Now you see him, now you don’t

It looks like Death Defying Acts limited engagement was very limited indeed. The film played on only two screens in New York and LA for only one week.

It's a shame The Weinstein Company, who reportedly paid $5.5 million for the distribution rights, didn't do more to support the film. I thought it was pretty good.

For those who missed it, never fear. I expect Death Defying Acts will make an amazing reappearance on DVD. When we get news of exactly when that might be, we will let you know.

Death Defying Acts opens today in New York and Los Angeles

Death Defying Acts, which stars Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic, opens today in limited engagements in New York and Los Angeles.

In New York the film is playing at the Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema, 139-143 East Houston Street, East Village. In LA it’s playing at the Manns Chinese Theater 6 (multiplex attached to the famous Graumans Chinese theater) at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 777-3456.

LA showtimes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are: 12:10pm, 2:40pm, 5:10pm, 7:40pm, & 10:20pm.

If you want to see this in a theater, my advice would be to move quick. These limited engagements may only last a week or less.

UPDATE: Now you see him, now you don’t.

Harry Houdini for President

Magician Adam Steinfeld of Adam Steinfeld Magic Live fame sends us this political commercial for, yes, a "Harry Houdini for President" campaign.

Not sure what more I can say about this except...watch it and decide for yourself.

Death Defying Acts - the novelization

A novelization of the new movie Death Defying Acts will be released on July 15. The book is a paperback published by Pocket and written by Greg Cox.

Death Defying Acts stars Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic out to claim the magician’s $10,000 prize for genuine communication with the dead. The film is due for release in New York and Los Angeles on July 11.

This is the second novelization of a Houdini film, the first one being for the TV movie The Great Houdinis in 1976.

Purchase Death Defying Acts by Greg Cox on Amazon.com.

Death Defying Acts soundtrack CD

The original soundtrack to the new movie Death Defying Acts has been released on CD and can be purchased at Amazon.com.

Death Defying Acts stars Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic out to claim the magician’s $10,000 prize for genuine communication with the dead.

The film is due for release in New York and Los Angeles on July 11.

Houdini...the corkscrew

Check out the TV commercial for the amazing Houdini Corkscrew by Metrokane. The company has launched entire line of "Houdini" food and wine products.

And just in case you don’t approve of Houdini’s good name being used for such crass commercialism, gaze below at this newspaper ad for a food market in 1899. Houdini was a pioneer of tie-in marketing, and I expect he would be thrilled that his name still "sells" in 2008.

Houdini A Pictorial Life

The Houdini Code

The Houdini Code is a Canadian documentary produced in 2007 that focus exclusively on Houdini’s relationship to spiritualism and the controversy surrounding the coded message delivered to Bess by the Rev. Arthur Ford after Houdini’s death.

Don’t let the DVD cover art fool you, this is a very well-done professional documentary with quality interviews and some nice rare photos, particularly of Bessie.

One thing that’s interesting is the documentary states without qualification that Ed Saint was Bessie’s "new husband."

Leading Houdini collector Arthur Moses has acquired DVD copies The Houdini Code for sale in the U.S. To purchase, contact Arthur via email.

UPDATE: The Houdini Code is now available to stream on Amazon Video.

Houdini Laid Bare on Amazon

The beautiful special two-volume edition of The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman is now available on Amazon.com.

Packaged in a slipcase, the two-set collection contains a first edition of The Secret Life of Houdini with a new colored frontispiece signed by both authors, and The Secret Life of Houdini Laid Bare, a companion volume that compiles all the authors unpublished notes, material that was edited out of the biography, and more than seventy rare photographs.

Each book is numbered and only 1,000 sets have been produced.

The two-volume set was previously only available from specialty magic publisher Mike Caveney.

Houdini The Musical in Montréal

The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal will present an all-new edition of Houdini, The Musical. Fresh off its monster success at the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival, the musical comedy set to period jazz plays from June 27 to July 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Théâtre Outremont.

This original musical creation by Ben Gonshor (book) and Elan Kunin (lyrics and music) features New York magician-actor-singer Kevin Kraft as Houdini. It is directed by Canadian Bryna Wasserman.

