Showing posts with label John Giordmaine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Giordmaine. Show all posts

30 August 2023

Checking in with David Merry and Switched at Death

We had the opportunity to check in with David Merry and learn more about his soon to be released film, Switched at Death.

 

Switched at Death movie poster


 

Who inspires you from outside the magic community?

I lived in Las Vegas in 1981 playing blackjack for a living, while I was there I went to see many comedians as that was what I truly loved when added to my magic. I saw Johhny Carson, Bob Hope, George Carlin and finally Don Rickles. Bob Hope, Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield had the biggest impacts on me. Eventually I went on to become a joke writer for Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. I wrote jokes for Leno at the Tonight Show but not enough to say I wrote for him. I also love Apollo Robbins known as the world’s best pickpocket. He came to me and asked me to write a bunch of material for him… he’s off the charts good!

What is your first memory of magic?

The very first recollection of any magic I have was at a birthday party I went to as a child and watched the amazing Johnny Giordmaine.

I can’t put an exact date on it but I would guess I was 7 or 8 years old. I was mesmerized instantly. After that a friend who was quite a card guy even at 13 showed me tricks he could do with an ordinary deck. He actually is our last mayor’s younger brother, Michael Tory. He became very accomplished, very early (he attended several Tannen’s Magic Camps) and that got me hooked on close-up. Not a lot of people know I’m a hard core close-up card guy! I took private lessons from Ariel Frailich, Howard Schwartzman, and Derek Dingle.
 

Who from the magic community inspires you?

Doing comedy magic I had two people I looked up to, one was The Amazing Johnathan and the other was Mac King. Both became friends over the years and I truly respected their work as comedy magic performers. The difficulty with comedy magic is the extremely fine (and hard) line that needs to be found that brings the two disciplines together. I spent many years trying to figure out a way to blend the two together without having one overpower the other. I never wanted to be a magician that started one trick and after finishing it implied OK here’s my next trick. My lifelong pursuit has been to understand the importance in the subtleties of transition between the two. I have only seen a handful of people who grasp the concept. Mike Hammer is a great practitioner today as are a few others. I take my hat off to anyone who has studied the difficult process. Ali Bongo was a good friend who was excellent and of course Terry Seabrooke.

Doug Henning obviously had a huge influence but I think the man who made me want to try doing it for a living the most was Peter Reveen. After watching him many times years ago at his Toronto run as a kid I realized that’s what I wanted to dedicate my life to.
 

You've previously been on screen as part of the show Too Much Information and served as director and EP for the TV show Off The Hozzle.  What prompted you to make the transition from live comedy magic to television?

I had an idea for a short comedy video and asked a friend of mine who was a producer and cameraman to help me shoot it. We shot the video, had it edited and I put it up on my newly formed YouTube channel. I went out to perform at a corporate event that night and worked in front of 300 people. A couple days later I checked out the views on the comedy video and 80,000 people had seen it. I feel like I was given the gift of laughter and after 35 years of making people laugh at live shows I thought I should try creating more on screen comedic content. I’m trying to make the world laugh and if I can do it on a greater scale and leave a body of work behind when I’m gone that would have a bit of a legacy. I took shooting courses, editing courses, writing courses and finally directing courses. I stopped reading books almost altogether as I had to watch how content was shot and ultimately brought to life. I opened my production company Home Invasion Studios Inc. the following year. One thing that I always did on my “road days” was make use of my waking hours. Some comics would get up at 11 am and not be diligent in writing or creating. While I worked on cruise ships for about 10 years and had so much spare time I wrote everyday. When I got off the boats I had written 9 feature films and pilots and bibles for 6 television shows which I am very proud of.

 

Switched At Death logline: After his wife kicks him out, a self-centered computer analyst moves into the retirement home of the only person he hasn't pissed-off, his wife's grandma. As he starts learning how to play well with others, he uncovers a sinister enterprise, forcing him to try and save his marriage and his new friends without getting himself killed.

 

The Switched At Death logline and synopsis suggest a wildly entertaining plot!  The screenplay was a finalist in at least four international film festivals and it won Best Screenplay at the 2019 Canadian International Film Festival.  Where did the story idea come from?

