The Genii Forum

Tom Moore

You’re not in a position to make that call, only the audience is....

Tom Moore

I’m struggling to remember who it was who did it before but my instinct says this wasn’t the first ever lake emptying; I have memories of seeing it performed before. Frankly if it’s the first doesn’t really matter; promo mega illusions like this are all about getting instant press for the actual eff...

Tom Moore

. For me, I can still vividly recall the astonishment, wonder, and joy of being fooled by Blackstone's Floating Lightbulb (in the third row, no less!). You cannot take that away from me Brad, nor does knowing the secret. No, no one can take that memory from you but never again for the rest of your ...

Tom Moore

Don Wayne was involved in / consulted on this which is why it has copperfield overtones and a more familiar method but doesn't have the full production values. I quite liked the concept of the pitcher (it fits perfectly in to illusionist logic) my only comments on it would be the clash of high and b...

Tom Moore

And Tom M., you're making a false analogy. XX is not a manufacturer ripping off and selling other's creations. And nor is the young aspiring magician who chooses to try and build the trick (and yes, perhaps improve it) for themselves after watching the video. Firstly, even if he isn't a manufacture...

Tom Moore

I'm sure no kid has the money to buy a Losander Floating Table, but with XX's video maybe she could build one, and maybe she adds something to make it better. It’s barely 1% of magicians with money and ethics who actually bother to truely adjust, scrutinise and improve the props and routines they p...

Tom Moore

We looked at doing it about 10 years ago but couldn't find a market to justify it. The maths for calculating the sizes is tricky even when you use simple cylindrical shapes (which is why every version so far uses simple shaped tumblers) but if you want a more natural looking glass you have to do som...

Tom Moore

Finals of BGT last night saw 2 magic acts in the top 3 (Ben Hart and the returning Marc Spellman who had entered in disguise) though it was ultimately won by a pensioner war veteran singing in front of a backdrop of poppies. This version of the show publishes voting figures after the show is over (h...

Tom Moore

Paul dabek is massively underrated, he’s spent years working hard to refine and establish his material. If you ever have the chance to check out his performance you absolutely should!

Tom Moore

And to add, despite his fears about how he’d look on this type of show John Archer did do two absolutely barnstorming performances and will undoubtedly do very well post-show from this.

Tom Moore

I didn’t catch the show but the uk cast are James More, Enzo, Yu Ho-Jin, Adam Trent, Chris Cox, Paul Dabek and Jonathan Goodwin. John archer didn’t make it through to the grand final but very nearly did tonight. The uk version of got Talent uses the wildcard system for 1 act in the final and he woul...

Tom Moore

Magic shows really don’t play in ireland (there’s probably half a dozen magicians working in the whole country) and culturally what little magic they do have is much more fun; “authentic” performance styles like Blaine are completely at odds with Irish sensibilities which counts against him even fur...

Tom Moore

But the business model for masterclass is all about pushing users to the “everything” subscription which enables users to view all the masterclass programs so in exactly the same way as with YouTube there’s a very large number of masterclass users who are paying to view Ron Howard or Steve Martin vi...

Tom Moore

If you pay, then it's not exposure. Paying makes you a student. So to play devils advocate for a moment; I have a YouTube premium subscription (which means i can watch all their content without any adverts or pop ups) and many of the popular YouTube videos the revenue from advertising or subscripti...

Tom Moore

I've never quite understood what the magical effect is with this sort of thing. I can thread needles with my bowels? I'm impervious to stupidity? I'm pretty certain that whilst most magicians think the trick they are presenting it "i can tie stuff on cotton with my stomach" that most audi...

Tom Moore

No one now has any hands on experience with razor blades as used in the truck or any real context of how dangerous they /should/ be whilst the handling of the blades by almost every performer who does this effect proves to the audience that they clearly aren’t very sharp or dangerous after all. Sinc...

Tom Moore

My guess, since they know what the steps are going to be, is that they have the first three appearances figured out before they start. Most of the magic acts and circus acts on BGT this year have been “booked” rather than found and have a story arc consultant/producer responsible for ensuring they ...

Tom Moore

Whilst i can't say for certain it is clear from the techniques he created for Film FX that he had a very strong working knowledge of black art. His mentors were all also experienced at BA though also all had very strong engineering/mechanical backgrounds - Maskelyne, deKolta, Robert-Houdin and he re...

Tom Moore

I’d love to read more of tom’s insights on the actual goings on in the biz. A short but content laden weekly or bi weekly newsletter would be cool - like the old PW torch from back in the day. That’s very kind of you to say - this sort of information and narrative is the bread and butter of our day...

Tom Moore

Despite the marketing hype the original show at Luxor was never sold out (I don’t know a single person who saw the show and wasn’t upgraded or witnessed chunks of audience being upgraded) despite the fact it is legitimately a good VEGAS show with some great moment. 5 shows per week is a much more at...

