Magic Tricks

I can tell they really put a lot of thought into making this trick. Plus, it is small, and easy to carry and allows for a routine that can take several minutes. So, it is ideal for doing a strolling magic event when your pocket space is limited.

Ironically, the demo video doesn't even show one of the better endings to this trick. There are multiple endings to this trick, and I think some are better than others. (The spectator does not have to pick Tom Hanks.) I mention one of the alternate endings in my story below.

The only downside to this trick is that on rare occasions the spectator does not follow the instructions correctly. I have not personally encountered that problem even though I have performed the trick many times, but I did have one occasion where a spectator picked an actor that was definitely NOT in the movie that the spectator had selected. Fortunately, I was able to jump to one of the optional reveals at the end of the trick and show the audience how this was an interesting experiment, if not a successful mind reading.

The video adds a lot of great additional ideas, and I used two of those ideas to perform the routine that I describe below.

The following is a true story that happened to me while I was performing close-up magic for a corporate event at the Marriott in Plano, Texas. The people were seated at very large tables and I approached a gentleman at a table to perform this trick. We will call this gentleman. "John".

I asked John to look at the page and select a movie. I then asked him, "Were you thinking of The Matrix?" He couldn't bring himself to say yes, but it was obvious from the look on his face that he was most certainly thinking of The Matrix.

I then instructed him on how to pick an actor or actress from the list of 30 names on the sheet.

As I went through the alphabet I stopped at the letter S and asked him, "Were you thinking of the letter S?" John said I went past the letter he was thinking of.

So, I turned to the guy who was behind me at the table, and I asked him, "Are you friends with John?" When he replied, "No" I said, "Oh, that's unfortunate. I seem to be having trouble discerning what actor John is thinking of. I was hoping you might be able to tell me what actor John is thinking of." The guy said, "I can tell you that. John is thinking of Morgan Freeman." John's expression changed suddenly from a smug expression to an expression that looked like, "I can't believe this is happening. How did some random stranger know that?"

One of the spectators on the other side of the table turned to John and asked, "Wait. Were you thinking of Morgan Freeman?" Maybe John was still in a state of shock and that's why he couldn't bring himself to say the word, "Yes," but he sheepishly nodded his head up and down as if he was confessing to some kind of a crime.

At that point, the entire table erupted into applause. I dropped my business card and left. I was originally planning to do another trick for that group, but I realized I couldn't top the reaction I had just experienced. So, I left people at the table to wonder how a stranger had just read John's mind.

Be sure to watch the entire explanation video, as this technique is hidden in the video towards the end.