De um entrevista com o escritor e diretor Neil Burger:
Q: Several of the illusions that are shown in the film are based on real illusions from that time.
A: That's what I tried to do with the illusions. It is based on a short story, and it has some of the illusions in it. I used that as my point of departure.
Magicians at that time -- in a way it was kind of the highest performing art at the time because it was certainly the most popular -- were taking whatever was on the cutting edge of technology and adapting it to their performance. The sword illusion was based on electromagnetism; a general audience wouldn't have been familiar with the application of it.
Como isso realmente funciona? O mago que projetou o truque, Ricky Jay, não dirá:
>When an actor or a director must know how an illusion works to accomplish the artistic goal, we gladly comply, but we abjure gratuitous exposure. Our intent is not to be coy but to uphold our belief that preserving secrets can help to excite and mystify an audience, whether the performance is on stage or screen.
O ator Ed Norton aprendeu e realizou os truques para o filme, mas eu espero que ele tenha jurado segredo!