As famous a skeptic as he is a magician, James “The Amazing” Randi has led a life full of magic and mystery, as much off the stage as on it, and a naturally compelling subject for a documentary. Blessed with a natural wit and showmanship, Randi has made it his life’s mission to debunk both religious charlatans and those who dabble in paranormal, occult, and supernatural trickery — what Randi has dubbed “woo-woo,” all of which drew filmmakers Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein to tell this complicated, one-of-a-kind magician’s story in their film An Honest Liar.
But “An Honest Liar isn’t simply a career recap or a fond portrait,” wrote Sheri Linden in the LA Times, “the movie takes exhilarating turns as directors Weinstein and Measom follow present-day developments in Randi’s personal life.” It’s “a jaunty, jovial portrait with a surprising sting in its tail,” adds The New York Times‘ Jeannette Catsoulis.
Among many other projects, Weinstein wrote and edited the Independent Lens film Being Elmo, while Measom co-directed the acclaimed documentary Sons of Perdition, about Mormon teens who became exiled from their community. The filmmakers took a time out from their busy production schedule to talk to us jointly about the making of An Honest Liar.
Why did you set out to make An Honest Liar?
As storytellers, we knew Randi would be the perfect subject for a film. He’s such a unique figure – a charismatic, witty entertainer who ultimately devoted his life to a greater good. He’s broken world records and performed astounding feats, but he also led intricate capers to debunk faith healers, pseudoscience, and the paranormal.
On a more personal level, we were also drawn to Randi’s story because we also believe his educational mission is overwhelmingly important.
Randi is devoted to teaching critical thinking and promoting science. He does this by showing people how easily they can be deceived into believing things that are inaccurate and that can be harmful. He knows that people are often fooled into believing things that seem true, but aren’t. This can be disastrous on an individual level – taking ineffective pseudoscientific remedies or going broke from investing in charlatans, but also on a societal level – by disbelief in climate change or misguided views on vaccines.
Most importantly, he engages people in these ideas through entertainment, not by telling people what to think or through dry academic means. For us, this aligns with one of great powers of documentary films. Our goal was to make a film that is an entertaining and dynamic experience, but that also raises issues of crucial importance.
And what was your own experience with and knowledge of magic and magicians before this film? Were you fans of magic and illusion growing up? How did you first learn about Randi?
Who isn’t captivated by a well-executed magic trick? Though we appreciate the form as much as anyone, it wasn’t our main attraction to James Randi as a subject.
We both knew Randi from his appearances on TV, especially as himself in an episode of Happy Days. As an adult, Tyler really knew nothing of him when a friend mentioned that the aged magician would make a fine subject for a documentary. Tyler mentioned the idea to Justin, who was familiar with Randi’s work as a skeptic and his battle with Uri Geller. Together we then dove in and learned everything we could about man and his life.
Would you consider yourselves skeptics, too?
Yes – but in the kinder definition of the word. For us it’s not about doubting anything and everything, but rather about striving for truth through evidence and reasoning.
How did you gain the trust of Randi himself?
There was certainly a bit of wariness at first. JREF (the James Randi Educational Foundation) was approached by filmmakers in the past and are very protective of Randi. Luckily when Randi watched our previous films and got to know us a bit he felt we were the ones to do it. Then, over three years of filming, we all went through a lot together.
What were some other challenges you faced in making An Honest Liar?
Raising funding for a documentary film is always challenging. We were fortunate that Randi has a large and devoted fan base that helped us fund the film in part through a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Other than that, the biggest challenge was creatively dealing with the structural complexity of the film, and weaving multiple, discrete narrative threads into a clear and compelling narrative arc.
In the film, you show Randi’s work to expose televangelist Peter Popoff. Yet as you show even after that revelation Popoff continued to do his thing for audiences who didn’t seem to care he was a con artist. What do you think that tells us about the need to believe? And did that mean Randi’s efforts there were in vain?
There will always be people who hold tenaciously to their beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence. It’s actually common for people to dig in their heels and harden their beliefs when challenged. As Randi says, “Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced with reason.” But just because there are some who refuse to change their views doesn’t mean Randi’s work was in vain.