My writing partner on this project is the very funny prop comic Marty Putz, an old and dear friend. We have written several screenplays together and have another in the works. We were spitballing ideas on a phone call one day (he lives in LA) and he said to me ‘How about a young guy gets kicked out of the house and moves into an old folks home.” That’s all I needed to hear, I loved the idea! Over the next eight months (on and off of ships) I hacked out the first draft which was originally called Senior Management. When I was done I sent the draft to Marty as he had forgotten the original concept. He couldn’t believe I had written the screenplay. This would have been about 8 years ago which gives you an idea how long it takes for an idea to come to the screen. Over the next 6 years we tweaked, re-wrote and morphed that first draft into what is now our movie called Switched at Death. We sent it off to the Canadian International Film Festival in Vancouver and basically forgot about it. Out of the blue I got an email saying it had won the screenplay festival. Immediately I sent it to several others and it did so well at all of them (placing in all) some of which had 1400 scripts we realized we needed to make it. By then I had already shot my TV show Off The Hozzle on CBS and A Little Sketchy here in Canada that I reached out to my two partners and we raised the funds needed to shoot it! CMF came up big for us which is the TV arm of Telefilm Canada. I’d like to thank them for their support as it’s not an easy feat getting a movie made anywhere.

 

 

 

Are there similarities in the work of writing a screenplay and putting together a comedy magic stage routine?  

Absolutely. I would say the greatest similarities are format and of course creativity. They both have to be formed in a way that follows some format conventions but also have no outer boundaries. In both scenarios we are telling stories really. Both a screenplay and live show typically need a beginning, middle and end. In screenplay writing it’s a little more complex. You need to hit certain notes by a certain page. You need to state your theme of the movie in the first few pages, you typically need your inciting incident (quite often around page 8) that is the moment that puts the story in gear. Next in both live shows and movie writing is the “middle” part. Some say the typical structure for film writing is three stages some say five. In either case the middle is the meat and potatoes of the story, as well as your act. In movie writing you are expanding on the inciting incident and plot point one to take the viewers on the story “journey” which will eventually resolve the conflict or issue at the centre. The last stage is the resolution (again quite often with stage shows as well). I have three pieces in my show that I do in the middle of my show that are called back at the very end as the climax to the evening. When I landed on this my shows had way more impact!

Here’s a golden rule of script writing, “Show, don’t tell” in other words if you have successfully written and shot a movie, you should be able to watch the movie with the sound off and still understand what you’ve seen. If the entire script has very little action and is all descriptive dialogue, it isn’t typically very good story telling. Magic quite often is the same, certainly an act to music with no verbiage tells its story visually, however, someone who only describes the action of what they are doing usually doesn’t connect with their audience. Example, "here’s a ball that I’ll put under this cup, it will now move to this cup.” If the trick does just that, don’t describe what they are about to see as it’s bad “storytelling.” With an act like mine (comedy magic) I use a combination of visual and the written word. I am a joke writer so I need the verbal aspect firmly ingrained in the backbone of my act hopefully heightening the visual optics.

 

 

Principal photography wrapped March 31st.  Where are you in the production schedule?  Where and when will we be able to see the final product?

The first process was seeing a full linear version of my film edited by my amazing editor (the editor’s cut). I then step in as the writer and director to make the changes needed from a comedic timing and (scene take) choice. I have final choice as to every aspect of what will eventually be seen on screen as I wrote, produced, and directed it. It then went to be colour graded. When you shoot the film it’s shot on very expensive cameras that capture everything in 4 K. The files are huge but when you review the scenes shot daily (dailies) they look uncoloured and drab. That process was done and I now see the vibrant colouring! The music score is being done now (we need) 59 individual pieces of music and so far 52 have been written. The composer is a friend of mine who went to Alert NWT with me a hundred years ago performing on an Armed Forces tour. The audio is being mixed by audio engineers so the entire film’s dialogue, sound effects and foley are constant all the way through. We are doing ADR (automated dialogue replacement) with a few lines from some actors that were not perfect in playback on the "picture lock" final cut. After that the visual effects will be added and I’ll go into the studio to see the final cut. We will make last changes as needed and can start shopping the movie! We are looking at a release date of Aug 31st downtown at the Royal Theatre if everything goes well. Then it will be sent to distributors, film festivals, and streaming services for worldwide sales.

