Nathanson will unlock The Secret Life of Houdini

IGN.com is reporting that screenwriter Jeff Nathanson has signed on to write and direct The Secret Life of Houdini for Summit Entertainment.

Summit hopes to launch a fictional action franchise in the vein of Indiana Jones and Sherlock Holmes featuring Houdini’s supposed adventures as a spy for the British government.

Nathanson shared credit on the latest Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and has worked with Steven Spielberg on numerous projects. He also has the dubious distinction of writing Speed 2: Cruise Control.

Death Defying Acts released on DVD in the UK

Death Defying Acts is released today on DVD in the UK by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Priced at £15.99, the region 2 DVD features an anamorphic widescreen (1.78.1) transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and cast interviews.

Death Defying Acts stars Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. While it is an entirely fictionalized episode in Houdini’s life, it’s a decent movie with excellent production design and performances.

Death Defying Acts can be purchased now at Amazon.co.uk.

UPDATE: The DVD is now on sale for only £3.99!

Two ultra rare Houdini props hit eBay

Two one-of-a-kind Houdini props from the storied collection of Arthur Moses have been put up for sale on eBay.

First is Houdini's Original Spirit Cabinet Illusion. According to listing, this escape effect was built in 1924 and intended it to replace his famous Water Torture Cell. Houdini would be encased within four wooden boxes. Iron rods were then placed down the length of the four corners, locking the boxes in place. He may have also been restrained in ropes or chains strung though the holes on either side of the cabinet. The cabinet would then be concealed behind a small drape, from where Houdini would quickly emerge free - yet the cabinet, when shown and inspected, was still tightly secured. The New York Hippodrome program referred to it as "an almost perfect mystery." Opening bid: $18,000.

Next is an Original Houdini packing crate from his home in New York City. The crate contains old shipping labels stating that the trunk belongs to Bess and Harry Houdini. Each end of the crate contains Houdini's theatrical labels in large black letters proclaiming HOUDINI. The crate has Houdini handwriting on one side. In pencil, he wrote "ALL STRAIT JACKETS, OCT 1920." Milbourne Christopher's biography on Houdini clearly states that this was during the time that Houdini formed his movie company and placed his props in the basement to concentrate on making motion pictures. Starting bid: $30,000.

Rush Limbaugh co-opts Houdini poster for attack

Conservative gas-bag Rush Limbaugh has helped himself to Houdini’s classic King of Cards poster to help illustrate his latest attack on President Obama.

Says Limbaugh, "Is Obama the new Houdini? You know, it's Barack H. Obama. Does the "H" now stand for Houdini? Is he trying to escape all responsibility, that he has no responsibility for his own votes for TARP?”

Whatever.

Hugh Jackman confirms he’s Houdini

Hugh Jackman has confirmed to Sydney's Daily Telegraph that he is indeed playing Harry Houdini in an original Broadway musical due to open in 2010.

"We've been working on that for about a year and we'll probably go to Broadway when we're finished. But it'll be at least a year away," says the actor.

Jackman described his fascination with Houdini, stating, "He was a showman basically. He was probably the first rock star. A master manipulator of the media and a showman through and through."

As to playing a singing and dancing Houdini...

“Come on. Why not?” Jackman says with a laugh. “If [Houdini] could sing and dance he would have done it.”

Scott Sanders and David Rockwell will produce Houdini, which features a book by best-selling author Kurt Andersen and music by Danny Elfman. Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien is attached to direct.

Political cartoonists still love Houdini

In his own time Houdini was often used in political cartoons, such as the Chicago Herald in 1922 depicting “Houdini Sam” suspended in a “Pacific Alliance straight jacket” or the Brooklyn Eagle showing “Congress” boxed in a Houdini-like packing crate marked “Bonus Dilemma” (these can be seen in The Original Houdini Scrapbook by Walter B. Gibson).

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Check out this modern political “cartoon” that accompanied an article in the Mail Online about British Prime minister Gordon Brown’s perceived political constraints. Headline: Even Houdini couldn't get out of this.

'God Goliath' with Houdini and Leo Weiss

Here’s one of the most unique takes on a Houdini story I’ve ever heard. The Wingspan Theatre Company, in cooperation with The Bath House Cultural Center, will present a staged reading of a new play entitled God Goliath by Dallas playwright Angela Wilson.

God Goliath takes place in 1915 and finds Houdini’s brother, Dr. Leopold Weiss, experimenting with “the healing properties” of the x-ray machine. All he needs is a dying patient and a great deal of funding. When Houdini and Dr. Weiss team up, the competition is on between science and magic. When one of Weiss’ patients discovers that her own cancer has spread, she becomes the patient of an unlikely trio of “physicians” that includes Houdini, Leo Weiss, and the household cook, who has her own ideas for a cancer cure.

