As they gear up to reveal their big lottery prediction, Singapore’s JC Sum and Magic Babe Ning have received a ton of attention for the mentalism stunt. Although known for their larger scale illusions, they seem to have hit on a cerebral cord with their latest venture.

They were nice enough to answer a few questions from iTricks via email.

- How did you get the idea for the stunt?

JC: Like many magicians, I actually thought of doing the lottery prediction (specifically the 4D in Singapore’s local context) midway in my career. I guess this would have been about 2002 when I first developed a full mentalism show. However, I had no avenue to do this. Fast forward to early 2009. A couple months before this, Ning & I teleported 3 spectators across the Singapore River in 2.5 Seconds so we ran an informal Facebook poll asking friends and fans what they would like to see us perform next. A large percentage said a lottery-type prediction.

We originally pitched “The Impossible 4D Prediction” to the Singapore
Tourism Board in Mar 2009 for the Singapore River Festival that was to be held in end-Jun 2009. They chose our “The Impossible Record: 15 Illusions in 5 Minutes” instead. So, we waited till now to present our version of the lottery prediction.

- What is the reaction locally to a mentalism effect like this in comparison to big visual illusion spectacle like you’ve done in the past?

Ning: The reaction with public and media has been awesome! While this might be the smallest scale stunt we have done, it has achieved the most amount of buzz in both traditional and new media. Not only did the psychological illusion make news headlines, the term “magic babe ning” was the #1 most searched item on Yahoo Singapore on 21 Jan 2010. But, we also know that it is all our previous mega illusions that gave us the “celebrity” and credibility for people to be interested in us attempting this prediction.

- You guys seem to have quite a following in Singapore, any plans to tour or perform in Europe or America?

JC: Plans have already been in the works since last year so let’s hope the stars are align for us to bring our magic to the U.S. this year!

As they perform for packed houses at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Barry and Stuart were nice enough to answer a few questions from us here at iTricks. We thank them for their time. Enjoy.

Our questions are bolded, their answers are in plain text.

- In your first series, ” Magick”, you played a bunch of recurring characters. Will we ever see any of them return?

B: Possibly, we certainly had lots of ideas for developing these characters further, but we haven’t really found another vehicle to bring them back just yet.

S: We certainly still play around with characters and disguises – as you may have recently seen when we pretended to be a Russian psychic and a paranormal scientist for an online trick for the BBC.

- Many of your routines play with the concepts of narrative, where does that come from?

B: I think that we were initially frustrated with the lack of motivation in most magic routines and plots. Why on earth would someone want to eat razorblades? Why would they swallow thread? How the hell did they discover this phenomenon? So we like to come up with stories and plots that make the props and the actions make sense.

S: We were fascinated with the idea of taking ego out of performing magic. We do not like the classic status of the magician as Man of Power, who can do all these wonderful things that you cannot. We took that and turned it on its head, so that the magic was not a power for our characters, but was rather a curse.

B: We often achieve that by having narrative twists so that the performer doesn’t always come out on top every time. Like our character of the homeless magician, who did magic that no-one could see, or Diego the hustler who was a great swindler but always ended up losing more than he gained.

S: A particular favourite was Suicide Boy, who desperately wanted to die, but his magical powers caused him to fail in his suicide attempts. For example, when he tried to hang himself, his neck unfortunately just magically penetrated the rope. A scene that was deemed so dark that it was censored by the channel from the final cut.

- What are your biggest influences outside of magic?

S: Films, mainly horror films and in particular a lot of foreign horror films. We like short stories also, classic tales and the cautionary children’s tales from the Victorian era. We also like unusual music and instruments that either don’t look like instruments or make weird sounds. We just can’t help but incorporate these sorts of things into our routines.

B: Our show this year makes use of both a Theremin and a Stylophone as well as some of the weirdest and funniest music we’ve found on old vinyl records over the past few years.

Hear what the boys say about the realm of “good taste,” if they ever hope to crack the American market and how important dark comedy is to their act AFTER THE JUMP

- You’ve often pushed the lines of “good taste” with fantastic results. What are the dangers of performing something that could be found offensive? Is there even more pressure for the routine to be solid when you know it will be scrutinized extra hard for content?

