Magicians: Life in the Impossible

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

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