 

 

 

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers about you or your film Switched at Death?

The movie took 15 days to shoot in and around Toronto. I had an amazing crew of 30 and an equally amazing cast of 45 talented actors. The web site is SwitchedAtDeath.com and I’ll send further details as they come in!

I have been green lit for my next film THE CAGE which is like the movie SAW. A nasty revenge type thriller that basically takes places in one location! More details to follow, should go to camera this fall or next spring!.

 

 

Thank you David, for making the time to answer our questions, and for giving us a peek into the fascinating world of filmmaking! 

To learn more about Switched at Death visit SwitchedAtDeath.com.

Learn more about David at his website DavidMerry.com and follow him on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28 January 2023

[Guest post] Johnny Giordmaine in the "Scattering of Seeds" documentary

The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon.

--

Johnny Ould kindly reminds us of this link to the episode of the "Scattering of Seeds" documentary series on the life of the late, greatly beloved Canadian children's magician Johnny Giordmaine:

Watch the August 11, 2021 upload at Alfred French's YouTube channel:




Of course, should you wish to know even more about this wonderful magician, you can always check out the John Giordmaine tribute site at JohnGiordmaine.com
 

- The Magic Demon

 

Thank you The Magic Demon for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

 

 

 

 

 

26 March 2022

ICYMI: Johnny Giordmaine in Maclean's

From the July 6th, 1957 article "The magic world of Johnny Giordmaine
He began by hawking iron sandwiches and trick telescopes. Now he’s king of Canadian magicians, who can bamboozle with belly laughs at the drop of his rabbit-filled hat
" by McKenzie Porter: 

Ever since those days Giordmaine has blended his mystery wfith hilarity and billed himself as the Gay Magician or the Little Lcgerdemaniac.

The allusion to his stature is apt. for he resembles closely the average person's conception of a pixie or hobgoblin. Now fifty-eight, he is a fraction under five feet tall, weighs about a hundred and ten pounds and exudes a mingled aura of mischief and clairvoyance. He has grizzled grey hair that was once blue-black, a dark olive complexion wreathed with rubbery, ever-changing expressions, and big, brow'n mesmeric eyes full of mirth and monkcyshinc. He casts a spell over everybody he meets by twisting his body into an endless routine of theatrical poses, by a perpetual stream of double talk in a funny foreign accent, and by the practical jokes and conjuring tricks he pulls off in restaurants, stores, elevators or on the street.

Giordmaine is the prodigy of Doctor Harlan Tarbell. of Chicago, who advertises himself as an expert in "Mysteries of the Mind, Mentalism. Magic of the East, and Eyeless Vision,” and who. in spite of the bunkum, is still recognized as one of the world’s foremost teachers of professional sorcerers. It took Giordmaine two years to absorb Tarbell’s mail-order course of six volumes of lessons and five thousand illustrations. By the time he received his graduation certificate from the Tarbell Academy, in 1930, he could make a horse disappear inside a Union Jack, summon the ghost of John A. Macdonald. shuttle a mummy between two coffins, and create many other illusions whose principles have been known to tricksters since the days of the Pharaohs. His early specialty, always a wow at smokers, was the production from thin air of a six-foot blonde in spangles.

Tarbell, who has never forgotten Giordmaine, said recently, "He was the best pupil 1 ever had. He reminded me of a prankish little brownie.”

Read more.

21 December 2017

Carleton establishing Chair for the Study of the Conjuring Arts

Speaking of picking a post-secondary school, Carleton is adding a new magical incentive!

(There's a nice mention of Johnny Giordmaine in the post too.)


From the December 20th post at the Carleton Newsroom:
Carleton University is pleased to announce the creation of the Allan Slaight Chair for the Study of the Conjuring Arts, thanks to a $2-million leadership gift from The Slaight Family Foundation that has been matched by the university. The Chair will work with students on various topics in many disciplines and will join the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

“We are honoured to be the recipient of The Slaight Family Foundation’s generosity and excited for the learning opportunities this Chair will create,” says Carleton’s Interim President Alastair Summerlee. “As a society, it’s imperative that we understand when we are being deceived. It’s also important to remember that magicians are among some of history’s greatest performers and influencers.”