S: I suppose so. The real pressure comes from knowing what you are trying to achieve with your material. We don’t care much for doing items that do nothing more than just offend people, as a goal that is fairly vacuous.

B: The very first performance of ours to be aired on TV was a trick in which we magically produced an apparently starving African child on the streets of London, whilst disguised as charity workers. This was in the same show that contained full frontal nudity, suicide and quite a lot of blood. Weirdly the “African Child” was the only item that got an official complaint, but this was due to the fact that some people believed that the child we produced wasn’t well looked after! Sounded crazy to us. They probably just felt guilty that they don’t donate.

- Is performing in the US, either live or on TV, a goal?

B: We certainly would love to perform live in the US. We get lots of emails from people all over the world requesting us to come and perform in their countries.

S: We’ve never targeted the States directly, none of our shows have been broadcast over there yet. We certainly have a good bank of material to fall back on should the invitation arise, and I think we would enjoy the audiences. The UK seems to be a lot more critical and harsher than most other countries, which is actually a good, challenging breeding ground for creative minds.

- For my money, few perform dark comedy better in this industry than the two of you, do you have any advice for magicians who would like to go down a similar route?

S: We think that humour is very important when you are performing material that could be considered ‘dark’. Audiences come and see shows to be entertained and like a good horror film you need to have light and shade in order to make the experience richer.

B: There is nothing worse for us than a performer who takes themselves too seriously, telling long, far-fetched stories while claiming they are performing a bizarre ritual with an obviously fake, plastic skull which they say is the shrunken head of a medieval warlock. Especially when it is being performed by a teenager who clearly hasn’t travelled more than 50 miles from where they were born. There’s a natural humour there that is sometimes better embraced.

S: Humour can break down barriers, make an audience feel relaxed and entertained, it can be used to push your performance into avenues that you may not have been able to otherwise. Just keep pushing it ’til someone pukes while laughing, then you know you’ve got something special.

He’s a mentalist, a card magician and has produced some of our favorite magic television… ever. Anthony Owen works to bring Derren Brown, Barry and Stuart, Pete Firman and Ali Cook to televisions in the UK and to computer screens via YouTube around the world. Now he talks to Justin Robert Young about how you can find your niche and define it as well as much, much more.

If you like what you see, subscribe to our YouTube account.

Scam School host Brian Brushwood talks about the importance of being 8 years old, the logic behind magic on the internet and then grills the host Justin Robert Young with his own questions. If you don’t already know that Brian is just a killer guest then now is the time to start.

If you like what you see, subscribe to our YouTube account.

Finally, an interview for folks who didn’t decide they wanted to make magic their living at 14. Paul Draper is a Las Vegas staple who has an incredibly interesting story and some great thoughts about what it means to be a professional.

If you like what you see, subscribe to our YouTube account.

Our 2008 iTricks Trick of the Year winner sits down and tells us about his very rough childhood, self-reliance and when to know when to ask for advice.

One of our most colorful interviews, check it out! If you like what you see, subscribe to our YouTube account.

Special thanks to Alain for sitting down with us to talk about producing a magic special, if he plans on hatching any new magic television projects and much more.

If you’d like to see more iTricks Interviews including chats with Marco Tempest, Angela Funovits and Jeff Hobson subscribe to our iTricks YouTube channel.

Our guest this week is Tony Clark. Probably the most business focused of our interviews so far, but well worth a view. All high school students should be forced to hear his advice on when to take control of your life.

Thanks again to Tony!

Marco Tempest, the Virtual Magician, talks to us about magic, his inspirations and how break dancing saved his life.

Thanks to Marco and sorry for the holiday delay.

We would like to thank The original Mentalist Gerry McCambridge for taking the time to do this interview. You can visit him at Mentalist.com or see him at the Hooters Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Gerry was unique as it was the first time on Interviews someone talked about the balance between the drive for a career and spending time with his family.

Enjoy.

This week’s interview is with a young star in our industry whose success is only matched by her ambition, Angela Funovits. She really is a study in poise and focus considering how easy it would have been to fold under the pressure of a network television show so early.

Thanks again to Angela for her time and we hope you enjoy!

Kostya Kimlat is our video guest this week as we touch on how he hones down his tricks, why more magicians aren’t better business people and why a massive failure was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Also as a bonus, we get to see exactly what he brings with him to a walk around gig and where he loads it on his person.

