for me, magic is
a tiny grain of deception
Wrapped in this
world of truth.
It gives you
that visceral feeling
That we don't
know everything.
Just to have this
possibility of something
that's boundless...
...That's what I want
people to feel.
when I was a kid,
I used to read about
the magic castle...
...A place where people
went to see magic.
oh!
You see some of the best
magicians in the world
Showing you things that
you've never seen before.
- No!
this place is
an epicenter of magic.
As a layperson,
you come to see greatness...
...And as a magician,
you come and be great.
And I wanted to be here.
Early in my career,
I would do a show,
people would say to me
"oh, that's so great.
So what do you do
for a living?"
Oh!
Argh.
Gut wrenching.
It was really important
for me to always seem like
I was a professional
magician.
So how do you come across
in a way that's engaging,
So when people walk
out of the showroom,
They want to
hang out with me?
They want to be my friend.
ladies and gentlemen,
This performer that
you are about to meet--
One of our favorites here
at the magic castle--
Please put your hands together
for mr. Jon armstrong.
thank you.
We'll do a matching trick.
So just touch a card.
-All right.
-That one there?
Yeah.
- You're gonna say "stop" quick.
- -stop.
I'll put this down, okay.
That's one, two,
three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine.
That's nine, so
the number here is nine,
That means that that
would have to be a nine
for it to match.
Could you turn that over?
-Okay, good.
-Shut up!
Ah, that worked out.
I looked in the mirror--
I'm pale and doughy and
I'm really into comic books,
And I'm essentially
just a big geek.
And I decided that
I'm gonna apply all that stuff
to who I am on stage.
I bring this with me
wherever I go.
--because you never know.
Go ahead, and show
the card now to everybody.
Everybody see it?
--what?
I know, I'm really
good at this.
-So this one here?
-Yeah.
Okay, so we'll leave that
on the table, good?
-You want to change
your mind, or--
-nope.
good, okay.
stop.
Were you here earlier
by any chance?
--11, 12,
13, 14, 15.
See, the idea is that
the number of cards
Has to match
the number here,
that's 15.
Well, it's a good thing
I have one of those.
-Uh, it's a 15.
-No!
on the card...
These are hilarious
at blackjack, by the way.
I never wanted anything
out of magic.
I just wanted to do
my good magic.
Made myself bulletproof
from anything
That anyone could have said
from any audience.
so that whenever I did it,
I knew I was in control.
the magic castle's a pretty
important place to me,
So I decided to get my own.
It's a perfect
magician house.
I've got gags
all over the house that
make it pretty entertaining.
Over here we have
our wall of fame
And celebrities
we performed for,
Like stevie wonder,
paul mccartney, johnny depp,
harrison ford.
As far as anybody's
concerned, these are all
my best friends.
This is sisuepahn's room.
We were
boyfriend and girlfriend
for eight years.
We've been broken up
for seven years now.
She lives here,
I live in the other room.
And she's got a boyfriend
and I've got a girlfriend,
you know.
When we first broke up
there was some turbulence
And you know, we weren't
sure if we were gonna
Keep the act together
or whatever,
But we did.
We didn't tell
any agents or anything
That we were broken up,
'cause they would've
stopped booking us.
And, uh...
--we, uh...
And so now
we're great friends
And performing partners,
so everything works out.
Since the recession,
things have been
kind of tough,
And I've got a big nut.
I've got this castle
I have to pay for.
It's a little bit
distressing.
So I've just gotta
kind of concentrate
on booking the gigs
And paying the bills.
Yeah, and you--
don't interrupt me.
No, my lips are sealed.
I started magic
at the age of six,
I got a magic set,
and that's typically how
every magician starts
I met frank,
and that was basically--
He brought it to a,
you know...
-A professional level.
-To a professional level,
And I was 18.
It was the smurfs on tour.
You shouldn't
mention that one.
And I did the major part.
No, it's my life.
Yeah, it's your life.
It's true.
I was in
a touring show...
He was the magician
in the smurf musical,
fabulous.
Do you want to make it
a short overview about my--
No, okay.
Go on.
I first came to vegas
when I was 18 years old.
I decided, "okay,
one day you're going
to work here."
-Here I am.
-It was like "alice
in wonderland."
The first time
in vegas, so...
But it's true.
For a boy who wants
to be a magician,
It's still--
vegas is--
that's the place to be.
But here he's
not so well known
as he was in germany.
Oh!
here he had to
start from zero.
And everybody here
from the business,
They told us,
"oh, you know what?
Don't do vegas.
You're going to lose
all your money."
He's in a meeting?
Everybody in america
Is in a meeting,
all the time.
Can you tell him that frank
called, from illusions?
All right.
Okay, bye bye.
People always still
think that the casino or
the hotel books the show.
In 95%, it's not like that.
It's-- for example,
even copperfield
books his own theater.
He's not booked.
So you see, they don't
approach him
And pay him money.
It's his own business.
So what do you--
what did you want to ask?
what was the purpose
of your call?
It sounds
a little bit arrogant,
but it's true.
He has all the potential
to be a real big star in vegas,
But you have to
work on your luck,
you have to force it.
So I want him on the strip.
There's like a metaphor
for me personally
with magic,
And the possibilities
that it represents.
--thank you.
Think of the card.
If it was a red card,
You might notice your hand
getting warmer,
And I think
it was a red card.
If something seems
impossible, I want it
to happen even more.
Audience: Whoa!
Do you have a driver's
license or something
with your photo on it?
Watch.
I'm like the stepchild
of magic.
I'm not going through
the normal channels.
I'm not trying to
get to vegas.
But I want to
reach more people,
I want to continue to
create new magic that's
never been seen.
And this year I'd love
to have my own tv show.
You know, we've had these,
like, street magicians
for the last ten years,
That have been really great,
but that has been done,
And so now it's time to
sort of bring it into
a new era.
It's a lot different
to perform magic
on television,
Because people have
more scrutiny.
And it doesn't matter how
amazing what you're doing is.
I mean, I could fly around
this room right now and
you would freak out.
Here, let's, uh...
Let's just...
Grab something.