Tom Moore

I believe they are essentially 4-walling though on a slightly sweeter deal than is normal. The marketing uptick from doing FoolUs and their regular appearances on other tv shows are part of a deliberate promotional strategy that seems to have worked as they are producing very solid sales levels. I w...

Tom Moore

Famously Mac King is on something closer to an old-school contract. Donnie & Marie are on old school terms (but about to close permanently) outside of that i can't think of anyone who's on the traditional contract. The big Music star residencies are in a way - each of the mega theatres is operat...

Tom Moore

For anyone that /wasn't/ cirque the Vegas dream died 15 years ago as that's when it all switched to 4-walling and took away the incentives for the casinos to help ensure the show was a success. Cirque managed to tread water for the last 10 years but it's worth noting over that period they closed as ...

Tom Moore

I was literally in the middle of a project With him and there was never any hint of illness or problems. He leaves behind three children who he loved more then words could express.

Tom Moore

Well the name and the key traits of the character (wearing a turban of his dads, wearing a kimono of his mum, playing the part of a crazy eastern mystic inspired by films popular at the time) are all developed at the same time in a panto performance. So if in 1947 he was using the name “ali bongo” t...

Tom Moore

Probably best not to get your facts off wikipedia Mark - technically his first network TV appearance was Good Old Days in 1965 but here is a Pathe newsreel recorded early 1964 which shows him performing what is clearly a well established act https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sclA7D4WO_I I have seen ea...

Tom Moore

Ali was born in 1929 Medway magic society was founded shortly after WW2 By the early 1960’s Ali is appearing on tv & newsreels with his very developed and well known act by an established performer; not as a newcomer trying out something new. So absolutely nothing you’ve claimed is correct mark.

Tom Moore

Only if amongst everything else he invented there was a time machine. The ali bongo character was established and working in the late 1940’s, milo and roger don’t start their career until the late 50’s. since they were all of a similar age it’s much more likely they all took similar experiences and ...

Tom Moore

Actually (and I’m worried how old this makes me feel) the zombie was still relatively contemporary when this special was shot and Norm’s act was considered incredibly cutting edge and dynamic at the time. Vincent Price made several tv magic special appearances around this period - there was a handfu...

Tom Moore

It’s just been confirmed that “plus grand cabaret du monde” (the biggest cabaret in the world) European tv show will end after the current season. It’s hard to explain what a cultural institution this show is - a 2 hour show of pure variety (with 3-4 magic acts every episode) and no gimmicks other t...

Tom Moore

There are plenty of megastar magicians in Europe equally as famous as those guys in their respective territories. There are plenty of magicians in Europe selling similar ticket numbers as those guys do. Again though focusing on the outliers is to miss the bigger picture; in the middle there are lite...

Tom Moore

Magic in Europe is valued much higher than the US. Obviously there are exceptions but generally the magic theatres in Europe are high end offerings selling a luxurious premium product to a select audience; not a family entertainment product. Magic theatres are in the special party & corporate ho...

Tom Moore

There's very little video of him as he really was all about live performance and honing his repertoire - the other video worth watching is the documentary of him from 1983. He's in his late 60's so past his prime but still has the spark that made him great and its good to see how he addressed the is...

Tom Moore

Oh I love everything he’s ever done but in this show in particular they’ve clearly really worked hard to make this performance really pop.

Tom Moore

Someone has helpfully uploaded the 1982 TV special "Magic with the stars" to youtube and it is well worth watching https://youtu.be/GrSrEiBG3-s there's the usual 1980's issues (it's crammed with too many cameo's and there's a dance number in between everything) but aside from that it has s...

Tom Moore

More often than not it’s because producers get paid less.... but that the title sounds illustrious and like a promotion for the individual concerned so in lieu of pay rises tv shows give the talent credits as head writer or producer, maybe employs their friends/partners in minor staffing roles and l...

Tom Moore

There's several different techniques here rolled in to one. Using the 3 graces plot with a kicker animal production facilitated by the million dollar mystery method is basically a creation of the Henning team. Prior to them the 3 graces plot was used with other production boxes, was used with other ...

Tom Moore

I will repeat though that “impossible” which ran for several months in the west end got plenty of standing ovations. A British magic show, with predominantly British performers and a predominantly British audience.

Tom Moore

But I AM qualified! I was doing magic when you were breastfeeding and to date I have never seen a magician getting a standing ovation except where other magicians have been present. And I bet nobody else here has either. You have made an extraordinary statement and I rather think that requires extr...

Tom Moore

I repeat. I have NEVER seen a magician getting a standing ovation from an audience of laymen. Most of the big las vegas magic shows have standing ovations Virtually every illusion act working on cruise ships (that i design/write/direct for) get consistent standing ovations. The big touring magic sh...

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