Magic
Short description
Corky Withers is a magician whose act fails to draw much attention until he adds a ventriloquist's dummy called Fats to the show. The puppet's crude remarks win over audiences, and a television deal and a powerful agent soon follow. Rather than accept the offer, Corky retreats to the small town where he grew up, hoping to reconnect with his high school sweetheart, Peggy Ann Snow, who is now married. His agent keeps pressing him to return to the stage, while Fats appears to have a will of his own and begins to dominate his maker.
Richard Attenborough directed the film, which came after A Bridge Too Far in his filmography and was written by William Goldman. Anthony Hopkins plays Corky and supplies the voice of Fats, with Ann-Margret as Peggy, Burgess Meredith as the agent Ben Greene, and Ed Lauter, E.J. André and Jerry Houser in supporting roles. It was released in November 1978 by 20th Century Fox and Joseph E. Levine Productions.
Made for about seven million dollars, the film took roughly twenty-four million worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from around fifteen thousand votes, and its TMDB rating is identical from a much smaller sample. A critics' score of 7 out of 10 from twenty-three reviews places professional opinion slightly above the audience average.
What's left behind the scenes
- Richard Attenborough agreed to direct this film and the war drama 'A Bridge Too Far' (1977) in exchange for Joseph E. Levine's financial support for his dream of making 'Gandhi' (1982).
- In preparation for his role in this film, Anthony Hopkins learned several magic tricks and mastered the art of ventriloquism. He learned to speak without moving his lips and to work with the puppet.
- The Fats puppet was deliberately given certain similarities to Anthony Hopkins.
- Gene Wilder (1933-2016) was initially considered for the role of Corky, which was eventually played by Anthony Hopkins. Neither director Richard Attenborough (1923-2014) nor screenwriter William Goldman (1931-2018) objected to this. However, producer Joseph E. Levine (1905-1987) opposed it, as he didn't want to cast a comedic actor in a serious film.
- When Anthony Hopkins first saw the Fats puppet, he was allowed to take it home overnight to get used to it. The puppet so unnerved the actor that in the middle of the night he called the ventriloquist working as a consultant on the film and stated that either someone would come and take the puppet away immediately, or he would throw it into the canyon. Ultimately, director Attenborough had to personally go to Hopkins and calm the actor down.
- The film is based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman, which in turn was inspired by the final episode of the anthology film *Deep Night* (1945).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