Thanks again to Kostya for the time and head to KostyaMagic.com for more information.

We were lucky enough to speak with Jeff Hobson last night and we were so pleased with the interview that we’re going to give it to you today. Hobson touches on a lot but comedy magicians will be very interested to hear his take on why crowds laugh at certain things and why changes in our society may be making the comedians role a harder one as time goes on.

We also split this one into three clips so it’s easier to pick up where you left off if your house catches on fire or something.

Enjoy!

Also, if you are in the Florida area time is running out on these Hobson lecture dates…

JUST ADDED Hobson and Guy Bavli perform at Magic Spotlight in The Improv at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Tuesday. Show starts at 8 p.m.

• Nov. 3, 2008 6:30 PM

Wizard’s Apprentice Magic Shop Hollywood

Call Stan for Resv.& Details

(954) 920-1475 (Also at 9:00 PM a special limited magic/business workshop by Jeff at this location only).

• Nov. 5, 2008 7:30 PM

Orlando Elks Lodge Orlando

Contact: CraigFennessy@Gmail.com

• Nov. 6, 2008 7:30 PM

Jacksonville Howard Johnson Hotel Orange Park

Hotel Number for Directions (904) 272-5900

Contact Mr. G’s Magic (904) 272-5900 (Advance Ticket Discount)

We are very proud to introduce our latest project, The iTricks Interview. This is a new direction for us in a couple respects. It’s a longer look at the personalities of the most interesting people in magic. It’s video, which we’ve never really done before for this site. It’s available on YouTube, which we’ve heard the kids are fond of these days.

On to the subject of our debut installment. Joshua Jay is a busy, busy guy. Not only does he have a new DVD (Joshua Jay: Methods In Magic – Live In The UK) but also a new book (Magic: The Complete Course) that’s going to hit stores across the country in mere days, but he also has an intense touring schedule which has taken him around the world. And he edits the Talk About Tricks column in Magic Magazine. And he enjoys PF Changs.

Please, let us know what you think in the comments, we’d love to hear your feedback. Expect more of these in the coming weeks.

And lo, it has begun…

As we mentioned earlier on this site, Hottrix filed a $12 million lawsuit against beer giant Coors on charges that the latter’s free iPhone app iPint violated the copyright of the former’s $3 iPhone app iBeer.

Hottrix founder Steve Sheraton was nice enough to answer a few of our questions via email:

iTricks: I read about the lawsuit with Coors today and wanted to know if you had any comment?

Steve Sheraton: Hottrix is really a mom-and-pop company who just wants to protect their intellectual property rights.

As an inventor I am really happy that my iBeer is extremely successful. As a magician I am flabbergasted at the fact that consumer companies don’t appear to go by the same IP guidelines as we magicians do.

iTricks: $12.5 million is a lot of money, where does that figure come from?

Sheraton: Lost sales. iPint was downloaded at least 6 million times. Simple math: Hottrix receives $2.1 per iBeer after Apple’s cut. That was as of a week ago. By the time this suit sits in front of a Jury the numbers will have changed tremendously, leaving Hottrix with much smaller “per unit compensation”.

iTricks: What elements of iPint are violations of iBeer

Sheraton: This link lists all of them: http://www.hottrixdownload.com/secure/iBeer/press_files/iBeerVSiPint.PDF

iTricks: Magic has notoriously sparse copyright protection, is it on some level refreshing to have a legal outlet for this situation?

Sheraton: No. It isn’t refreshing at all. It’s puzzling.

Magicians traditionally (and to the amazement of many legal professionals) follow a much stricter Intellectual Property rule without legal language or governing institution. That’s where I come from and that’s what confused me about the whole thing.
Read the following 2 links to understand how ethically we magicians seem to handle copyright:
http://www.slate.com/id/2175616/
and
http://www.laboratorium.net/archive/2007/09/10/ip_policy_is_tricky_2

iTricks: What was the difference in the sales of iBeer before and after the iPint removal?

Sheraton: Huge. When Apple pulled iPint off the US iTunes App Store iBeer jumped from #18 to #5 within hours and stayed in the top 10 until just a little while ago.

