Yo…
After Abracadabra two of the most popular magic words you often hear are:
“Pick a card, any card.”
And of course, after that…
“Is this your card?”
While magic naturally conjuries up spectacle…sawing the lovely assistant in half or making the Statue of Liberty disappear; magic can also be close and intimate.
A simple deck of cards can provide so much delight. (Well, unless you’re getting creamed at a Vegas Blackjack table.)
Playing cards are so ordinary. Every single home—be it an apartment or a house—has a couch and a deck of cards. Guaranteed. They’re just there: strictly background.
Thing is…I dunno where the cards came from. And what do the symbols mean?
(It’s All Happening: have you signed up for the guy with an eye newsletter? From his About: “I’m fascinated with the way our immediate surroundings tell us stories as powerful and persuasive as those in novels.
A collector of vintage objects, I’m aware that the physical things we add and subtract around ourselves compose an ever-changing narrative.”
Humans are storytellers and design is not just a story we tell ourselves and others…it’s a riveting expression. Just like playing cards…there’s so much we gloss over. Parents will teach you how to walk and how to read but rarely does anybody take the time to teach you how to see…see what I mean? Sign up for his newsletter and you’ll see wonder in no time.)
After watching Lost In The Shuffle at Hot Docs, this past April I’ve become even more curious about the murky origins of the cards.
The King of Hearts is known as the Suicide King because…he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. Why?
Three Queens face left. Yet the Queen of Spades is looking right. Why?
Seriously…dig out a deck of cards right now…it don’t matter if they’ve got Transformers on em or semi-naked Vegas showgirls on em or they’re just classic Bicycle Cards. Look for the Queen of Spades and the King of Hearts.
Now…what if these designs weren’t…I dunno…freaky Freemason symbols like on an American dollar bill or maybe even an inherited mistake from a time when everything was copied by hand. (Some monk having a case of the #Mondays.)
Magician Shawn Farquhar believes a simple deck of cards holds the key to solving a centuries-old royal murder mystery: how did Charles VIII, King of France, met his unexpected end on April 7th, 1498?
If you’re a True Crime fan…you’ll enjoy this:
“Will the greatest illusion of all prove to be that an ancient cold-case murder has been hiding under our noses all this time?”
The cards are the clues.
That’s the intriguing premise of Shawn’s Lost in the Shuffle magic documentary. In April the documentary premiered at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto. And it’s directed by Jon Ornoy.
Behold, the Lost in the Shuffle trailer:
According to history…the 27-year-old King of France suddenly collapsed and became comatose. He laid down on a straw mat and he died 9 hours later.
Perhaps it was a brain hemorrhage?
Charles died after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door at the Château d’Amboise. Could that have something to do with it?
This is 1498 so medicine and science are not all the way there.
“Farquhar takes us through six countries as he both tries to prove his theory that hidden in the art of every deck of cards are the clues to the conspiracy to kill a French king in 1498,” notes a synopsis of the film, “while simultaneously creating a brand-new magic routine that tells the real story of Charles VIII’s untimely demise.”
Indeed. After watching Lost In The Shuffle…it’s not a Suicide King, rather it’s a King who is being murdered. Oh, that’s much different.
Now we’re cooking with gas! Magic alters your perspective and naturally provides an opportunity to see something special.
Shawn Farquhar makes a compelling case…has he effectively solved the mysterious death of Charles VIII of France, the King who bumped his head?
I’ll let you watch the documentary. You tell me.
For more on this intriguing premise and magic and playing cards I sat down with Shawn, the magician and Jon, the director to understand…how the ordinary can become extraordinary.
That My Summer Lair conversation is attached.
There’s a number of Lost In The Shuffle #PantsWorthy screenings coming up from LA to London to Toronto at the Revue Cinema (where the filmmakers will be in attendance!).
You’ll wanna RSVP for that.
Go and hang out with both Shawn and Jon, they’re cool dudes.
Want more intrigue and #PantsWorthy magic in your life? Fan Expo is coming up!
From August 22nd to the 25th, Canada’s biggest pop-culture event will return to Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Just like last year at Fan Expo My Summer Lair will occupy the Canadian Podcast Awards booth.
My slot is Friday August 23 at 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
I got an a raffle too…enter and you could win an MCU action figure. BOOM!
Beyond my raffle: there’s MCU actors plus famous faces from The Lord of the Rings to Star Wars: Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Helen Hunt (Twisters) and Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca)…even a group of Secondary Seinfeld characters like The Soup Nazi.
Often, casting these iconic characters is difficult. Spider-Man aside…how do you establish a fantastic franchise?
For example: Bad Boys was written for Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. What the crack? When they dropped out it was given to Will Smith’s agent. Whew. I don’t like that Universe…that first Bad Boys movie is fantastic.
And if you think Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future (over Michael J. Fox) or Tom Selleck as the Terminator is weird (yo: James Cameron why would a homicidal robot travel back in time only to grow a mustache?!) try these odd casting choices:
Following the success of Rocky II and Rambo Stallone’s agent offered him a comedy. Sly wasn’t feeling it and rewrote it, upping the action and cutting out most of the comedy. The rewrite sucked; eventually his agent was forced to give Beverly Hills Cop to Eddie Murphy. Can you picture Sly jamming bananas into a tailpipe?
Splash nearly starred John Travolta and Barbra Streisand. Oh. Hell no!
These all sound terrible and yet…I’m curious and won’t mind traversing the multiverse to visit a world where O. J. Simpson is The Terminator.
Sadly (for now) since we can’t visit another Universe…we can however visit Fan Expo next weekend.
Will, I see you there? Come by the booth and we can high five.
My Dance Card Is Rarely Full…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
#EarJoy: Lost In The Shuffle