This staged reading of God Goliath will be directed by Beth Bontley. The cast includes T.A. Taylor, Ashley Wood, Pam Dougherty, Carrie Slaughter and Cindy Beall. The staged reading dates are: Thursday, April 9th and Friday, April 10th, both at 7:30 p.m. Admission is pay-what-you-can. Call 214-675-6573 for tickets or by emailing wingspan@wingspantheatre.com.

Photo of Houdini and Leopold Weiss from Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss from the Arthur Moses collection.

Houdini’s Paper Magic reprint

The books Houdini wrote during his life have all fallen into the public domain and are therefore reprinted again and again in varying quality. I don’t even try to keep up, and let most of these reprints pass me by.

But every once and a while there’s a standout, and that applies to Barnes & Noble’s 2007 reprint of Houdini’s Paper Magic. It’s a small quality hardcover with a very nice dust jacket by Jo Obarowski. The text is a facsimile of the original 1922 edition by Dutton.

If you don’t have Paper Magic and don’t want to shop (and pay) for a first edition, this might be the one to add to your Houdini library.

Houdini’s Paper Magic can be purchased at Amazon.com.

Secret Life sale grabs headlines

The sale of Kalush and Sloman's The Secret Life of Houdini to Summit Entertainment has grabbed headlines across the web and print media. Nowhere was the story given flashier coverage than in Friday’s print edition of The Hollywood Reporter (right) which scooped the news in a great front page spread. Houdini would be loving this!

• Are You Ready for Harry Houdini, Action Spy? (Cinematical)
• Summit Explores Houdini's "Secret Life" (Dark Horizons)
• Action Hero Houdini (JoBlo)
• Houdini the Superhero (IGN)
• A ‘Houdini’ Action-Thriller? (Screen Rant)
• Meet The Real Houdini (Cinema Blend)
• THE TWO-FISTED ADVENTURES OF HOUDINI (CHUD)
• Summit Looks Into ‘The Secret Life Of Houdini’ (MTV)
• Houdini set for second life as action hero (Hollywood Ind)
• Summit wants a Houdini action franchise (Total Film)
• Here Comes 'Confessions of a Dangerous Houdini' (I Watch)
• Harry Houdini is Part Indy Part Sherlock (The Moving Picture)
• Indiana Houdini Holmes (Hollywood Elsewhere), who quoted my Amazon review of the book. Thank you. :)

"Fragment of an unknown Houdini poster"

Here’s an intriguing item currently up for auction as part of Potter & Potter’s Magic Collection of Jay Marshall, Part III to be held on April 26.

Lot 178. Houdini, Harry. Color lithographed poster fragment on page from ledger of Portland Theater, Maine, July 8, 1908, signed and inscribed. Lithograph fragment of a young Houdini in handcuffs signed and dated on the top of the ledger sheet, with part of the signature tied to the poster. The inscription reads "Houdini, The Handcuff King." Although this item reposed in Jay Marshall's collection for years and carries the inscription "fragment of unknown Houdini poster with signature" in the intervening years, one copy of the complete poster has been discovered. Estimate $600 - $1,200

UPDATE: Below is the complete poster.

Hugh Jackman said to be rehearsing 'Harry Houdini'

Even though he hasn’t been officially announced in the role, actor Hugh Jackman is reported to be in New York rehearsing the forthcoming Broadway musical, Harry Houdini. (This appears to be a new title. Until now, it was referred to as Houdini: An Original Musical.)

A source said: "Hugh is taking his role very seriously! He's even studying how to perform Houdini's magic acts. Hugh has been receiving tips and help from great magicians such as Criss Angel and Ricky Jay."

Jackman will have to recreate the same tricks live on stage eight times a week once the production opens in New York in spring 2010.

Scott Sanders and David Rockwell will produce Harry Houdini, which features a book by best-selling author Kurt Andersen and music by Danny Elfman. Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien is attached to direct.

Summit set to turn Houdini into an action hero

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Summit Entertainment has unlocked The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, picking up feature film rights to the biography by William Kalush and Larry Sloman.

The comprehensive tome, published in 2006 by Atria Books, has become known for insinuating that Harry Houdini acted as a spy for Britain and was asked to be an adviser to Czar Nicholas II's court in prerevolutionary Russia. The book also portrays the master escape artist and magician as a debunker of con artists who pretended to be spiritualists, leading to the controversial theory that Houdini's death was caused by the spiritualist movement as payback.

The studio, which is looking for writers to adapt the book, does not aim to make a biopic but rather an action thriller featuring a character who is part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes. Summit hopes to cash in on worldwide recognition of Houdini's name while potentially launching a franchise.

Houdini has long entranced Hollywood, with projects having been set up at studios including Columbia, Universal and Walden and such boldface names as Robert Zemeckis, Paul Verhoeven, Ang Lee and Tom Cruise keen on exploring various aspects of his character, from the lovelorn magician to the adventurer.

Despite the interest, few projects have made it to the screen. Among the best known is Houdini, a 1953 biopic starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The most recent was Death Defying Acts, a 2008 release starring Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)