Latest news with #Willman
The Citizen
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
What To Watch: Stream these Netflix shows
Shameless may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it hooks you fast and Willman's Magic Lovers' Special is equally clever and unforgettable. The big news of the week is not that there is a brand-new show on any of the streamers or on linear television. Nope. The exciting tidings are that Shameless, yes, the hillbilly festival of sex, drugs, scams and whatevers, is now available on Netflix. All 11 seasons are there. Shameless, in short, introduces viewers to the dysfunctional family headed by drunk dad Frank Gallagher. He's a dad of six, and he spends his days getting drunk and high. All this while Fiona, Phillip, Debbie, Carl, and Liam are growing up through a haze of their own demon-making years. There's an endless roll call of swindles, affairs, petty crime and, well, life on the wrong side of the tracks. Literally. It's Chicago, it's poverty, it's life's gigantic hustle. The show wrapped in 2021, and it used to be available on Dstv, some of it, anyway. Because somewhere during the pandemic, Shameless just vanished. If memory serves, there were about three seasons that went missing in action. But then again, during Covid, everyone suffered from a Frank Gallagher short-term memory challenge, anyway, as the fog of roast chicken bans, tobacco and booze denials had everyone shivering in their takkies. Shameless is not everyone's cup of tea Shameless is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is, at the same time. The show takes a few moments to get into, but then you are hooked. It also hasn't aged, and it feels as relevant and entertaining today as it did more than a decade ago when William G Macy first became Gallagher. The casting was superb, the performances exceptional and the ridiculousness of the situations the family find themselves in, well, as crazy as before. It is an absolute must-watch, and rinse, repeat, and then some if you've seen it all before. Also Read: Leanne Manas: A South African TV legend Sticking with Netflix, the Justin Willman Magic Lover's Special is an hour-long, brilliant, fantastic performance that's as unforgettable as it is clever. Wilman is a magician and illusionist, and if you have not watched his street magic shows on the streamer yet, it's about time you did. Magic Lovers' Special sees Willman on stage in an intimate theatre and, at first, what you see is what you get. And after the first 15 minutes or so, well, it starts feeling somewhat like a school concert featuring a travelling magic and puppet show. After watching so many of Willman's street magic specials, disappointment starts creeping in fast, because trick after trick starts feeling somewhat rudderless and nonsensically boring. Willman's magic is incredible But that is just an illusion. Because if you press on through to the 30-minute marker, then to the 45-minute hand on the clock, well, it becomes fascinating. And that is, because the sum of the collective amounts to a much larger illusion, and Willman's just been playing cat and mouse with his audience, both live and at home. What makes Willman different to the likes of David Blaine and David Copperfield is that he takes magic, and the magic of magic, to the people. He's part of the audience as much as he is the ringmaster. His street magic shows are engaging, and you never want the end credits to roll. Turns out, the hour-long Magic Lover's Special is the same, because he plays everyone. Where Blain and Copperfield are producers, Willman is a performer and accessible. He gives of himself, and that's special. Magic Lovers is Willman at his best. He is funny, warm, and the mini tricks he shares with the audience build up to a grand finale that's as astounding as it is breathtakingly clever. When you get tired of Shameless after binging a few seasons, break it up with Willman, because he's proven yet again why he deserves to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now Read: It's lekker, messy creativity and art
Chicago Tribune
27-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Suspect in ‘ICE rules' vandalism in Little Village in custody, police say
A 38-year-old man was in custody Sunday for allegedly spray painting three buildings in Little Village with swastikas and 'ICE rules' graffiti, police sources said. The man turned himself in to authorities after he saw still surveillance images of himself in media reports related to the graffiti, a police source said. The man does not have a previous criminal record in Illinois, according to his arrest report. Owners of the grocery store La Fruteria and the staff at two community organizations in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood found their buildings vandalized between July 19 and July 20. Police released images and a description of the suspect late Friday night. Surveillance cameras showed he had short black hair and wore a black T-shirt with four squared logos on the front, blue denim pants and black gym shoes with white soles, police said. One of the buildings vandalized belonged to the nonprofit Latinos Progresando, which provides community services including legal services and education on immigration matters. Chief Programs Officer Nubia Willman said their CEO contacted police to document the crime and then they washed off the swastika as soon as they could Saturday morning. 'There is a purpose when you use a swastika. That is a specific symbol with an intent to create intimidation and fear,' Willman said. 'Our immigrant community, our Mexican community, Latino community, has really been targeted lately. And so to come to a predominantly Mexican neighborhood and graffiti with a criminal or hate symbol, you can't really do anything but assume an intent to create fear.' Police Department representatives said Sunday the investigation into the man was still underway.
