It might be Guy Fawkes Night but Soho managed to stave off the fireworks for a while so as not to compete with the massive bursts of flame coming from either side of the red carpet at the Odeon West End this evening. As dozens of magicians delighted the crowds with card and magic tricks (and something to do with a girl, box and saw which we were hugely annoyed to miss), what was apparently the longest red carpet in West End history brought The Prestige’s stars Hugh Jackman, Sir Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson up for the film’s European premiere.
The first of a troop of magician-based films scheduled for the next year, The Prestige is based on the bestselling book by Christopher Priest, about two warring magicians in London, Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale, away this evening) who each try to outdo each other onstage with devastating consequences.
Hugh Jackman tried to explain why it is that magic fascinates us so much. “It makes us think about the impossible. You watch people with a magician, look at their faces. It doesn’t matter who they are, they turn into little kids, and I think for the magician that’s the kick. They have control. People love to be fooled, they love to think there is something beyond reason.”
Director Christopher Nolan teamed up once again with his brother Jonathan to write the script, got both Christian Bale and Michael Caine back for the film after working with them on Batman Begins. “For me, when you work with an actor like Sir Michael Caine or Christian Bale they take what they do very seriously and I really wanted to work with that combination of talent and professionalism,” he explained. “When you find that, as a director, you’ll do anything you can to work with them again.”
The next point for all three is the sequel to Batman Begins, but sadly it’ll be a while before we can expect the Dark Knight’s next outing: “I should be a lot further down the line but I’ve taken time out to do this tonight,” Nolan grins, “but we’re getting along pretty well. We’re moving along from the last story and it’s a pretty logical progression, but it’s going to be exciting."
David Bowie makes a welcome return to screen as the enigmatic scientist Nikola Tesla, whose controversial work with electricity leads one of the magicians to Colorado in search of a new trick. An impish Andy Serkis plays his assistant, Alley. “He’s quite elusive my character, you’re not sure whether he’s a con man,” says Serkis. “He’s a sort of Igor to David Bowie’s Nikola Tesla but you’re not quite sure where he stands.” Was he a fan of Bowie’s before the film? “I grew up with him, and he was as much a part of my upbringing as anyone else.” No favourite song then.
Scarlett Johansson plays Olivia Wenscombe, the beautiful assistant to both Angier and Borden. Just don’t ask her to pick between the two. “Who was my favourite? How could you ask me that! It would be like asking me to pick choose between two pairs of Jimmy Choos. Hmm, I think they both appear shirtless…”
She also sports a pretty fine English accent, which she attributed to daily lunches with Michael Caine on set, and, having missed out on playing Maria over here in The Sound Of Music musical, relished the chance to take on the theatre. “It was a lot of fun because it gave me an opportunity to be on stage. I know that sounds silly because we’re making a film, but it was very theatrical and I always love that stuff. I always have a good time but this was particularly fabulous.”
Hugh Jackman immediately destroyed Scarlett’s build-up of his and Bale’s competing characters with some onset chat. “We’d basically just fight before we started work, and at lunchtimes we’d duke it out a little bit...nah, the truth of the matter is that he’s got a 19-month-old and I have a 15-month-old daughter so we spent most of the time talking about pooey nappies.” Ooh, how lovely. Back to Scarlett before we get a bit sick. “She’s good, she gets a little feisty sometimes but I try and keep her under control. It’s a bit annoying when your assistant’s got a bigger trailer than you, but apart from that she’s great.”
Hugh also confirmed that his production company would be making the long-anticipated Wolverine movie: “Yes, we’re doing it, for real. I think this will be the pinnacle, defining film about that character.” Hurrah!