It's very interesting to see Fox lobbying "Magic" for Oscar consideration. I'm curious if this film was close to getting the Best Actor and Best Original Score nominations, the only two categories I can see it being nominated for. If it came close to getting those nominations, maybe "The Boys From Brazil" is what took its spots (I would say without hesitation that "Magic" is the better known film today).
Anybody read the novel? Very different from the film, which focused only on the psychological horror element & threw out many, many wonderful passages about how the character grew up and came into becoming a magician. The novel also didn't reveal the identity of Fats for nearly 100 pages (a spectacular feat) while in the film you know who Fats is about five minutes in!
If I recall, Anthony Hopkins and Burgess Meredith were definitely "in the mix" - potential nominees being discussed in the trades, etc. I don't think Magic was a serious contender in the other categories. Jerry had so many films that year who could say.