UPI
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Justin Willman conjures laughter in 'Magic Lover' special
Justin Willman combines stage magic with stand-up comedy in his new special "Magic Lover," available Tuesday on Netflix. Photo courtesy of Netflix June 17 (UPI) -- Comedian and magician Justin Willman combines his two passions in his new Netflix special, Magic Lover, and the performer said he finds the two arts to be "very similar." Willman, 44, is known for combining magic and comedy in his Netflix series Magic for Humans and The Magic Prank Show, as well as his former hosting gigs on shows including Cupcake Wars and Baking Impossible. Magic Lover, his first-ever combination magic show and stand-up comedy special, is out Tuesday on Netflix. Willman told UPI in a recent interview that comedy and magic are a natural pairing. "I think magic inherently kind of has comedy baked into it," he said. "Because I find even when I'm not doing a trick that's funny, people's reaction to having their mind blown is often to laugh. So there's almost like a biological connection between the two." Willman said jokes and magic tricks can also be very similar in structure. "A joke has a setup and a punchline, and a trick has a setup and a reveal. I think those are very similar. And in intertwining magic and comedy, you know, the tricky part is to make sure they don't distract or dilute one another." Willman said he has been "spending years" trying to strike the right balance between magic and comedy, which he said "comes down to timing." "I find a good joke to be great misdirection because when someone's laughing, they're not burning you with their eyes necessarily. So I think I initially was drawn to magic and comedy kind of being a combo just because of the psychological utilitarian purpose that comedy had as a misdirection device." Magical origins Willman said his love of the performing arts started with comedy. "The love of comedy is what came first. I very vividly remember begging to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson with my parents when I was 6, 7, 8 years old." Willman said he would pick apart the jokes that made his parents laugh to try to see what made them funny. "My parents were both serious people, and obviously as I kid I could make them laugh, but the way that I would see comedy make them laugh felt different," he recalled. "Like it was like a superpower that I wanted to unlock, but I had no clue how to." The aspiring young comedian hit a literal bump in the road at the age of 12 when he broke both of his arms trying to ride a bike while wearing in-line skates. "When I got my cast off months later, my doctor randomly recommended I learn card tricks as physical therapy. So he prescribed me magic, basically," Willman said. Willman spent months mastering basic tricks, and by the age of 14 he was performing at children's parties. "That's when I kind of realized, I made 40 bucks just now for 45 minutes of work. Like, I could make a living doing this. And that's kind of when the show business career, I guess, technically started." When good tricks go bad Willman said part of the appeal of magic is the uncertainly -- never quite knowing when something isn't going to go quite as planned. "I did have a really bad experience once. I was doing a kid's birthday party outside. It was a beautiful day. I made a bird appear, my dove, and it flew up into a tree. I forgot that my pet bird could fly. I try to act like that's supposed to happen, you know, 'the show must go on,'" he said. However, the situation went from bad to worse when Willman spotted a hawk circling overhead. "And, in front of the children, this hawk swoops down, snatches my dove and flies away with it," he said. "Kids were crying, I couldn't really play it off. It was pretty brutal. From that point on, I kinda realized 'Maybe using my pets that I love in my act is not the way to go.'" These days, animals play less of a role in Willman's stage performances, but there are still numerous variables involved. Much of his act involves "mind tricks," such as baiting an audience member into thinking of a particular word. The secret, Willman said, is always having a contingency plan -- and, if the contingency plan has to happen, making sure the audience doesn't realize that what they are seeing is "Plan B." "I love the idea that every show is a bit of a wild card," he said. "Like if every show [had] zero risk involved and exactly what I want to happen will happen, it feels a little, I don't know, unexciting to me." He said his 30 years of experience in magic has given him more of a "thrill-seeking" approach to the craft. "I think that little bit of uncertainty, where a lot is left to an audience's will or ability to change their