So if I did something
on television,
And you were watching,
You would maybe be
a little skeptical,
But because it's right here
And because I'm about
to do this for you
in person,
You know that what you're
seeing is actually real,
Because you're seeing it
with your own eyes.
that is awesome.
you're never gonna
get the same experience
If you watch it
on television.
But it's fun to try.
Here you go.
Good-looking guy, huh?
You like really good close-up
magic, and I love it,
We have a young man
tonight from the magic castle,
brian gillis.
Magician brian gillis.
Brian gillis.
A very clever magician,
brian gillis is here tonight.
Brian gillis.
Brian?
my favorite performance
that I've ever done
Was performing
for johnny carson
on "the tonight show."
I think johnny's favorite
trick that I did
Was one that I invented,
the sweet 'n' low trick.
It involves somebody
taking a bill and tearing off
the serial number
So they can
identify it later.
And then I light
the bill on fire,
- ay, yi, yi.
-Went in the sugar bowl.
And it ends up inside
a sealed sweet 'n' low packet
That's been on their table
the entire time.
- can't be done.
- there's no way.
it's a trick, I tell you.
there is a bill in here.
match the number.
Make sure it's the same.
I do not believe
what I'm seeing.
-Are you guys ready
for some magic?
-Of course.
Can I scoot in here,
so you can all have
a good vantage point?
Somebody have a bill,
like a 20, a 50, a 100?
Write your initials
on jackson's forehead,
So now I can't
switch the bill.
You guys may have
seen me do this one
on "the tonight show."
I did it on "the tonight show,"
both for johnny and for jay.
We're gonna fold this back
into itself, light it.
It's a bill inside,
slightly burned.
Got your initials.
is that cool?
Want me to take this home
and dispose of it?
Appreciate that.
Thank you.
Did you have a dog
when you were little?
- I did.
-Okay, think of it.
When I came over here,
I brought a little dog with me.
It's a little stuffed dog,
and the collar of the dog,
In little beads,
it spells out a name.
If it matches the name of
the dog you're thinking of
It'd be pretty
impressive, right?
Yeah.
What was
the name of the dog?
Snorky.
Oh my--!
It's a miracle!
you get to keep that.
Oh, my god,
thank you!
I'm gonna cry!
Oh, my gosh.
- snorky!
- -snorky.
-That's unbelievable.
-I have two gifts for you.
You get the free dog.
You also get the free watch.
You get the free watch.
-The free watch.
-Huh? Ah!
I love doing it,
but it's exhausting.
Every time I perform at a table,
I have to be totally aware
Of where
everybody's looking,
What they're doing
with their hands.
Everything takes
a lot of concentration.
Did you see what happened?
See, this floats up
instead of down.
Thank you, sir.
I think of what
I want now.
I think of where I want
to go with my career.
Over the years,
I've been copied a lot
by other magicians,
So my style and everything
is not as unique as it was
20 years ago.
I think there's ageism
in the business, you know.
I'm getting older.
They want younger guys
or whatever.
I would like to be comfortable
and not have to
Hustle as much as
I used to have to hustle,
But, um, from here
I don't really know where
I'm heading,
So it's a little
disconcerting.
so it must be great
to be at the riviera.
yeah, frank sinatra
and liberace,
And they all
were on this stage,
all the big stars.
Did you hear we just
got voted best magic show?
That was gonna be my next
question, actually.
the best of vegas.
There are some big names in vegas.
-Yeah, absolutely.
-So this is a good-- yeah.
And I think
the other magicians--
how you say?
They are okay with it.
can you hear me?
yes, I can hear you, frank.
Can you give us,
in general,
Just a little bit more light
backstage, something?
direct from germany,
Master illusionist
jan rouven.
thank you very much
for your applause.
My name is jan rouven,
and I came all the way
From germany to be here
for you tonight.
What you are about
to see tonight,
It's dangerous.
For this show,
for "illusions,"
I wanted to bring something
you never, ever saw before
In other magic shows.
-Great job!
-Thank you!
I signed that for you.
- Thanks for coming.
- -thank you.
All the best.
Au revoir.
I'm soaking wet,
jump out of my cloth.
I blow-dry my hair all
in three and a half minutes.
That's my biggest
miracle.
Good night!
Amazing as always.
- Ah, yes, this is good.
-It's not real.
-Yeah, it is.
-Touch it.
-It's a real tattoo.
- How cool is that?
See, that's a true fan.
if I do any sort
of marketing,
I sell me
and not magic.
There's this sort of
geek chic-ness now,
right?
'cause it's cool
to be this way?
It wasn't always cool.
I've been this way
my whole life,
But now it's cool
to be this way.
So-- and now that
it's cool to be this way,
I think it's totally
fair that I can be--
I'm cool, and so I'm going to
put that out there
And be-- look, hey,
I'm a geek but whatever.
You're supposed
to love me anyway.
I've been coming
to comic-con as a fan
For many, many,
many years.
Because of this comic book
that I helped create
That does magic
and is about magic,
I get to be on
the other side of the table,
Taking people who
might not like magic
And then make
fans out of them.
Comics is an amazing medium
in which you can direct
Someone exactly the way
you want them to go.
The author is
in complete control of
what they're seeing.
You just tell me when
we see the two of hearts.
And magic's the same way.
I'm in control
Of what you see
and what you won't see,
And give you the experience
that I want you to have.
I am sitting here
right now with mike costa
and jon armstrong,
Creators of
"smoke and mirrors."
It's an amazing book that
actually does magic for you
As you read it.
It's incredible.
You see these cards here?
All right,
so just think of one.
Got one?
All right.
So now as you turn the page
and you read along
in the story,
He's gonna tell you that
your card is gone, and look,
your card is gone.
-Yeah, yeah, okay.
-Well.
Yeah.
-And how did you do that?
-It's magic.
Look at that.
There'll be a q&a
at the panel.
By all means,
ask at the panel.
Thank you.
- We do "smoke and mirrors.
- " -we love "smoke and mirrors."
You love "smoke and mirrors"?
They love "smoke and mirrors"!
That one there?
All right, take it out.
You can look at it
but don't show me.
