The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Information

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a 2013 comedy film directed by Don Scardino and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell, and Daley & Goldstein. The film follows Las Vegas magician Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) as he attempts to reunite with his former partner Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) to take on dangerous street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey).

The film began development in 2006, when New Line Cinema bought Kultgen's script, "Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth". The development process gained momentum when Charles McDougall was hired as director in 2011, but he eventually left the project and was replaced with Scardino. Daley and Goldstein rewrote Kultgen's script which then saw further rewrites from Jason Reitman in June 2011.

Filming was scheduled to begin in October 2011, in Los Angeles, California but was pushed back to January 2012. On a $30 million budget, filming began on January 10, 2012 in Nevada with filming later moving to Los Angeles. The film was released on March 15, 2013.

Plot

In 1982, young Albert is harassed by bullies. His mother gives him a special magic trick set by veteran magician Rance Holloway as his birthday present. He studies the instructional video and begins to practice some tricks, attracting the attention of a classmate, Anthony. They practice together and eventually become Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton, earning them an ongoing gig at the Aztec Casino in Las Vegas. However, after ten years of performing the same tricks over and over again, Anton is fed up with Burt's ego, which has already cost them previous female assistants, called Nicole in the act. In a rush, Burt enlists show production employee Jane as the new Nicole.

Burt and Anton encounter up-and-coming street magician Steve Gray performing a unique yet horrifying magic card trick for his TV magic show, Brain Rapist. Audience numbers soon dwindle at Burt and Anton's show. Taking a cue from Gray's own endurance-based stunts, Anton suggests that he and Burt try a similar tack--locking themselves up in a plastic cage called the Hot Box hung above the ground. Because he has not prepared himself for the stunt, Burt panics, causing him and Anton to fall to the ground, injuring Anton who angrily parts ways with Burt. Jane too leaves the act.

Burt's efforts to keep the show running on his own fail. Aztec owner Doug Munny shuts down the production. Burt is broke. Despondent, Burt tries to find work and is eventually hired as an entertainer at an assisted-living facility catering to former Vegas entertainers. There he meets Holloway, who retired several years before. Holloway counsels Burt about magic. Burt is shocked to see Jane--herself an aspiring magician--working for Gray. Appalled by Gray's style, Holloway and Burt polish their own tricks. Jane visits her grandmother at the facility and patches things up with Burt.

Doug is opening a new casino-hotel and is offering a five-year contract to the winner of a talent search on the casino's opening night. He invites Burt to do a magic show at his son's birthday party, but Gray also appears and tries to upstage Burt with his own tricks. Disgusted by Gray's tricks, Jane leaves his show. Burt reconnects with Anton, who has been distributing magic sets in Cambodia. They consider ideas for the talent search and decide a special, and near-impossible, trick.

At the show, Gray drills into his brain, claiming it will not affect him. Holloway introduces, Burt, Anton, and Jane, who proceed with their trick called the "Disappearing Audience." They sedate the audience with sleeping gas then transport them to an outdoors location. The audience members awake seated in their actual positions. Seeing the audience enthralled by the trick, Doug announces that Burt and Anton have won the search; Jane will be their new partner. The trio pull off the Disappearing Audience trick again and bring everybody back to the casino. A now mentally-impaired Gray watches on with the drill bit still in his skull.

Cast

• Steve Carell as Albert Wunderstein/Burt Wonderstone:

A formerly successful magician. The character's design is based partly on famous magicians Siegfried & Roy. Mason Cook, who was eleven years old in 2012, portrays Wonderstone as a child. Cook learned several magic tricks under a magic supervisor to portray Wonderstone as he begins to discover magic.

• Steve Buscemi as Anthony Mertz/Anton Marvelton:

Wonderstone's former partner. Buscemi entered negotiations for a role on October 31, 2011. Luke Vanek, was who was eleven years old in 2012, portrays Marvelton as a child.

• Olivia Wilde as Jane:

Burt and Anton's assistant who dreams of becoming a magician. On October 27, 2011, it was reported that Wilde, Michelle Monaghan, Judy Greer, Sarah Silverman and Jessica Biel were in contention for the female lead. This list was reduced to Silverman, Wilde, and Greer, with all making strong impressions on the filmmakers but with Wilde as the front-runner. It was later reported that the filmmakers were waiting for Biel to audition before making their final decision. Ultimately it was Wilde who secured the role.

• Alan Arkin as Rance Holloway:

An elderly magician who inspired Burt to become a magician. Holloway was originally scripted to die, but the studio felt that audiences would have too much of a connection to the character and so he remained alive.