minds, I think is what people think about later," Willman said. The variables are "where the magic is," he said. Magic for the modern age The art of magic has evolved in the decades since Willman started performing, and he said the rise of technologies like CGI, video effects, AI and deepfakes have "forced a lot more creativity" when it comes to trying to inspire awe in viewers. "It definitely has at least made me want to make the magic about something more than just the trick," he said. "Whether it's about something funny or earnest or heartfelt or absurd or about something topical, it's not just about the trick. The trick is a delivery device for this point of view or this angle or my hot take on something." Despite being best known for TV, Willman said he feels magic is meant to be experienced live, and he planned his special around trying to make Netflix viewers feel like a part of the live audience. "I approach everything that I do that is filmed, whether it's Magic for Humans or this special -- I try to make it feel like you are experiencing it like the person who's there, using as few cuts as possible." Willman said he hopes his special will inspire viewers to want to go out to see live magic shows in person. "If you enjoyed it on your couch watching the TV, you will love it in person," he said. "I think wherever technology and AI and all this goes, it won't ever change. ... Experiencing this crazy thing in person, I feel like we will crave that kind of tactile wonder more than ever. At least, I really hope so. I'm banking on it. I have no fallback plan." Justin Willman: Magic Lover is available to stream now on Netflix.
Los Angeles Times
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Justin Willman reveals how he turns magic skeptics into believers: ‘The trick itself is never enough'
Even in the daytime, the most hallowed ground inside the Magic Castle in Hollywood has a way of casting a spell on hard-nosed cynics who might normally consider themselves immune to the art of illusions. Inside the William W. Larsen Memorial Library, a sense of wonder is palpable among the shelves stuffed with books on magic, mosaic stained glass and photos of the Larsen family founders and many famous magicians who've graced its halls. On a recent afternoon, comedic magician Justin Willman sits in a plush, burgundy velvet chair fit for a wizard, soaking in the gravitas of a place known for carrying sacred magic texts signed by Harry Houdini. 'This is the only room in the Magic Castle where nonmagicians are not allowed, this is a rare exception,' he says. 'But you're not allowed to crack a book open.' In the spirit of not inviting any extra curses this week, we take him at his word. Though magic is definitely serious business for the star of the hit Netflix show 'Magic for Humans' and more recently the streamer's 'Magic Prank Show,' Willman's new special, 'Magic Lovers,' aims its wand at our childlike sense of wonder through smartly executed tricks that lead the audience's mind through twists and turns with plenty of laughs along the way. Premiering Tuesday, the hour-long special thrives on Willman's mix of crowd work, storytelling and intricate tricks inspired by everyday life. The goal is to engage skeptics and fans alike from the comfort of their couch. Willman spoke to The Times about what inspired this new special, his most transcendent moments on stage, past performances bloopers and his secret to keeping his illusions weighted in reality. This conversation was edited for length and clarity. Your debut Netflix special combines comedy and magic with the goal of appealing to both the magic lovers and skeptics. How does 'Magic Lovers' showcase your talent for people who want to enjoy the experience of magic as well as those who just want to figure out how you do what you do? I think when people hear magic, they come into the theater with an idea about how they feel about the art form as a whole. There's the people who love magic, who already know that they like magic — I love those people. But the people who they bring with them, they sometimes look at magic as a puzzle or as a challenge. Or they just get hung up on the idea 'does this guy really think that we think that he's a wizard?' I like the idea of addressing that elephant in the room right off the bat, because I really want to do a show for everybody. I'm not trying to turn the skeptics into magic lovers necessarily, but I want them to know that this show is also for them. I like to do a trick where [the audience] thinks they know how I do it, and then let them know you're right. And then let them know—actually, you're wrong. It's kind of like a little bit of a mini-roller-coaster. How do you view the relationship between magic and comedy? They're