Just say--
just say "stop."
-Stop.
-Okay, good.
There you go.
-Put it back in.
-Upside down.
There you go.
We have one left of our
exclusive con-- issue one,
But I'm sold out of issue
twos and threes and fours.
- that's good.
-Sold out of everything.
Now this is very,
very important.
This card here...
Is that your card?
No? All right,
do me a favor.
Go
on the card.
Yeah?
Okay, good.
That's it?
Thank you very much.
All right.
No problem, man.
When you ask me
what it feels like,
I am giving them something
special and memorable,
But it's also scary to me.
True, hard-hitting,
emotional things,
Something that magic
can really do,
Something that magic
can really bring out,
That is way too much
pure emotion
That I don't want to deal with
and I don't want to feel.
So I have to keep it
happy and humorous,
To make me feel better
about having that kind of
impact on somebody.
It's hard to stop myself
from not just making
the next joke,
To not just say
the next sarcastic comment,
Which is how I've always
sort of pushed people
away from me.
All right.
- ready?
-Yeah, let's rock.
ladies and gentlemen,
Are you ready
to transcend reality?
Let's hear it for
david minkin!
we'll start with
something really simple.
You probably wouldn't even
have noticed this
If I hadn't
pointed that out.
Audience: Whoa!
I could distract you
just by doing that, right?
Oh, my god!
--now that
I have your attention.
- oh, my god!
You know what?
I'm losing them.
What's going on?
are you not watching this?
You guys are so
distracted.
This is short
attention span theater
going on right here,
So, um, I gotta
keep it simple,
Simple it down for this group
a little bit,
Because the artistic,
deeper stuff,
Is not gonna flow.
People always think that
I use sleight of hand
to do this stuff,
And I just-- I think
I get a little insulted
When people accuse me
of sleight of hand, you know?
- honestly?
- -oh, my god.
where does it go?
We want to know where it goes.
So don't be too impressed.
That was just 13 years
of college down the drain.
Give it up for michelle,
the bachelorette.
Watch closely.
Four coins.
mm-hmm.
-From this hand...
-Mm-hmm.
What the fuck--?
wait, wait, david.
Can you do this if
you're naked, though?
- That's the real question.
- -yeah, naked.
- What's this?
- -naked, naked!
naked! Naked!
That's a whole other
price of a ticket.
in your little skimmies.
wear your little skimmies!
You guys don't even need me
to be doing magic up here.
Right?
I should just-- here.
You know what?
Here.
I'm just gonna
take her seat.
Entertain them.
There's like 15 bachelorettes
yelling my name right now,
And I have no interest
in going in there.
There's actually a girl
passed out in the front row.
Physically unconscious
in the front row.
That was a first.
That was actually a first.
I've never had someone
pass out in my show before.
so we decided that
I would move out.
I went from a 4,000
square foot castle
To a 300 square foot
studio apartment.
It's great.
I love it, yeah.
I looked for a
aaa battery the other day,
And I just opened
the drawers right there,
you know?
And I open the refrigerator,
and everything in
the refrigerator
Is stuff that I like.
It's kind of tight.
My routine is I have certain
clothes that I wear,
So I put on pants and shirt.
I always wear short-sleeved
shirts 'cause I do
sleight of hand.
I get a lot of mileage
out of that.
And uh, and a vest.
And I have 13 pockets
in this vest.
Deck of cards,
extra deck of cards.
An extra wallet.
Business cards.
Do you want to see
humpty dumpty's card trick?
Can you take a card?
Don't let humpty dumpty
see it.
Just pull one out.
- You got one?
- -yep, okay.
Okay, know what it is?
Put it back.
Here you go.
Humpty, humpty.
Humpty dumpty.
Take a card.
Take a card.
He-- he picked up
this card.
-What was your card?
-Seven of hearts.
What a good boy!
There's a smart doggie.
-Who knew?
-That's a good boy.
we just moved
into this new house.
This is perfect.
I have gates.
It's great.
You don't even
have a bell.
of course it's great.
There's an office
building in the front,
Warehouse in the back.
A pool house.
We can basically
tour the bathrooms.
The americans
love bathrooms.
We have 12, I think.
And if there is an emergency,
there's another bathroom.
It's enough, basically.
And if I don't want
to see jan,
I'm just staying
in the west wing
And he stays in
the east wing,
so it's easy.
I never, ever went
into a bar and did magic.
"hey, how's it going?
Buy you a drink?
Pick a card."
It's stupid.
But being a magician
and doing all this
Has definitely allowed me
to date far more
Than a guy who
looks like me should.
I mean, I always used
to say that I'm married to
the magic and that's it.
But I met rachel
and I decided that I wanted
to be with her.
She's pretty awesome.
When I said that to my mom,
"oh, I'm dating a magician,"
She was like,
"did you say musician?"
And I had to explain to her
that no, it was magician.
And it took
my mom and my family
a little bit of time
To, like, wrap their heads
around how someone could do it
professionally.
-And I mean--
-it takes everybody
a long time
To wrap their heads
around that.
The wedding actually
causes quite a lot
of agita.
It really does.
If I had it my way,
it'd be drive-thru in vegas.
But my mom, actually,
when she rsvped wrote
"thank you for not doing
the drive-thru in vegas."
But between jon,
who is actually
a sentimental romantic
Who wanted
to have a wedding,
And my mom who wanted
to have a wedding,
I am now having a wedding.
-It's gonna be a good time.
-It's gonna be a good party.
I've convinced her
of that much, so we're good.
-We have open bar,
so it will be fine.
-Yes.
Ready?
Okay.
Come on,
open your mouth.
I got cosmo from
a german shepherd rescue.
Come here, come here.
He was jumping up
on the counter and
knocking things over,
And completely insane,
out-of-control dog,
But he's mellowed out
a little over the last
14 years.
This is my best friend.
You're my best buddy.
He's, as you can see,
a little bit--
You know, he's in
his golden years here.
So while this--
while this tv thing
is coming together,
I have to stay
close to home,
And I just basically have to
take local gigs right now.
Mmm.
Magic for me is my life.
It always was,
and it always will be.
