The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

New Houdini Movie

17 visible archived posts · 17 preserved total · topic ID 1984

Mark Lyons 17 Apr 2007

There will be a new movie about Houdini and it will be set during the times that he was already at his peak. (1926) It is not supposed to be a biography showing him starting out in his career and continuing throughout his life until death like most of the other films do. Should be an interesting view. I do not know how much is based on accurate records or if they Hollywoodized it or not.
Hope they have nice close ups of some nice cuffs.
The director, Gillian Armstrong is from Australia and has many connections there.
Has anybody here worked on this movie or know anyone?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472071/combined

It gets premiered in France next month and I would guess it will be released in the US in late June or July.

mark
O--O

Mick Hanzlik 17 Apr 2007

I heard about this a while ago Mark, and I got in touch with the producers in Australia, offering my services as consultant. They said the would get back to me.

Still waiting................

Mark Lyons 18 Apr 2007

If I was going to produce and/or direct a movie on a famous person, place or thing, I think I would get about 10 experts on a panel to make the movie as factual as possible unless the movie is fantasy based. The movie Titanic was filled with many true facts even though the main storyline was fictional.
That would have been wonderful if they had included you and other Houdini Historians in a discussion board. I am not aware of anyone else being contacted for this project.
If not, the main characters in Titanic and perhaps the entire Houdini movie may have at least one thing in common: They both might have missed the boat!

mark
O--O

Kevin Connolly 18 Apr 2007

I think the movie is just in the fantasy/fiction genre.

It probably would be too difficult to make a Houdini movie with 10 experts. The movie could be as long as the Titanic movie was, maybe longer. Just with the Tony Curtis movie, with just two magic consultants, the movie would have ran too long and some scenes had to be deleted in the final cut.

Don 19 Apr 2007

here goes a link to a Poster of the Movie if anyone is interested. http://www.impawards.com/2007/death_defying_acts.html

Anonymous 19 Apr 2007

Kinda looks like its going to be a chick-flick.
Poster hardly shows handcuffs-just abs and skin and Zeta-Jones occupies more space than the star.
There will probably lots of kissing scenes too

Cliff Gerstman 20 Apr 2007

Other than the wonderful charisma and charm of Tony Curtis, I never cared for his Houdini. Here, It clearly looks like they want to capitalize on the popoularity of Zeta-Jones over Guy Pierce. Who is Jones playing? Bess?!? Bad casting if that is true. Odly enough I think telling a houdini story from Bess' point of view might be interesting.

I hope it is better than Titanic. I will never forgive the old lady for throwing away that priceless gem. Most people cried when the boat sank, I cried for the gem. My other problem with Titanic was I kept expecting a last minute rescue. Oh Well.

I am sure I will see this movie. I am sure I have seen Guy Pierce before, anyone know what else he has been in?

Mark Lyons 20 Apr 2007

Cliff,
Here is his filmography:

Friday on My Mind (1990)
Heaven Tonight (1990)
Hunting (1991)
The Man from Snowy River the McGregor Saga (1993)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Flynn (1996)
Dating the Enemy (1996)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Woundings (1998)
A Slipping-Down Life (1999)
Ravenous (1999)
Memento (2000)
Rules of Engagement (2000)
Till Human Voices Wake Us (2002)
The Hard Word (2002)
The Time Machine (2002)
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Two Brothers (2004)
The Proposition (2005)
Factory Girl (2006)
Before I Fall to Pieces, Razorlight, music video (2006)
Death Defying Acts (2007) (post-production)
First Snow (2007) (post-production)
Winged Creatures (2008) (filming)

I don't think I have seen any one of these movies, so I can't form an opinion.
I have heard of some of them and think they were pretty good at the box office so I hope he will do the movie some justice.
The only Zeta Jones movie I recall was The Terminal with Tom Hanks, and I would give her at least one thumb up for that one.

I too was saying to myself "don't through the necklace overboard" even though she had some point to make by tossing it. If I were her, I would have sold it and got myself a nice face lift and nose job with a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.

I am still waiting for Titanic II, the sequel to come out. I hear everything turns out all right in that one.

mark
O--O

Stuart Burrell 22 Apr 2007

It is funny but the Houdini Serial The Master Mystery has just been re-released in book form (sans pictures) and is actually quite entertaining as a fictional novel.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Mystery- ... 40&sr=1-16

As for Titanic II, the plot is quite simple, Jack is not dead but very very very badly hurt and is picked up by a 'Russian Merchant Ship' and taken off to Eastern Europe as Rose starts her new life in the US. Then WWI starts and she ends up becoming a medic whilst he (having lost his memory but learning to speak Latvian very quickly in a heart felt scene with an orphaned boy and a loaf of bread which is all they have to eat) ends up with the Russians on the front just in time for America joining the war, then it is just a remake of wings from then on in before entering a love triangle with a British officer who lost his wife on the Lusitania....

...At leats that was the version I wrote but for some reason the script was never picked up. Lol.

Anonymous 22 Apr 2007

#10

I, too, offered my services, but they said they never heard of me.

Anonymous 22 Apr 2007

#11

That is because you are an imposter, using my good name!

Joseph Lauher 23 Apr 2007

#12

Stuart

In Titanic II is Jack still wearing that Darby cuff on one hand. Afterall we know that the only key went down with the ship.

Joe

lauher 23 Apr 2007

#13

Stuart

In Titanic II - is Jack still wearing that Darby cuff on one hand? After all we know that the only key went down with the ship.

Joe

Mark Lyons 23 Apr 2007

#14

Joe
In the script, it shows that the key had an air bubble in it and since it was the aluminum alloy key and not the correct steel key, it was found bobbing in the waves close by. It was recovered by the new love interest that is introduced at the end and continues on in Titanic III.

Thought you should know!

mark
O--O

Stuart Burrell 23 Apr 2007

#15

Mark, how did you know about her? She was only introduced after the end credits.... You know what, I spent six months working on that scene, the tears in his eyes when he finally gets the cuff off after wearing it for over 7 years would have been worth the ticket price alone.

After all, what are the odds of the true love of his life finding the key for the lock?

I had planned for him to pick it open using a paper straw from a McDonalds Happy Meal in a product placement but then I saw a graphic novel of Nightwing (Dick Grason) pick a padlock using one and then it lost all credability for me as an artistic form. That was when it was changed to the heartbreaking scene mentioned earlier where he learns to speak another language over a loaf of bread whilst all the time being able to conceal the handcuff from the rest of the cast.

Joe, I don't know what is more worrying, the fact that we are all thinking along the same lines or that, probably, in a few years someone will actually make a film just like this.

lauher 23 Apr 2007

#16

Stuart
You should know that Mark is now a TV star. He knows all the Hollywood people. I am sure that if you furnish him with your completed screenplay, he can talk to his friends in the know and have it produced in no time.
Joe

Stuart Burrell 24 Apr 2007

#17

Joe,

It would be a pleasure. I am not sure Mark would feel the same way though.

Stu