Magicians

Magicians are in vogue this fall. Two films about magic and magicians are scheduled for release later this year and I have a tingly feeling they're going to be good. The Prestige is likely to gain huge attention because of its director, Christopher Nolan, of Memento and Batman Begins fame. It's adapted from a novel written by Christopher Priest, who, according to Publishers Weekly, was one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in 1983. The novel itself garnered Priest another accolade; it was Winner of the 1996 World Fantasy Award.

Based on a short story by Steven Millhauser, the other film is an independent titled The Illusionist. Both movies have impressive casts though; Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star in The Prestige, and Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti headline The Illusionist. Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti - I love the idea of them being in a film together! Of course, you can't deny the equally intriguing (and rather droolworthy) combination of Bale and Jackman, who are a little more mainstream but nevertheless talented and charismatic. And even if those two can't whet your appetite, maybe the supporting cast might. Here's the lineup - Michael Caine, Andy Serkis (you might know him as Gollum), David Bowie, and Scarlett Johansson.

Now if the folks behind the movie adaptation of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell would hurry it up, then we'd have a perfect series of magician movies. This is probably the magician film I'm waiting for. Then again, I hope the scriptwriter doesn't rush and mangle the adaptation. It's Christopher Hampton, who recently adapted Ian McEwan's Atonement, another good novel. Looking over his earlier work, it's hard to say if he's a sure-fire bet. Although he wrote the screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons, he also wrote Mary Reilly.

This hasn't anything to do with stage magicians but it's equally appealing. Here is the trailer for The Fountain, which stars Hugh Jackman (okay, there's a little link: the lead actor from The Prestige) and Rachel Weisz. Look also for the attractive and supposedly good graphic novel created by director Darren Aronofsky (who did Requiem for a Dream and who married Rachel Weisz) when film plans initially fell through. Lucky for us, the film got revived and the graphic novel got to stay too.