The Prestige Trailer is now online

[Richard Kaufman]

The movie about two battling magicians played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, and directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman, Memento) looks great. Take a peek at the trailer yourself:
http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/77 ... ids_1.html
You'll see Ricky Jay in it.

[Erik Hemming]

The Prestige is a fabulous book.

I was afraid Hollywood would mess it up.

Seeing Ricky Jay was reassuring. It looks like they've done it justice.

Thanks for posting this, Richard.

Gordo

[Guest]

I got to see the trailer on the big screen with Lady in the Water this weekend. Can't wait.

[Guest]

In regards to the title of the movie, I read somewhere (I forget) that the word was a common one used in magic. I was a little confused by this.

Is there something other than the definition of prestige as meaning "respect, reputation, or influence derived from achievements"?

My Oxford dictionary has a notation that in French the word means illusion. Is this what the writer was referring to?

[Guest]

Sam:

This internet comment seems to show that the script writers created the concept of the "prestige", unless Ricky Jay came up with some arcane reference from earlier days!
;)

"The trailer describes three parts of a magic trick:

The Pledge, where a magician shows his audience something ordinary, when it probably isn't.

The Turn, where the ordinary object does something extraordinary.

The Prestige, where the astonishment takes place as the audience cannot unravel a magician's secrets."

[Guest]

I agree it's a great book -- if you like fantasy -- and it looks as if the movie has been true to the source, more or less. In the book the two magicians were never friendly, as it appears they are in the movie, so we'll see. Glad to see Ricky Jay is a part of this.

As to the prestige part, I was under the impression that it's a term used in the UK. I recall Guy Hollingworth talking about joining his first magic club called the prestige society.