Read more.

22 May 2015

New insight into the John Giordmaine - Doug Henning connection

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:
I am very excited to bring you news about the latest addition to JohnGiordmaine.com, the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician (Johnny Giordmaine, 1898-1974).
Brian Lumley, who used to work for Doug Henning, provides the first ever-in-print anecdotal evidence of Johnny's influential mentorship with Doug. 
Since I reposted Doug's 1989 "retirement from magic" letter last December (first published in Genii) in which he thanked "the late John Giordmaine" ahead of Dai Vernon, Slydini, Jay Marshall and others, I have tried to find a reason why Doug thanked Johnny first and foremost. Theirs must have been a very special kind of mentorship and friendship but nowhere in any of the magical history literature has there ever appeared any documented evidence for it. 
Until now. 
Brian Lumley recalls a very special "Spellbound" backstage tour in late December 1973 which Doug gave Johnny mere hours before Johnny's heart attack which would ultimately prove fatal. With this breakthrough recollection we at long last have the very first eyewitness account in print of what it meant to Doug to have Johnny as a friend and mentor. 
Only now can we really begin to appreciate the reasons why Doug Henning thanked "the late John Giordmaine" first in his "letter of retirement". 
This story appears nowhere else to date to the best of my knowledge. It will hopefully open the door to future further research into Johnny's pivotal influence on arguably Canada's most internationally famous magician of the 20th century. 
You can read all about it, exclusively, here: 
www.johngiordmaine.com


28 November 2014

11/2014 update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:
John Giordmaine tribute news. 
JohnGiordmaine.com, the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898-1974), has posted an interim update to welcome new visitors from the Society of American Magicians who have read the featured article about Johnny in MUM's December 2014 issue.

All other visitors are also very welcome!

This update features Doug Henning's 1989 "retirement from magic " letter published in GENII. Visitors may be surprised to read that Doug thanked "the late John Giordmaine" first and foremost for helping him "so much over the years" - even before Dai Vernon, Slydini or Jay Marshall!

There are now over 50 pages about Johnny and his inspiring legacy in magic. Remembrances are always very welcome; contact information is on the site, which is:

http://www.johngiordmaine.com  

14 December 2013

12/2013 update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:
John Giordmaine Dot Com, the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974) wishes everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday season with its latest update: A selection of one of a kind vintage photos taken over the years at Ring 17 (reposted with kind permission of Ring 17); a special personal remembrance by Robert H. Rastorp; and a celebration of Johnny winning the prestigious IBM Star of Magic Award fifty years ago. These latest features bring to 15 the number of new pages added during this past year.

If you remember Johnny at all or would like to be inspired by one of Canada's most memorable magical entertainers, please visit. And if you have any memories or photos to share, please get in touch. Contact information is on the site which is:

http://www.johngiordmaine.com

01 September 2013

Update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

From the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:
Just uncovered: a rare 1930s promotional postcard from Johnny Giordmaine, Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898 to 1974). It has not been seen by anyone for perhaps almost 80 years. Come check it out! The site continues to celebrate its fifth anniversary online with twelve new pages of material honouring the legacy of this late, great Canadian magician. Your memories of Johnny are also always most welcome.

The website is here: http://www.johngiordmaine.com

05 March 2013

Update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

A message from the curator of the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site:
Hello again! It's now March 2013. This is the fifth anniversary of our informal tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician, Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974). Many thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of you who have have already visited us in the past. Here's news about our eleven new pages of updates that might bring you back for another visit this month. "Reprints" and items of special interest include:

* Johnny featured in "M-U-M" (official publication of the SAM);

* Johnny featured in "The Linking Ring" (official publication of the IBM);

* Rarely seen home movie footage of Johnny at the 1930 IBM Convention;
 
* Feature cover stories on Johnny in "The Magic Magazine" and "The Gen" from the UK;

* Heartfelt obituary notices from "The Linking Ring" written by Sid Lorraine and Elizabeth Warlock;

* And more!

All copyrighted material as always used with permission.