As a kid, I always combined
magic and business.
I always was a magician,
But in germany you couldn't
make money with magic.
I always loved the big shows
in america.
So I always said,
"that's what I want to do."
When I see him on stage,
I'm really proud.
He's performing a show
on the las vegas strip
And he does that
with so much passion
and the people love him
And he's funny.
That's quite something.
Sometimes I miss
performing,
But I'm still
living this magic dream.
I'm living the magic life
within jan.
- you nervous yet?
- -I'm completely nervous.
I love you so much.
Sorry, I'm really
stressed out.
I know, sweetie.
Don't be.
Take a drink.
Take a breath.
Everything is
gonna be fine.
Oh, boy.
All right, let's--
places, people, places.
Rachel, I'm not
a perfect person,
But you see through my faults
and you love me anyway.
I promise to love you,
to care for you,
To make you laugh
every day.
No matter what happens,
it will always be me and you
Against the world.
I now pronounce you
husband and wife.
I love you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
mr. And mrs. Jon armstrong.
magic is a men's world.
My friend and I
came up with a theory
Why there aren't
that many female magicians.
A man does not like
to be fooled by a woman.
And also, we don't have
to pick up chicks.
- hello.
- -hi.
-How are you?
-Fine, how are you?
I just got
a match.Com call.
So brian's been
on match.Com.
I was on one too, and I--
She would get
a date every day.
I'm just--
I'm just joking.
-Okay.
-I'm just joking.
You look handsome.
Isn't he handsome?
Brian is 80 years old.
Look at him.
Shut up.
There's no wrinkle
at all!
Tell people why
you look so young.
'cause I use oil of delay.
why is it that you
couldn't stay together
As a couple,
do you think?
- Um...
'cause she had sex
with my best friend?
What? No, you can't
say that to them!
No, that's not true.
We're just kidding.
and-- okay.
Well, he's just joking.
But anyway, we--
No, no, no, no.
We broke up.
one of my concerns was,
You know, I'm signing off
on the house,
She might end up making
like $200,000 in equity
When she finally
sells the house.
Well, if I have a date
or something,
I can't take a date
to my tiny little
closet-sized apartment
With my three dogs,
you know.
I can take her over here,
we can have a glass of wine,
And, you know,
and hang out.
This is your concern,
not getting laid?
I'm concerned about
children starving--
Oh, come on.
You're concerned about
making a lot of money.
Well, then
I'm gonna donate--
I don't see any
starving children
around here.
Not around here,
but all over the world.
But you know what?
You can't take your
money with you.
I'm not gonna keep any,
so I'm gonna give it
to the kids.
Just give me some
so I can take it with me.
- Okay?
in the next few minutes...
I told you it's dangerous!
The bed of death.
Here we have five swords,
connected to these strings.
If she pulls any string,
it releases a sword.
The sword falls down
into the tabletop
And that's how
the bed of death works.
The interesting part:
She doesn't know
Which string will release
exactly which sword.
Four of them, if released,
they fall down.
It looks scary,
it looks dangerous
But they wouldn't hit me.
They'd fall down really
close to my body
But they wouldn't hit me.
But holly, there is one sword
which is extremely dangerous,
This one right here
in the middle.
It would hit me
right here.
We don't want to see
that happen tonight, holly.
And therefore
I need your help.
And now holly, please start
to mix up the strings.
Put one string
at each number.
When you're ready.
On my command,
Three, two,
One,
Pull!
Pull!
Pull.
Two strings remaining.
One safe, one dangerous.
Three, two,
One, pull!
It was safe.
Now I would like to show
to the audience what
would have happened
If you would have
pulled the last one.
Pull!
You saved me!
Mike weatherford,
the entertainment reporter,
He called me and he said
criss angel's filming
For his new tv series,
doing a new stunt.
The press release sounded
like my bed of death,
Like exactly
the same concept.
And criss saw
the show twice here.
I can't believe that
it's really the same
Because he would have
called me probably.
Barbara will release
each of those pins
Releasing their swords,
And hopefully not
penetrating my heart.
So, we've got
a lady inside.
-Okay.
-And she's gonna pull,
But he says you
the audience will choose
which pin she pulls,
And he says, "literally,
my life is in your hands."
So that's--
So, sounds pretty
similar to me.
Yeah, to me, too.
Pull one.
Pull it and drop it
on the ground.
the only thing I would have
appreciated is a call,
To say "listen, jan,
I'm working on something.
I do it a little bit
different,
But it's falling swords,
and I saw your show.
Just be prepared,
people might call you.
This is what I do."
and then I'm prepared.
take your hand off five.
Take it--
- Oh!
Holy.
people, when they are all
racing towards the same goal,
And their goal is
to be noted and respected
and make money
And have fame
in this profession,
They are going
to not like the competition.
For years, I had a rival.
I had somebody who I hated,
So much.
Hated him...
So I considered him
my arch-nemesis.
Like, so it's like a
comic book type of thing.
I hated him.
We've since patched it up,
And it was the worst
decision I ever made,
Because I have been
incredibly unmotivated
After I patched up with him.
That wand up
on that shelf,
That "close magician
of the year" wand?
That was a direct result
of me hating that guy.
I worked so hard
to get that.
As a--
that wand--
That wand sticks
right here.
Right-- right there.
That's where
that wand goes.
That's not the best reason
to get that wand.
That's a lot of hate.
I'm glad I don't have somebody
else to fill that role.
I'm a far better
person for it.
Just might not be
as productive.
My parents sometimes are
a little, like, subdued
In their response
to good news,
And so I've sort of become
accustomed to the fact
That, like, don't expect
them to go crazy.
hey, david,
what's going on?
-How are you, dad?
-Good.
-Honey?
-Hi, how are you?
I was in the running for
a show on travel channel.
There was eight magicians
being considered for,
like, this show.
What, just
doing magic like
You're on "candid camera"
kind of thing?
Yeah, like,
locational magic.
They had narrowed us down to,
like, you know, three
or whatever.
And uh, I got it.
Oh, you did?
Oh, you just casually--
Dad swore
he wouldn't tell you.
You knew?
Why wouldn't you tell me?
