Actor Eisenberg says role in “Now You See Me” was an experience he’ll never forget
The talents behind “Now You See Me” pulled a very profitable trick this summer.
They turned a modestly mounted $75 million magic movie into a $292.9 million global smash. “Now You See Me” ($29.99, DVD; $39.99, extended-version Blu-ray Disc + DVD; Sept. 3) is also expected to do well in stores.
In the PG-13 picture, the so-called Four Horsemen from different disciplines — an intense mentalist (Woody Harrelson), an escape artist (Isla Fisher), a street magician (David Franco), and a sleight-of-hand master (Jesse Eisenberg) — combine their skills to remotely rob a Paris bank during a Las Vegas stage show.
During the theatrical run of “Now You See Me,” Eisenberg, who’s best known as Facebook whiz Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network,” told me about the demanding training he went through for the role when he studied with magic consultant David Kwong, a 32-year-old Harvard graduate. It’s an experience he’ll never forget.
“David’s magic is cerebral,” he told me in May by telephone to promote the film. “You pitch ideas (as an audience member) and he manipulates them, as he does in the movie. You think you’ve figured it out (but you haven’t).
“My challenge as the greatest sleight-of-hand magician in the world was to look as proficient as possible.”
And what was it like working at this level?
“It was a little sad to end this movie, because magicians are just the coolest people in the world,” he said. “We (the cast members) really felt good about ourselves for a while, because we got to play with these great magicians.”
And according to Eisenberg, those who believe the tricks that they see performed fill a need.
“It’s the same people who want to believe in Santa Claus,” he said. “You want to believe that the impossible is possible.
“It does seem that when you see a magician performing, it’s equal parts frustrating (because you can’t know how the illusions are accomplished) and amazing.”
And here’s something that should make the film’s fans smile: its distributor, Lionsgate, has announced a sequel to “Now You See Me” is being planned.