• James Gandolfini as Doug Munny:

Billionaire owner of the Aztec Casino where Burt and Anton perform. Gandolfini was reported to be in talks for the role on October 29, 2011. In early December Gandolfini traveled to Las Vegas to research his role, speaking with magicians Criss Angel and Nathan Burton, and The Mirage casino president Felix Rapaport and executive Kenny Epstein, and philanthropist Larry Ruvo. Speaking on their meeting, Rappaport stated that Gandolfini wanted to prepare for the role by "getting insights in Las Vegas, specifically in the entertainment world and the world of magic."

• Jim Carrey as Steve Gray:

A street-magician with a dangerous act. Carrey entered negotiations for a role in the film in October 2011. The character was described by Scardino as "if David Blaine and Criss Angel had a child", but that Carrey is "such an idiosyncratic performer, he's not quite either of those guys." Carrey undertook a strict diet to lose weight and improve his physique for the role. The character was originally written as a low-key, bored villain who spoke so quietly that people would lean in to hear him, but after Carrey joined he wanted to take the character in a "Jesus-y" direction. Adam Pally was considered for the role.

The cast also includes: Jay Mohr as magician Rick the Implausible; Michael Herbig as Lucious Belvedere, a magician with a German background and a thing for cats; Zachary Gordon as a bully from Wonderstone's youth; Brad Garrett as Dom, Burt's accountant; Gillian Jacobs as Miranda, a magic fan who has a one-night stand with Wonderstone; and illusionist David Copperfield cameos as himself. The film's co-writer John Francis Daley cameos as a paramedic.

Production

Development

The film started development in 2006 when New Line Cinema bought Chad Kultgen's script, titled "Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth." By September 2010, Carell had joined the film, and the script had been completely rewritten by screenwriting team John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The pair extensively researched the lifestyle of Vegas magicians, taking note of the pressure of performing multiple times a day and the consequence of living within the "Vegas bubble where you're not exposed to the outside world [which] can actually make someone stir-crazy or egotistical." In July 2011, the story was described as following Burt Wonderstone, a formerly successful magician who was overshadowed by a younger, edgier magician. However, by the time Carrey had joined the project in October 2011, the younger magician character had become simply a rival magician, and Burt was now part of a formerly successful magic duo.

The script went through many changes during its years of development, with Daley and Goldstein alone writing approximately fifteen drafts over a three and a half year period. There were four different endings, four different final acts including one where Holloway is revealed as a betrayer. Discussing the script changes which saw the project enter production, producer Chris Bender said: "...it was tone, finding the right tone, because it was originally written more broadly where certain magic things were happening that wouldn't actually be real magic and also, over time, the references that we were making in terms of the new school of magic and the old school of magic were becoming dated... Once [Carell] came on board, that's when things really took off... And then finding the right director, too. These kind of comedies scare directors a lot because you're taking a chance and you're going for something bold comedy-wise that either could be a big hit or it could really miss." Scenes of the young Wonderstone being inspired by a video of Rance Holloway, and buying a magic set were based on Daley's own childhood, in which he viewed a similar video of magician Mark Wilson.

In February 2011, the film found a director in Charles McDougall, but by April 2011, McDougall had left the project with no reason being cited for the departure. In June 2011, 30 Rock director Don Scardino was confirmed to take the director chair. On June 16, 2011, Jason Reitman was brought aboard the project to perform additional rewrites to the Daley/Goldstein script. Reitman was reportedly paid for several weeks of work, but the extent of his involvement or the script changes was not detailed.

Filming

Filming had been scheduled to begin in October 2011, in Los Angeles, California, but was pushed back to January 2012, with casting of the remaining lead roles occurring throughout October. Principal photography began on January 10, 2012, lasted approximately 47 days and had a $30 million budget. The film was shot on film stock instead of digital because it was decided that the difference in cost between the two was negligible, and the day shooting and color palettes of the magicians' outfits such as black and red were thought to be captured better on the stock. Filming started with four days of shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, with over 400 extras hired to play background pedestrians, tourists and casino workers. Among the locations used during the Las Vegas shooting are interiors and exteriors at the Bally's Las Vegas hotel and casino, and exteriors of the Las Vegas Strip, Downtown Las Vegas, Fremont Street, and Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel. Scardino, who had not filmed in Las Vegas since helming an episode of Tracey Takes On... approximately fifteen years earlier, described shooting on location in the city as "an absolute must". Scardino added "We just felt that, to give the movie authenticity, it had to be on the Strip". The first day of shooting saw Carell and Buscemi suspended inside a perspex box, with Wilde and Gandolfini also on set. Carell was filmed on the Strip because Scardino believed his character is "a creature of the Strip," while Carrey was filmed "in and around Fremont Street," where his character felt more at home. Scardino explained the decision to film the characters in these environments, saying the "two different worlds" of Vegas "helps define our talent," with the "ever-changing Strip" providing contrast with "the frozen-in-time aspect of Fremont Street."