Do you have any favorite scenes from your film that especially moved or resonated with you?
There are two.
The Popoff scene is particularly powerful for us. Banachek’s description of the overwhelming feelings – even for a skeptic – of being surrounded by such passionate believers drives home how enticing and seductive such experiences are. Seeing the hope for healing and transformation in people’s faces is something we can all relate to, and it is both poignant and, in many cases, tragic.
The other scene is a very personal and fraught exchange between the filmmakers and Randi. It is perhaps the most unguarded moment of Randi’s in the film, and in this scene he drops the persona of entertainer in a complex show of emotion and fear. It is a very multilayered scene, emotionally and conceptually.
Is there anyone out there you think can be an heir apparent to Randi, as far as debunking charlatans?
There is no one single person who has taken the mantle from Randi as the foremost debunker of charlatans. There are many who’ve been strongly influenced by his work, especially Penn & Teller, Bill Nye, Adam Savage, and hundreds of intellectuals and scholars. One of the things Randi is most proud is that he has enlightened hundreds of thousands of people around the world, and each of them works hard to spread his message.
Speaking of which, how did you approach famous skeptics like Mythbusters’ Savage and Penn & Teller when it came to appearing in your documentary? Any amusing anecdotes about working with/interviewing celebrities?
Penn Jillette says that “outside of my family, there is no one more important to me than James Randi.” Adam Savage calls Randi the “original myth-buster.” Getting these people to talk on camera about Randi wasn’t a problem at all.
On the other hand, it was actually quite fascinating to interview Uri Geller – he was gracious enough to show us his Cadillac covered in warped silverware, and he even bent a few spoons for us… with the power of his mind of course.
What do people who’ve seen the film ask you most often?
Audiences frequently ask why we didn’t give away many of the tricks that appear in the film. While we felt best to adhere to the magician’s code of not giving away the techniques, we also knew that the explanations for how magic tricks are done are always disappointing! The magic is in not knowing how something is done. The mechanisms of the tricks are always a let-down, but the mystery is more interesting.
People also ask about the opening scene and the location where we filmed much of the interviews with Randi. That’s at the headquarters of the Academy of Magical Arts in Los Angeles, also known as the Magic Castle. It’s a large, victorian mansion that was the perfect setting with a secret door behind a false bookcase, several lush theaters, and a nice evocative feel. Another piece of trivia is that we filmed the interviews with Banachek and Mike Edwards – the Alpha guys – at the same location in Houston that was used for the office of the Sean Penn character in the Terrence Malick film The Tree of Life.
We are also asked about the amount of archival footage in the film and how we managed to find it all. We were fortunate in that Randi taped many of the shows he was on over the years. From him and JREF, we obtained over 300 tapes of all kinds, from VHS, Betamax, ¾ inch reel-to-reel, to 16mm film.
On top of that we did exhaustive searches of different archives. We found the tape we use for the opening credits, of Randi being serenaded while escaping from a straight-jacked while hung upside-down, in the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) archives. It’s likely nobody has seen it since it was broadcast in the 1950’s!
Did you know about the (no spoilers here) “secret” when you started filming?
The film took about three years to make from start to finish, and the “secret” was as much a surprise to us as it was to everyone else, and happened about six months into filming.
What film projects you working on or planning on working on next?
Tyler is waist-deep in a feature documentary about the birth, rise and cultural effects of MTV. Justin is directing a few documentaries in a series created by Alex Gibney and Robert Redford. We both have other projects in various stages of development, including a feature film based on part of An Honest Liar with Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) directing.
What are your three favorite films?
Justin: I can’t say these are my three favorite because I love so many for different reasons, but among my top: Fellini’s 8 ½, Marcel Carne’s Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise), and almost any (Stanley) Kubrick film.
Tyler: The 1976 classic Network is my absolute favorite film, I re-watch it every three months or so. Annie Hall would be number two and if I am going to list a documentary, my favorite would be War Room.
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