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Sheraton.com

It’s been quite a ride for Scarlett. Three years ago she started as a magician’s assistant in her home town of Reno and beginning Friday, she’ll be opening her own show at the V Theater in Las Vegas.

Click here for a bio by the Las Vegas Sun.

The gorgeous illusionist was nice enough to chat with iTricks editor Justin Robert Young as she prepares for her debut.

Creator, writer and co-director of the new documentary Women In Boxes Blaire Baron Larsen was nice enough to chat with us today about how the movie came about, the unique spirit of the women involved and which female performer was originally going to be the sole star of the film.

Also, if you have seen the film and want to support it, please head to CineVegas.BSide.com and put in your review. The doc still has a shot at getting ranked “highest rated film” so do your part for the magic community and vote.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

He’s the newest star of Revision 3’s internet video empire with his show Scam School but Brian Brushwood assures you, it wasn’t easy getting there.

Nope, it took odd wardrobe requests from regular television bigwigs, a closeted love for TechTV and a huge back catalogue of cons, swindles and scams rattling under his trademark blonde spikes to get Brian where he is today.

In this exclusive iTricks interview find out how many episodes of Scam School you can expect, how he is handling the attention from the Digg crowd and why he wants to fill out a new branch of magic. Also, he explains how he taught the method for his “Human Chimney” effect (explained in the Scam School pilot) to Daniel Garcia for the fellow Texan’s now out-of-print DVD Warning.

You can watch Scam School at Revision3.com or subscribe to the newly minted feed on iTunes. Also, feel free to Digg up the Scam School post, so it can get on the front page of the Digg site.

How to build a personality, The Murray Sawchuck Way:

• Drive to L.A.
• Perform at every comedy open mic night you can find, no magic allowed.
• Be prepared to bomb. It happens.
• Dissect your successes and apply them to the next trip.
• Drive back to Vegas.
• Repeat.

Need proof that Sawchuck practices what he preaches? See how fast he knows the exact milage from Sin City to La La Land (268 mi) or count the amount of times he mentions evolving as a performer in an interview. For a guy who will be seen by a nationwide audience on VH1’s Celebracadabra for an eight week run beginning this April, Sawchuck is laser focused on becoming “Murray.”

“When you tell a friend you are going to see Regis, they don’t need to ask ‘Regis who?” Sawchuck said. “Everyone knows who Regis is.”

Sawchuck worked his way up the magic industry ladder from his home town of Vancouver to Orlando where he took advantage of the tourist town’s direct flights to cities in Germany and France where his CD manipulation act slotted comfortably into their vibrant cabaret entertainment culture.

He then moved on to Vegas, where he brought a full-length show to the Frontier and now he has his sights set on television, the elusive upper-tier reserved only for magic’s most compelling. If he is to capitalize on this opportunity Sawchuck realizes there must be sacrifices. For instance, viewers familiar with his live show will not see his trademark electric blue suit or CD manipulation act, both of which he shed for a more TV friendly image.

“On stage I can make a joke about the suit and it’s okay,” he said. “It’s different on TV.”

Not to say that he’s never been on the small screen, Murray was featured on Blind Date as well as a guest role on Comedy Central’s Reno 911! where he played an inebriated magician attempting to sleight his way out of a DUI.

But Celebracadabra is something different. For one, it’s on VH1, the fertile birthplace of the entire “Celebreality” genre. But most importantly, it represents a stage where Sawchuck’s personality will be in the spotlight.

In other words: it’s one step closer to Murray.

You can get more of Murray at his magic-themed website MurrayMagic.com or his more generalized web presence MurraySawchuck.com. We’d again like the thank Cheryl Kagan for setting this up.

In 2005, Rodney Reyes found himself despondent, creatively lost and in Italy. A few conversations with the Buck Twins, a 15-page manifesto and two years later he debuted what he claims is the product of those times: Bunny Boy Collective.

Reyes speaks with iTricks’ Justin Robert Young about what the site is about, who should join, the line between magic and commercialism and if he is getting hate mail for his Black Ads. This exclusive interview is the only time Rodney says he will ever talk about the origins and theories behind this unique project.

We’d like to thank Rodney for his time and encourage everyone to check out Bunny Boy. Please enjoy.