By January 16, 2012, filming moved to Los Angeles and southern California, including the Wadsworth Theatre. Filming had concluded by March 13, 2012, after forty-nine days. When Scardino boarded the project, the script contained several magic tricks that could not realistically occur on stage such as lasers decapitating two individuals and the heads then switching bodies, which would have required the use of computer visual effects to accomplish. Scardino insisted that most of the magic tricks should be credible feats to make the magicians seem more believable, but some tricks still required the use of visual effects. Copperfield served as a technical advisor on the film and developed a live stage illusion for the film's climax, featuring a body switch between Carrel's and Buscemi's characters.. Scardino insisted that the illusion should not depend on camera tricks, stating "I wanted one big stage illusion where you go, 'Oh, wow, how'd they do that?'" Copperfield provided instructions on how the trick worked and was present on set during its filming. The production also used other magic advisors who ensured that hand movements during tricks were correct, and also served as hand-doubles. Producer Chris Bender said that the film is meant to be set in a fictional history of the world of magic, and so the filmmakers avoided casting many real magicians, so that it would not seem that the film was intended to be set in reality.

Release

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone premiered as the opening film of the SXSW festival on March 8, 2013; it was introduced by Carrell, Carrey and Wilde. The film received a wide release in North America and the United Kingdom on March 15, 2013.

Box office

In the week prior to its release in North America, the film was predicted to earn approximately $18 million and finish as the number 2 film of the weekend behind Oz the Great and Powerful. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone earned $3.72 million through its opening day including takings from midnight showings at 1,800 theaters. During its opening weekend the film earned $10.2 million from 3,160 theaters"?an average of $3,221 per theater"?ranking third for the weekend behind new release The Call ($17.1 million) and holdover Oz the Great and Powerful ($41.3 million). The gross was one of the lowest openings for a Carell and Carrey helmed film. Since its release, the film has earned approximately $17,365,000 in North America.

Critical reception

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone received mixed reviews from critics. The film garnered a 37% approval rating from 163 critics"?an average rating of 5.1 out of 10"?on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, which said, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone serves up some goofy laughs, but given its outrageous conceit, it's surprisingly safe and predictable." Metacritic provides a score of 44 out of 100 from 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "C+" on a scale of A+ to F.

The film's plot was a focal point for criticism. Reviewers considered the tone uneven, segueing between dark comedy and family film, the extreme stunts of Carrey's Steve Gray, and sentimentality, and serious drama and farcical comedy. Several reviewers noted that the plot was predictable, and dated. Total Films Matthew Leyland said that the attention to detail in terms of magician gestures, posture and dialog created a "withering showbiz satire", which is sidelined in favor of sentimentality. Entertainment Weeklys Owen Gleiberman said that the film is too cautious and unimaginative, choosing "earnest and mushy" over increasingly wild surprise, and Empires Helen O'Hara considered the script unfocused and the tone uneven, which undermined Carrell's efforts to portray Wonderstone's return to glory, and The New York Times Stephen Holden said that the film's message was unoriginal and delivered without any special conviction. In contrast, Richard Roeper said that The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is "dark and wickedly funny", and Varietys Joe Leydon said that it neatly balanced sentimentality with edgy comedy. Times Mary Pols said that while the film does not always work, it did so enough that she thought it could be "the kind of semi-bad, semi-inspired comedy that could not only stand repeated viewings but perhaps improve with them."

Carrey's performance was generally praised for his humor and return to the physical style of comedy employed early in his career. Roeper said that Carrey is "physical, he's intense, he's ridiculous - and he made me laugh more than any comedic character in recent memory", and Alan Scherstuhl said that Carrey's "cartoon expressiveness" was used to its most judicious ends in years. Gleiberman said Carrey was one of the funniest components of the film, and Holden said that Carrey steals every scene he is in with a "take-no-prisoners ferocity that he hasn't demonstrated in years". The Boston Globes Ty Burr however said that Carrey is good at being loud, but not funny. Arkin was also praised, with The Chicago Tribunes Michael Phillips saying that he "can't save the movie. But he can save his scenes," Roeper labeled him a marvel, and Leydon called his performance scene-stealing. Leyland said that Carrell's likability helped carry the sentimental segments, but Holden considered that his performance gave Wonderstone a soulfulness that undermined the film's farcical aspirations and left the character lacking "a shark's bite". Leydon said that Buscemi offered an engaging performance as the amiable Anton Marvelton, and Wilde was generally considered to have delivered a fine performance in an underwritten role. Pols said that the prospect of Wonderstone attracting Wilde's wholesome and intelligent Jane were absurd, but that Wilde's portrayal was game enough to remove the creepiness.

Phillips and The Los Angeles Timess Kenneth Turan criticized Scardino's direction, saying that the film offers slow and crude scenes over the fleet-footed material directed by Scardino on 30 Rock. Leydon conversely said that the director unobtrusively handled the gradual shifts in tone between black comedy and buddy comedy.