If you remember Johnny at all you will most certainly want to rekindle your happy memories with a visit to this site. If you never met him, or if you have no idea who he was, please come and discover all about one of Canada's most memorable figures in 20th century magic. Perhaps you will even find inspiration for your own 21st century magic?

Personal memories about Johnny are always very welcome too. Contact information is on the site... http://www.johngiordmaine.com

A special thank you, Canada's Magic, for your ongoing support and greatly appreciated encouragement!

----
 
The pleasure is ours! Thank you for continuing to keep us updated with your progress.

17 December 2012

Update to the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site

From the Johnny Giordmaine tribute site curator:
Just in time for happy holiday reading, John Giordmaine Dot Com (www.johngiordmaine.com) - the online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898-1974) - has added new pages. Highlights include rare photos of Doug Henning accepting the first ever SCM John Giordmaine Award in 1980; a review of an insightful television profile of Johnny from the late 1960s; and - in time to commemorate Genii's 75th anniversary - an outstanding Genii cover featuring Johnny in 1964 along with a warm appreciation written by its then editor/publisher Bill Larsen, Jr. (Genii's current editor/publisher Richard Kaufman was kind enough to give his permission for the reproductions). Of course readers with recollections of Johnny are always welcome to share; contact information is on the site - which now consists of over 36 pages of photos and text dedicated to preserving the memory of one of this country's finest magicians.

20 March 2012

Johnny Giordmaine's tribute site is four!

From John Pellatt:
Today marks the 4th anniversary of the original launch of the only online tribute to Canada's most beloved children's magician, Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974). Begun in 2008 with little more than a few pages of old photos, flyers and a lot of happy memories, the site has grown into (at last count) 33 pages of recollections and appreciations in visual as well as text form. Past contributors include James Randi, Bev Bergeron, Bob Taylor, Johnny Ould and others. The latest two page update features why/how Johnny transformed himself into "The Merry Magician" - an intriguing example of the continuing evolution of language... plus a moving remembrance of the Society of Canadian Magicians' unique celebration for Johnny's 75th birthday back in 1973... New contributions are always very welcome. Contact information is on
the site...

http://www.johngiordmaine.com

16 December 2011

Johnny Giordmaine: new contributions

From John Pellatt, creator of the "A Tribute to John Giordmaine" website:
JohnGiordmaine.com, the on line tribute to the late Canadian children's magician Johnny Giordmaine, has just posted a couple new pages for your magical holiday reading... featured are Ring 17 past prez Bob Taylor's recollections; photos from the 1961 Abbott Magic Get Together (one with the famous Harry Blackstone, Sr); and memories of the legendary Arcade Magic and Novelty Shop's closing (where Johnny once worked). The site now includes over 29 pages of unique photos and text.

New contributions are always welcome.

Link: http://www.johngiordmaine.co
m

15 August 2011

Johnny Giordmaine tribute back on line

From John Pellatt, creator of the "A Tribute to John Giordmaine" website:
The on line Tribute to Johnny Giordmaine, Canada's most beloved children's magician (1898-1974) went off line last month. The good news - it's back on line now at its own new dedicated domain. Discover what a gifted performer he was and what memorable achievements he made. Did you know, for example, that he was the very first magician ever to appear on TV in Canada? Or that he was a positive role model and mentor to countless hundreds of young magicians - many of whom ended up working professionally in the business today? Check it all out at http://www.johngiordmaine.com/

Thanks for the update John!

19 January 2011

Johnny Giordmaine (1898-1974) tribute site

Edited August 12, 2011 to update the URL of the tribute site to it's new home at http://www.johngiordmaine.com

It seems fitting that on this day, the 37th anniversary of Johnny Giordmaine's passing, I learned about John Pellatt's website: "A Tribute to John Giordmaine."  Pellatt as been working on this project since 2008.  His site contains images and text from his personal collection as well as archival materials from John Giordmaine's own family.

To contribute your own memories or photos of John Giordmaine contact John Pellatt directly.  His e-mail address can be found on page 11 of his site.

To learn more about this extraordinary children's magician visit A Tribute to John Giordmaine, the Canadian Magicians' Archive or MagicPedia.


[h/t: @WorldOfMagician, CAM eZine]