-'cause I made him promise
that he wouldn't.
-Why?
'cause I wanted to,
you know.
-He wanted to
surprise you.
-Yeah.
-Did I not tell you
about the travel--
-you did not tell me.
I didn't tell you that
I was even up for it?
You did not tell me.
-We need to talk
more often, you know?
-Yeah, dave, okay.
So you want
something to eat?
We don't have
anything to eat.
--oh, this is
my agent calling.
Hey, how's it going, andy?
One little tiny thing
in there is that
If I bring my ideas
to the table that
I've worked 13 years on,
That they remain, you know,
intellectual property of me
And that I can
perform them elsewhere,
And that they're not
gonna use another magician
To perform the effects
that I created.
Okay, cool.
Perfect, man!
Let's get it going.
Okay, man.
Talk to you tomorrow.
there was an article today
On "bild"'s site?
It's a german
gossip newspaper.
It's the german--
the biggest.
The german gossip
newspaper.
So it's a story about
me and criss angel,
about the bed of death.
"who owns the bed of death?"
"who owns
the bed of death?"
It goes a little bit on--
not just on my nerves,
It makes me a little stomach
pain, that whole thing.
I don't want to have this.
It should be all positive.
Yeah, but you know,
positive.
If it would be positive,
nobody would write anything.
And they spelled
your name right.
It's the most
important thing.
For me it seems like
he tried to get away with it,
Doing it, and thinking
I'm not important enough
anyways,
Nobody will jump on that.
But of course everybody
jumped on it
Because they said, "jan,
we saw you performing it.
It's a very magic thing,
magic business thing.
They pretend to be
each other's best friends--
they are not.
They just pretend.
It's just because you're here,
performing in vegas,
You're younger,
you're good looking,
You still have your hair,
you're not too fat.
You can't be
everybody's friend.
I don't know,
it's not possible.
It's just not possible.
It's sad, but you can't.
It's not possible.
--mm-hmm.
We have a meeting with mark.
okay, go ahead
and have a seat,
I'll let her know
that you're here.
Over there?
I see siegfried and roy.
--hello.
- hi.
-I'm mark travis.
-Hi mark, I'm jan.
-Jan, nice to meet you.
Hi, frank.
Hi, nice to meet you.
-Very nice to meet you.
-How are you guys?
Now how are
you two related?
- He's my manager.
- -he's your manager, okay.
-And he's your manager.
-No, he's-- he's my--
He's my dear colleague,
peter.
Okay, hi.
It is different in europe.
Here in america,
it seems like everybody's
suing each other
And by getting more successful,
I think there are more
people who want something.
There are multiple levels
of protection to shows.
But if I see a magic trick
somebody else invented,
99.9% I know anyway
how it works, and vice versa.
It's not about the secret,
it's about the idea,
the basic concept.
The people in the audience,
they don't care how you do it.
Perhaps you have the idea
to make this flower appear,
And then, another magician
sees that and says,
"okay, I make a flower
appear, too.
I do it in a different way,"
but for the people,
You know, that's not
a difference.
They just see that "oh,
he makes a flower appear."
So could you
protect a visual...
-An idea?
-...What people see?
-The basic concept?
-If it's really
nothing simple,
If it's something really
never has been seen,
And you make a little drawing
of what the spectator sees,
Without explaining the secret,
to protect it
Even though someone else
in a couple of years
steals it?
Can a trick become
so well-identified
With one individual,
so clearly associated
with him,
That any time someone
sees that trick,
They think of
a particular magician?
-Hmm.
-And the answer
is yes.
That becomes
their trademark.
when you go out and
you see a bad singer,
You think, "well,
that's a bad singer."
And if you go out
and you see a bad actor,
You go, "well,
that's a bad actor."
But if you see a bad magician,
you go, "oh, magic sucks."
You don't blame
the one guy.
You think of
the entire thing.
And I don't know why
that is that way.
I lecture all across
the country,
Doing magic and also
teaching magic.
If I can help
these amateur performers,
magic enthusiasts.
Hobbyists,
whatever they might be,
Make their own magic better,
That makes magic better.
How many times have you
gone up to a group of people,
Spread a deck of cards
And they say,
"I've seen this before"?
Card magic is wonderful,
and I've made my living
As a card magician.
95% of the material
that I perform
On a regular basis is with
a deck of playing cards.
Thus, if people really
don't like card tricks,
Then for the last 20 years,
everyone's been
very nice to me.
Tell you what.
Let's do a little experiment.
Think of a card, any card
in a deck of cards.
Got one?
Okay.
Go through the cards,
take out the card
you're thinking of.
Hold on to that card.
Give me back the rest of them.
And look where I am, guys.
I'm in the part I would be
if I would have said
"here, pick a card."
This is a tiny plunger,
The newest member
of the show,
And uh, he's about
a year and a half old.
I love this thing.
--got it?
Young man.
Give me a number
between one and ten.
-Eight.
-Eight.
Any particular reason
why "eight"?
-No.
-Just liked
eight, okay.
The plunger has heard you
say "eight."
One, two, three, four,
Five, six, seven, eight.
Perfect, okay.
Tiny plunger.
So, um-- so yeah.
Did I mention
I'm selling them?
- And...
Yeah, so there's that.
So, uh,
thank you very much.
It was a pleasure
meeting all of you.
$40.00, sir.
There.
Four bucks, sir.
$45.00.
Yes!
in order to buy...
The plunger you
have to buy a cd?
Yeah.
can you show me something?
Yeah.
A magician always should
find where he puts the aces,
So could you cut the deck
into four spots?
Now, um, put one there.
Put one there.
And that should...
Very nice.
Thanks, buddy.
Good work.
- See you guys.
- -take care.
Here, let me see
what I got in my trunk.
All right, you, sir,
are a proud owner
-Of a light blue plunger.
-Cool.
-Thank you so much.
-You're welcome.
I would hug you,
but I'm a guy.
It's okay.
Guys can still hug,
But it's okay,
you don't have to.
-Thank you.
-No problem, man.
that must make you
feel good, though.
It does.
It does.
It works.
hello?
Hey, it's david minkin.