like kissing cousins. I feel like my live show that I tour with finally got to a place where it held up for the people on the couch [watching at home on TV]. Because magic is a live art form. There's so much doubt that can get in your mind when you are not there in-person watching it. Especially these days, you've got AI and deep fakes, so I think magic, more than ever, is this beautiful thing to be experienced live and in-person. And I wanted to try as best I could to make the people who are watching it on Netflix feel like they were there in the theater that night and make them a part of the audience. You have this fascination with numbers in your act — specifically guessing the correct city associated with ZIP codes shouted out by members of the audience during the special. How did you become obsessed enough to get so good at that? As a kid, I just loved that math and magic have this connection. I was always fascinated by that. But then when I graduated college, I started touring college campuses all over the country, doing the NACA [National Assn. for Campus Activities] circuit. And I hit all 50 states pretty quick. And that was where this love of just ZIP codes and telling people where they were from came to life again and gradually became part of the act. People like to be seen for where they're from. They like to think about the nostalgia of where they came from. And I feel like mixing some things that are real with some things that are obviously an illusion is kind of fun. It just throws a little extra layer on there and makes people wonder, 'what the heck is up with that guy?' What's your thought process when it comes to developing a magic trick? There's never one consistent path. Sometimes an idea will come fully formed, and I'm like, 'Oh, I got it!' And that normally is because it was inspired by something that happened in my life. My son, Jack, really did ask me, 'Dad, what's inflation?' And I really was like, 'I got a magic trick that will explain this because I bet people would relate to that.' Anyone who has kids knows, you get these questions from [them] that are often brilliantly hard to answer. Other [trick ideas] sit on the back burner for years. Sometimes I have a crush on a trick, and I know I want to do something with that, but I don't know what it is, or I don't know what it's about. I've been obsessed with time travel for a long time, and I think I finally cracked a trick where I can create the true feeling of time travel on stage that I'm excited to tour with pretty soon. But the trick itself is never enough. It also needs to be the delivery system for some sort of idea, whether it's something funny that will stick with people, or something autobiographical, or something that's just sincere. It [should offer an] angle on some hot take that a trick can kind of help encapsulate. That's kind of the secret sauce for me, and it's hard to maybe tick all those boxes at once. I don't know if this is like a chef who goes out to eat or something, but when you see magic done by another magician, are you picking stuff apart like a skeptic or are trying to be the magic lover? I am definitely trying to be the magic lover. I'm sure you feel this way when you read great journalism and great writing where you don't want to pick it apart and be kind of put your editor/writer mind on. When someone can actually whisk you away, it feels really good. So I know how a lot of magic works, but when I can watch and be fooled, that's what made me want to be a magician in the first place. So I try not to overthink that. You bring kids on stage at certain points in the special. Being a dad yourself, why do you think kids are the ideal crowd participants and what makes them a unique source of inspiration for magic? I got my start doing shows at kids' birthday parties. So I love performing for kids. And then for years, I did the comedy club circuit, where there's no kids, but there's drunk adults. Kids and drunk adults are very similar. They'll say what they're feeling. Kids are really good at calling out your tricks. Sometimes people think, 'Oh, it must be easy to amaze kids.' No! They are so smart, often harder to misdirect, harder to kind of just psychologically go the way that you predict. But I think what's great about it is that when I tour, I've got families in the audience, I've got couples, I've got date nights, family date nights — I've got everybody. And I love when I do a trick with kids, like I did at the end of the [special]. I feel like they they're able to forget that this is being filmed, and they behave authentically. When you can see the wonder and excitement on their face, when you blow their mind, or that they're part of something that blows the audience's mind, I think everyone