James Franco took private lessons from one of the world’s top magicians before he began filming Oz the Great and Powerful.
Released this week, Oz the Great and Powerful, tells the story of Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a circus entertainer who eventually becomes the Wizard of Oz.
The 34-year-old actor revealed at a press conference in London that he took private magic lessons from Las Vegas performer Lance Burton.
Franco said: ''I was fortunate enough to receive lessons from Lance Burton, one of the great magicians from Las Vegas, and he normally performs for hundreds or maybe thousands of people and I got to have him as my private teacher for weeks, which was great.
''It was a big treat and he taught me many tricks and Sam assured me they would all go into the movie - that my hard work would pay off. But they didn't I guess.
''So the character puts on a show in Kansas at the beginning of the film and there are some of the tricks that stayed in there. But more than that but I look at myself on the stage and there are certain flourishes where I carry myself that definitely come from Lance, who is just a great guy and a great teacher and great magician.''
Sam Raimi, the director of the Disney-produced movie, thinks James learnt the ''style'' of a true carnival performer.
He said: ''What James learnt during that training was not just the individual illusions, which didn't all end up in the picture, it's true, but the style of a carnival performer or a Vegas performer. Someone who stands in front of the crowd of 100 people and puts on a show.''