Get a free copy of Kid Houdini TODAY

A printed copy of the terrific online comic Kid Houdini and the Silver Dollar Misfits is available FREE today as part of Viper Comics' Free Comic Book Day.

Click here to find a participating store in your area.

A retail version of Kid Houdini and the Silver Dollar Misfits will be published in June and can be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com.

Paperback edition of Fleischman’s ESCAPE! shoots down spy theory

A trade paperback edition of Sid Fleischman's carefully researched 2006 book ESCAPE! The Story of the Great Houdini is released today.

The paperback contains a new chapter, "The Restless Ghost", in which Sid addresses the notion that Houdini was a spy and/or murdered. His conclusion: "It's nonsense, of course."

You can purchase the updated ESCAPE! The Story of the Great Houdini on Amazon.com.

Related:

• Sid Fleischman’s ESCAPE! released today
• Experts weigh-in on 'Secret Life' spy revelation

Houdini musical headed to Broadway in 2010

Danny Elfman

Tony Award-winning producer Scott Sanders and Tony nominated architect/set designer David Rockwell announced plans today to present HOUDINI, An Original Musical on Broadway in the spring of 2010.

The creative team includes Danny Elfman (music), David Yazbek (lyrics), Kurt Andersen (book), and Jack O'Brien (direction). HOUDINI, An Original Musical marks the Broadway debuts of Mr. Elfman and Mr. Andersen, and first-time producing debut for Mr. Rockwell, who will also design the sets.

"When David Rockwell asked me to join him as a co-lead producer, I didn't hesitate for a moment. Houdini is an amazing, iconic figure who continues to captivate our imagination more than 80 years after his death. His colorful world defines the theatrical and, combined with this remarkable creative team, will make for a fascinating and entertaining musical," says Scott Sanders.

"The musical theater has always been a passion of mine, and I can't imagine a more thrilling opportunity than the creation of a new musical, especially with this team" adds David Rockwell.

Broadway theater, casting and full design team will be announced at a later date.

Source: Broadwayworld.com

Stone Temple Pilots rock the Houdini Estate

The fabled "Houdini Estate" in Laurel Canyon was the site last night for a reunion concert by Stone Temple Pilots. I can personally attest to this. I live on the same street and I had to show my address to police, who had cordoned off the street, in order to get home. I figured it was a party...or the most rockin' Houdini séance the house ever saw!

According to Billboard, the group's 30-minute set was the first since disbanding in 2002. Frontman Scott Weiland said the concert's setting at the "Harry Houdini Estate" had special meaning to the band.

"We shot our video for 'Creep' here in the early '90s -- yeah, we're old," the singer joked, noting that the Gus Van Sant-produced clip never saw the light of day. "It looked like an Obsession commercial, which is cool, but it wasn't what we wanted to portray."

The 3.5 acre property, which was recently purchased and is undergoing restoration, includes a 2bed 2bath guest house, stone walkways, staircases, fountains, caves, and a natural spring.

A video of the appearance can be viewed on YouTube. For the history of the Houdini Laurel Canyon property, click here.

Houdini The Movie Star DVD collection released today

Kino International's new DVD box set collection of Houdini’s silent films, Houdini The Movie Star, is released today.

"Houdini The Movie Star" includes The Master Mystery, Terror Island, The Man From Beyond, Haldane of the Secret Service, a 5 minute fragment from The Grim Game, and filmed records of Houdini escapes from 1907 to 1923.

The most significant film here is Haldane of the Secret Service which has never before appeared on any retail format (and is a much better film than its reputation would suggest, IMHO). It shows as being licensed by Cinema Arts. I'm wondering if it's the print that screened in Los Angeles last year.

I'm currently working my way through the set. The films looks great and the archival footage is amazing, especially the 1907 bridge jump in Rochester NY. I also found the footnotes very very good. There's more info about Houdini's movie career on this DVD than you find in many biographies. There's even some stuff I've never heard before, like the battle with the censor board over the asylum sequence in The Man From Beyond.

There is also a lengthy chunk of Houdini's very first narrative film, The Adventures of Houdini in Paris (1909), although Kino does not credit it as such and simply includes it in the archival footage.

What a gift this set is to Houdini buffs! Now if we can only get a copy of The Grim Game...