World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
John Pezzullo
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World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby John Pezzullo » December 19th, 2001, 3:33 am

I've decided to put together the world's most expensive close-up act.

Here's a rough outline of the act:

Opening effect - Dean Dill's "Explosion" (Silver Dollar verison). Retail price - $USD 1800.00

Middle effect - "Akana". Check URL (www.stevensmagic.com/summertext/Akana.asp) for a description. Retail price - $USD 1950.00

Closing effect - "Nova" - available from Collector's Workshop. Retail price (from CW pricelist effective August 1996) - $USD 25000.00

I think I'll leave the price tags on the props. This will impress the hell out of most members of the audience. Unless of course I'm performing for the Sultan of Brunei.

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 6:55 am

Originally posted by John Pezzullo:
I've decided to put together the world's most expensive close-up act........

I think I'll leave the price tags on the props. This will impress the hell out of most members of the audience. Unless of course I'm performing for the Sultan of Brunei.


John emailed me this was a joke.... whew :)

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 8:19 am

I thought he was joking. At least I hope so.

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 9:27 am

John - my compliments - A very amusing post.

Carl.

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 9:54 am

Originally posted by Mark Ennis:
I thought he was joking. At least I hope so.


I hope so as well, the post left no hint of knowing if he was for real or not.

Jim Morton
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Jim Morton » December 19th, 2001, 11:43 am

You could go one step further and change a spectator's one dollar bill into a hundred. That would impress 'em! :D

Larry Horowitz
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Larry Horowitz » December 19th, 2001, 11:44 am

Why not change a dollar bill into a thousand dollar bill and give it away?

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 11:48 am

While not impressive, it would be much more profitable to change a hundred dollar bill into a dollar and let them keep the dollar. Escaping is the only hard point.

Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 19th, 2001, 1:29 pm

Whatis Nova? what is this routine suppose to do?
I hope that the effect is as killer as the price is....

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Pete Biro
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Pete Biro » December 19th, 2001, 6:51 pm

Nova?

Avon spelled backwards.

Actually, if we totalled up all the magic props we don't use, we'd be right up there in the big buck dept. his act might be in.
Stay tooned.

Pete McCabe
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Pete McCabe » December 19th, 2001, 10:54 pm

John,

If you need a couple of cheaper effects to fill out the show, I believe Chris Kenner's "Torn Asunder" was advertised for $500.

Here's an idea -- maybe you could increase the effective cost by doing the trick with an unusually valuable card. Just spitballing, here.


Pete McCabe

Steve Hook
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Steve Hook » December 20th, 2001, 7:35 pm

John:

Did you mean to have your email unavailable to the board?

Steve H

John Pezzullo
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby John Pezzullo » December 21st, 2001, 2:25 am

Steve,

I've updated the preferences listed in my profile to now show my e-mail address.

Regards,


John

John Pezzullo
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby John Pezzullo » December 21st, 2001, 2:37 am

"M@thieu D" asked about 'Nova'.

It's described in the Collectors' Workshop catalogue (1996) as a version of Dr. Alfred Hooker's legendary rising card(s) effect, wherein playing cards, freely named by members of the audience, rise from a deck of playing cards.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Richard Kaufman » December 21st, 2001, 12:06 pm

John,
It's Samuel Hooker, NOT Alfred!
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John Pezzullo
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby John Pezzullo » December 21st, 2001, 6:28 pm

Richard,

You're correct. I don't know why I typed 'Alfred Hooker' instead of 'Samuel Hooker'. It could have been worse, I could have typed 'T. J. Hooker'. Does anybody else remember that TV series?

If I rememeber correctly, isn't their a feature article on Dr. Hooker and his "Impossibilites" in the works? Since reading a description of a performance given by Dr. Hooker (written by John Mulholland and published in an early issue of "The Pallbearer's Review") I've been intrigued by this man and his creations.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Richard Kaufman » December 21st, 2001, 8:22 pm

John, I recently watched the new director's recut of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" on DVD. (Incidentally, the movie was a colossal drag when it came out 20 years ago and it was still pretty awful despite the new tinkering.) Anyway, watching William Shatner, I couldn't help remembering that putzy show "T.J. Hooker." What dreck!
The attendees of the LA History Conference had the experience of a lifetime when we saw 18 minutes out of the original 90 of Hooker's Card Rise recreated several years ago. If you're interested in seeing a piece of Hooker's apparatus, check the new section of "Greater Magic." Charlie Larsen had a piece of it.
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Guest

Re: World's Most Expensive Close-Up Act

Postby Guest » December 27th, 2001, 1:26 am

Yes Richard, when the Star Trek movie was first released it got nicknamed "Star Trek: The Slow Motion Movie."

As for the world'd most expensive close up act, if you're going to leave the price tags on just put some fake ones on cheap tricks,
"Gourmet Mouse" $8000 etc.

Maybe there is scope for the world's least expensive close up act - "This promotional deck of cards was given to me as a gift.."

Paul Hallas


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