-Come on in.
-Thanks.
there's all this
good stuff going on,
But my dog is basically,
you know...
I have to put him down,
so...
Aah.
Yeah, this is, uh...
I can't fucking
do this, man.
This is...
He's still got his dog smile
once in a while,
But it's--
he's not--
I don't think he wants
to be around anymore, so...
Hey dr. Holmes.
It's david minkin calling.
Just wanted to go ahead
and schedule
Uh, that appointment
with you for cosmo.
And if you're
back in town on Sunday
That might be
a good day, so...
Uh, whenever you have a moment,
just give me a call back.
Okay, thanks.
Bye bye.
Yeah.
All right, I'm gonna...
I'm gonna go roll.
I'll be back.
So you're gonna
take your coin,
And you're gonna put it
into the bottom of this bottle.
Not through the top.
Actually, you can't even
get it in that way, either.
But through the bottom,
so take the coin.
Think of a goal in your life
that you're trying to reach
That feels like there's
an obstacle in front of you.
Now imagine just going
through that obstacle,
Take the coin-- you're gonna
hit it into the bottom
of the bottle.
-Great.
-Whoops, oh!
That's awesome.
let's run one through,
And just kind of review
as we go.
You're gonna take
your coin and you're
gonna put it in this--
Into this.
How about this,
right here?
So...
All right, good.
Think of a goal, think of
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
Now think of a goal,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
The goal thing... Shit.
Okay,
take that one more time.
Maybe if you got
a little higher and were
shooting more down on it.
Are you good?
Okay... Fuck.
It's just knacky,
you know?
It's one of those things
that's like,
We might have to shoot it
a few times to get it right.
Not through the top
to the... Grr.
I don't like it.
- I get it.
Now I need to be here,
and I'm protecting here.
And it's-- you know,
it's all...
-And every time we--
-can't let that
get out of shot.
When I first did it
in there, the first time
I ever tried it,
-It went perfectly.
-Nice.
And I was like
"holy shit!"
-Like, "all right,
this is good."
-yeah.
getting on television
is very important.
If you can get
a national program,
It's gonna do great things
for your career.
But if you don't really
hustle and sell yourself,
Then you're not
gonna make a living.
Fine, how are you?
So it's all up to you.
I do close up magic,
and I do, like,
some mentalism stuff.
I have a couple tricks
that I invented
That are my thing that you'll
never see anybody else do.
And I do a lot of
sleight of hand, and...
My show's, like,
real fast paced and
I have a lot of comedy,
And pretty strong magic.
Yeah. Well, if you want
I can meet you at
the magic castle
And have a drink
or something.
I've said this to my wife
a jillion times:
We hit the lottery.
I have $15 million.
My life does not change.
The $15 million
goes in the bank.
I'm still doing
the restaurant on Sunday.
Nothing changes.
Not because of some sort
of frugalness,
But because I still like
doing magic.
do you think you've
made progress
Or headway or whatever?
I've made headway--
That--
that is such a--
I have achieved
everything I've ever
set out to do.
Everything.
Absol-- here.
Look at this.
This is a list
That I imported into my--
into this one day,
And this is a list
of every goal I ever had
as a child.
Okay, here we go:
"have my own show
at walt disney world.
Become a member of
the magic castle--
Become a member
of the magic castle--
Win close-up magician
of the year,
Travel out of the country,
lecture to magicians,
Have a dvd set,
Work in film and tv
as a magic advisor,
Make my sole living
in magic,
Do something in comics,
Write a magic book
for the public--"
That's the only one
I haven't done, really--
"write a magic book
for magicians--"
Kind of.
"perform on national
television,
Create magic
for other performers,
Create a theater show."
I've done every single one
of those
Except for write a book
for the public.
Though, if you--
I did do a comic book,
And that is
for the public, so...
So, yeah, of course.
I've achieved everything.
Everything
I've ever wanted.
I have no--
I have nothing.
I have no other goals.
To stay fresh in magic
is like anything in
business nowadays.
If you rest,
you're lost.
You can't just play around,
you just can't...
Do magic.
"show business" is two words,
and "business" is
the longer word.
You know, I decided,
we're not gonna sue criss.
We're gonna move forward.
And we're gonna beat him.
Simple.
You're gonna design
something new,
better, bigger.
-We're about here.
-He's gonna be right here.
-Yeah.
-It has to look scary.
I don't want to do it.
It's too scary.
I just closed the book
on bed of death,
And look forward
into bright future.
Has to be detailed,
it has to be--
It has to be sexy.
It has to be...
A design, yeah.
It's possible.
Get your checkbook.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, that looks great.
Nothing can happen now,
but still, if you go here,
like...
-Oh.
-This is a very
physical show,
So he really has
to stay in shape.
I appreciate.
I love it.
But you have to keep
an eye on him because we see
So many magicians
who put on weight.
He can't eat noodles,
he can't eat potatoes
in the middle of the night.
It's not possible.
- hey, jan rouven?
- -yeah!
I got my first
billboard, see?
-We have to check it.
-Wow!
Where's your presentation,
riviera?
Riviera, yeah!
You can walk.
Okay. Hey man,
you like tacos?
-Come on.
-Yes, yes, yes.
You all can come
and see the show.
You come in for free,
but your guests, you know
what I mean?
-Your customers.
-Your customers.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
I have to write it
down here, give me--
I always come and watch
this and have a taco.
Oh, thank you.
-Is this pineapple?
-Yeah.
You all set?
Test, test, test,
test, test-- ahem.
Catch a cacophonic cornucopia
of curious and cryptesthetic
conjuring.
I love corporate gigs.
They're usually real
appreciative and real fun.
Pays the kind of money
I used to get a few years ago
Before the-- you know,
the market went down.
we have a gentleman,
brian gillis, with us.
Johnny carson's
favorite magician.
--my name is brian gillis
I'm a trained practitioner
in the ancient art
of prestidigitation.
That's sleight of hand magic.
I'm gonna flash through
the cards.
As they go by,
you look at them,
Pick a card
in your mind.
-Did you pick one out?
-I did.
Did you pick one out?
