: Adults £8.00 Concessions £6.00, booking recommended. Strictly no children. 10.11.01
Richard Pinner will be performing at the New Zealand Magician's Convention, Auckland at the end of the year (December 27th - 31st). Registration details from: Tony Wilson, 14 Roadley Avenue, Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand. 10.11.01
Coventry Magic Circle are presenting a Christmas Magic Show on 27th November 2001 7.30pm - 9.30pm at The Abbey Theatre, Pool Bank Street, Nuneaton. Ticket prices are £4.00 for adults, £2.00 for children, £10.00 for a family ticket (two adults and two children). For more information, and to book tickets telephone John Parnell on 024 7638 7579 any evening between 6pm and 7pm. 10.11.01
Connoisseur Conjuring have changed their URL and have asked us to pass on their new details: connoisseur-conjuring.org.uk - they've also added a new forum to the site for both members and non-members • Here are a few links that may be of interest to readers: cheapovegas.com offers an amusing "tell it like it is" guide to Las Vegas, magicauctionandbeyond.com is a new auction site and Club Magic is a new magic forum set up by Brian Holmes • Well that's it for this week, I look forward to seeing some of you at MindMagic 2001 tomorrow. Your news and views are always welcomed. See you next week, Duncan. 10.11.01