relives a little smidge of their childhood in that. I'm not doing a kid show. It's just a it's a human show. It's for it's for everybody. Parents often are reminded when they have a kid, you relive your childhood a little bit. I think we often become really cynical over the years, and it's nice to remember how pure just wonder and joy can be. And if you turn a fan's $1 bill into $100, I'm sure they'll be a fan for life. That's right, but if you turn their $100 into a $1, they'll be waiting outside for you after the show. Has it ever happened where something goes wrong with a trick and you have to tell an audience member 'Sorry, I guess I owe you a 100 bucks'? They always say, like, the show must go on and they don't know you screwed up until you let them know you screwed up. So nothing is a failure until I succumb to that. So I try never to [do that], but there have been some. I was doing a birthday party when I first moved to L.A. in Burbank, in the backyard — a beautiful day. I used to work with animals. I had a bird and a bunny in my show. So I would open the show by making my dove appear, and I would close the show by making my bunny appear. At one point when I made the dove appear and a little gust of wind causes it to fly up into a tree. That's not supposed to happen. I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I act like it's part of the show — [but the dove] didn't come down. Later in the act, I make the bunny appear, and the kids are petting the bunny. I realize I've got another birthday party to get to, so I told [the parents] I was going to come back in two hours and bring a ladder and I'll try to get up there and get [the dove] back. And when I came back two hours later, they were not excited to see me. Because they told me that right after I left, a hawk started circling in the sky and swooped in during [while the kids were singing] 'Happy Birthday' and snatched that bird and took her away. So I could have been like ' ta-da! that was supposed to happen,' but that was unavoidable, so I don't work with animals anymore. I just work with people. Why is does this feel like the right time to put together a special showcasing the magic you've done for so long do, and what do you hope people get out of it? It's about giving people an opportunity to create core memories at a show and giving people a show that they can look forward to, or hopefully all get excited about going to and just remember — 'That was the night that grandma and grandpa were there, and we had everybody there.' You get to see somebody smile in a way that burns itself in your memory. So it's special to be a part of that. This is the first time that I will have been on Netflix doing what I do the most, which is do magic on stage. It's one thing to do magic on the street. But you don't necessarily watch like that and think, 'I want to go find that guy on the street.' But you see it on stage, you're kind of like, 'Oh, I want to be in that audience.' Hopefully that's what people are thinking. So I'm excited to hopefully cultivate a new batch of cynics and magic lovers and bring them along for the ride.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Utica's Willman named AHL Player of the Week
UTICA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — Another Utica Comet has been named the AHL Player of the Week, the second this season for the Comets. Comets forward Max Willman was named the American Hockey League Player of the Week on Monday, April 7. He joins fellow forward Mike Hardman as the two Utica players who have earned the honor this season. Willman scored eight points — four goals and four assists — in a three-game span over the last week. The Comets won all three games, extending their current win streak to five and keeping themselves in the hunt for the AHL playoffs. Willman began the week scoring one of the Comets' two goals in a 2-1 matinee victory over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, April 1. He followed that up with an empty-net goal and two assists in Utica's 5-2 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds During his game on Saturday, April 5 against the Providence Bruins, Willman was responsible for four of the Comets' six goals in their 6-4 victory. For that performance, he was named the league's's Third Star of the Night. Willman has scored 41 points — 22 goals, 29 assists — since joining the Comets from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the 2023-24 season. He has 29 points — 10 goals and a career-high 19 assists — in 64 games this season The Comets are back at the Adirondack Bank Center on Wednesday, April 9 for a crucial playoff matchup with the Syracuse Crunch. Puck drop is set for 7 pm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