Occasionally kids
will actually try to mess up
the magician.
- I--
I hate kids.
As they go by,
just pick one in your mind.
Did you pick one out?
So concentrate on
the value of the card.
Yours was lower than a seven?
It was a four?
-Yep.
-Four of clubs?
Have a seat.
Six?
-Six of diamonds?
-Yep.
Have a seat.
Jack of spades?
Have a seat.
You had a king?
King of diamonds.
- All right!
Thank you, appreciate it,
and let's have a round
of applause
For sisuepahn.
-What's your name?
-Pam.
Pam, do you remember
the first name of the first
boy you ever kissed?
-Nobody saw what
you wrote?
-Nope.
And nobody knows this, right?
Okay.
Sisuepahn is actually
a sketch artist.
She's actually
sketching what she thinks
the person looks like.
Pam, did he look
anything like this?
- no!
- -what was his name?
-Steve.
-Steve?
Oh, yes.
Here he is.
Oh, yes.
--there is steve for you.
Take steve
home with you.
Sir, open this book,
any part of any page.
Pick out any word.
Make it an interesting word,.
Three or four syllables.
Can you see the page
he stopped me at?
Mm-hmm.
Turn to the same page
in that book,
And look at
the very top word,
Very first word
on the page.
s-- scaffolding?
-That's correct.
-"scaffolding"
is your word.
Thank you very much.
Scott, does your word
start with an "s"?
-No.
-No, no.
But it's got an "s"
in there, correct?
-No.
-No.
Because I thought
the word would start--
was like, "smashing."
-What is your word?
-"jackhammer."
"jackhammer."
- Somewhat close.
- -thank you guys.
If you enjoyed the show,
remember it's brian gillis
And sisuepahn.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You didn't know
what the word was?
I thought it was
the letter "s."
Right,
you'd said "smashing,"
But why didn't you say,
"okay, you're thinking
of 'jackhammer'"?
Why did you say,
"what's your word?"
I don't know.
You know, I get really
close to "smashing"
And he said "jackhammer."
Like, I got really
close to it.
No, you didn't get close.
"smashing" is not close
to "jackhammer."
So why would the book--
You have to tell him
"jackhammer."
Okay, I got it.
I went on this
long lecture tour.
I was gone
almost two months.
And that was
the beginning of the end
of my relationship.
I mean, look,
the times in my life
Where someone has
actually just seen me,
Talked to me, and then
been interested in me
Are very few
and far between.
She never really saw me
do my show until
much later on,
When we were dating.
So magic wasn't really
what made us meet.
She recognized me as me.
Well, I really wanted--
I mean, I was there to
make it work.
I tried to--
I mean...
I, uh...
At least I really thought
I was trying to make it work.
And-- and be there,
and do everything.
I really, like...
I really liked
the idea of being married,
and being married to her.
I gotta take
these wedding photos down.
this dog has never
been up here.
He just never
came up before.
He didn't like stairs.
And now he's like
friggin' hanging out.
My little buddy.
in my life, I've experienced
a lot of ups and downs.
I've had relationship
problems.
I've had
financial problems.
I've had all the problems
that everybody has.
But I haven't felt that
magic has ever let me down.
This is my new
little two-bedroom house.
It's a guest house in
the back of a bigger house.
Nice big refrigerator,
stove and dishwasher
And everything,
so it's great,
'cause I was in that
little tiny apartment.
I just had, like, a little
hot plate and that was it.
Getting out of there really
did a lot for my psyche.
I had to wake up
every morning thinking
"oh, my god, I'm a failure,
Living in this
little tiny place and
owing all this money.
Now I feel a hundred
times better.
I've got a nice place
to live and I've got
two gigs this weekend.
I'm starting to travel
a little bit with it again.
You know, I wasn't traveling
very much before.
So it's--
it's looking up.
I'm just happy having a huge
impact on an audience.
That's the most
rewarding part.
They have stories to tell and
it's nice being part of that.
I'm a prime example
of somebody
Knowing a couple tricks and
doing them my entire life,
My entire career.
I don't do very many
conventions.
I don't do very much
lecturing or anything.
I've always felt that I don't
have much of a repertoire,
So what am I gonna
lecture on?
I realized I can just
tell you some of my act.
As they go by,
pick one in your mind.
Did you pick one out?
Not the end card.
Pick one in your mind.
Did you pick one out?
As they go by,
pick a card in your mind.
Did you pick one out?
Roy, yours was lower
than a seven?
It was a five?
Five of hearts?
Have a seat.
King of diamonds?
-Yep.
-Have a seat.
-Eight of clubs?
-Yes.
- All right.
I developed this
a long time ago.
I think it's a great opener
and it's an opener
I've used for years.
I do three over here,
and then I just do
a quick fan,
And then I do
the other three.
And I've got 'em.
And the fact that everybody's
picking a different card
Belies the theory that
I'm showing everybody
the same card over and over.
Spongy ball.
Squeeze it tight
in your left hand.
-Are you ready?
-Yep.
Hold this tight.
All right.
Did you--
Did you feel
anything happen?
-Yeah.
-No, for real.
-No.
-Oh, good.
A lot of times when I get
somebody up to help me,
I like to give them
a little gift.
You're such a nice guy
you get the free watch.
Stealing a watch
is always fun,
Because people
remember it forever.
I have people come up
to me and say,
"you know, you stole my watch
15 years ago."
You know, they don't
forget it.
This one, you've got like
a little lock here,
So you have to undo that,
And you're gonna concentrate
on that hand.
While you're doing that,
I'm loosening this up
And I'm pulling it
off the end like that.
I'll be stealing watches,
And I'll go up
to a small group
and somebody'll say,
"you're not getting
this watch."
I'll say, "no,
you know about it.
I can't steal
a watch now because
you know I'm doing it."
And then I would
steal his watch.
I've got the watch steal dvd.
It tells how to get
every kind of watch.
But when I'm doing it...
I flash and
you'll see the king.
I love being part
of the magic community
And I love
having an influence on
that magic community.
It's a wonderful feeling.
Oh, yeah, it's great.
People remember it forever.
Magic is my home.
That's never gonna change.
