Well, it may not be the wizard we all want him to play, but Johnny Depp is in talks to play American legend, and real life magician Harry Houdini for the upcoming The Secret Life of Houdini.
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This is one of those films that has been slowly developing for years, bouncing from studio to studio. Based on the book The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, the film will recreate the master escape artist into a swashbuckling, Indiana Jones type figure who will travel the world, using the tricks of his trade to secure ancient and occult like artifacts for various governmental organizations.
If true, it's great casting for the eccentric and talented actor, and also a boon to the production, which is facing competition from a similarly themed Sony picture currently being planned. Max Landis, writer of Chronicle, is penning the Sony script, which will have a more Lovecraftian element to it. Houdini and Lovecraft were known associates during the early 20th century.
The Secret Life of Houdini will be directed by Dean Parisot, who directed 1999's best science fiction movie, Galaxy Quest. The script is scheduled to begin filming this November, which gives Depp precious little time off. He is currently filming the Whitey Bulger biopic The Black Mass and then will be reprising his role in the ill advised Through The Looking Glass, the sequel to Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. Not to mention that Disney is eager to get the 'oh eccentric one' back on the high seas for the fifth Pirates movie.
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The book upon which the film is based is purported to have unearthed evidence that Houdini was, in fact, an international spy used to secure items for various organizations. One would imagine that the occult elements of the film will be fictitious, or at the very least exaggerated.
Which if of course what they want you to believe.
Watch Houdini in action below.