- hey!
-Hello.
-Hi.
Hey, how are you?
Thanks for coming.
Is there an extra
chair here?
Yeah?
Okay, dad.
Hey dad.
Here, have a seat.
-All right, go ahead.
-Right, on the count
of three?
Firmly into the bottle,
go for it.
oh, my god!
No way.
Oh, my god.
It was so much fun
to work with these guys,
And with mike and the rest of
the crew, and like--
Really it was all a whole
team coming together,
So hopefully
we'll get picked up and
there'll be more episodes
Congratulations.
We're really excited.
it was nice to see
people enjoy it.
Thanks for being here.
I'm very proud of him.
Our sons are--
are just our love.
my mom...
Told me she has like five tvs
on at home right now,
Hoping to get
my ratings up.
My only son!
I'm super, super grateful
For the opportunity to have
done magic on television,
But I know I can do
even better than that.
Really?
Okay.
And that's what
drives me right now.
Magic can open up
a door for people to
possibilities,
Make them feel like there's
more than what we think
we know about everything.
-It was great.
-Very proud.
-Thank you, dad.
-Good job.
Just like I taught you.
that's a rare feeling.
The owner of the tropicana was
looking for a new show,
And he came
and bought a ticket.
Which I appreciate,
by the way.
To my show
at the riviera,
And first question was,
"do you want to stay in vegas
Or do you want to go
back to germany in
a couple of years?"
To make a long story short,
he offered us the theater.
Siegfried and roy started
their career at the tropicana
When they first
came to vegas.
It's a piece of history so now,
we have jan rouven here,
We have david copperfield
across the street,
And you have my favorite
friend on the other side.
It's the magic triangle.
It's a beautiful theater,
huge stage.
It's one of the biggest
stages in vegas.
it has all those chairs.
I said, "oh, my gosh.
This is not a step,
this is a leap."
No, I don't think
that success changes me.
I hope not.
-What?
-No, I wasn't going
to say anything.
Welcome, america!
Yeah!
Good evening!
you know, sometimes,
I'm sitting in the audience,
I directed it.
It's all good.
He's on stage and I can't do
anything anymore,
He just talks and
talks and talks.
-Drives me crazy.
-You like it.
No, you talk too much.
Yeah, larger than you
expected, huh, christie?
Is that your wife?
Is she handy?
What's your favorite one?
You mix up all the stands.
When you're finished,
you scream out loud,
"I'm finished!"
Just like that.
By the way, I'm looking
for new management.
Aah!
to see jan on that stage
at the tropicana,
I'm really proud.
You know, it's very obvious
that we're living together
Nearly 20 years--
I shouldn't even
mention that.
But it's true.
In germany we had a big article
in a very serious magazine
And they mentioned
that we are living together,
we are partners,
And it's so funny,
because my mother, she's 86,
And she called me
and said, "you know, son,
I'm really proud
That it's finally, eventually
they mentioned it."
And I was totally surprised
because she was proud
about that fact.
I always dreamed about having
my own show in las vegas.
When you actually have it,
It creates a kind of emptiness
not having a next goal
Because you made it.
sometimes you just have
to realize
That happiness comes
with things you do have
And not things
you want to have.
- hello!
- -hey, mom.
-Hi.
-Hey.
You all right?
Jon was always gonna
be the next houdini
or david copperfield,
And as long as he had a deck
of cards in his hands,
He was in his glory.
This is what I call
my "wall of jon."
This was one of
the write ups that he had
in the "orlando sentinel."
This is where he was at
the rose and crown pub
at epcot.
This was in boca raton.
This was his life.
He studied to do what
he really wanted to do
To fulfill his dream.
That's the whole trip
that I took to california
with you.
He didn't really think
I supported him, but I did.
I was the one who took him
to a lot of his meetings
and programs
And drove him back and forth
until he finally got
his license.
And 'course it was rough
when he said he was leaving
and going to california,
But I'm real proud of him.
Real proud.
Mr. Bedwell, how are you?
Good to see you.
Good to see you.
Remember chris?
You're welcome to
bring in a refreshment.
Tonight we have jon armstrong,
a local favorite,
One of the best
card magicians in
the world today.
This town goes nuts
every time jon's in town,
We know that we're gonna
sell out every seat.
I mean, to have a winner of
"close up magician
of the year,"
Right from orlando florida,
to come back and do
my little theater
Is pretty cool.
There's been a few greats
in magic.
Right now you guys are lucky
to see the future
of card magic.
Put your hands together
for mr. Jon armstrong,
everybody.
See?
All right, before
the show, did we meet?
Do I know you?
Okay, you're not the guy.
--concentrate.
- Got it?
-Show the people.
-I'm gonna scream
and run away.
My husband's convinced
it's voodoo.
Yes.
Yes, that's what I did.
I sold my soul
for card tricks.
My name is jon armstrong.
It was a pleasure
seeing you all.
- Jon armstrong, everybody!
- Thank you.
Stop that.
- Ah, ha, ha!
I feel a lot of support
from those guys.
Two, three, smile.
- there you go.
-Thank you.
they look at me
like proud papa.
For you.
That's for you, my friend.
Oh, look at this!
You don't have that picture,
'cause I took that one.
Look at that!
How old were you then?
-Uh...
-Out of diapers yet?
Uh, I'm in my 20s, man.
I'm 20, 21.
They made me
the magician I am today.
I am in awe.
Oh, that's so nice
of you to say.
And you know, I've never
said that to anybody before.
Oh, I don't believe that,
but thank you.
No, no, I haven't.
and being able to go back
and do my show
And everybody excited about
seeing this kid
that they knew
Who was 14 and couldn't
look at people in the eye...
It's just a good feeling.
I mean, hang out, man.
Yeah, let's do it.
I really want to.
You're gonna come too?
You should come hang out
with us, too.
Come hang with us.
This relationship
not working out,
It was really tough,
But at least I knew I always
had magic to be there.
I have no idea what
I would do with myself
if I wasn't a magician.
For the last 30 years,
this has been what I care about
the most.
I've given up a normal life,
A regular paycheck
and security,
But every day,
I get to do what I love.