hairpiece. Steven Spielberg expressed interest in directing the film and considered casting Robert De Niro for Corky. Richard Attenborough, who had directed A Bridge Too Far with Goldman and Levine, then agreed to direct. Laurence Olivier was offered the role of the agent but was unable to do it, and then Burgess Meredith was cast. Meredith landed the role after walking into the 21 Club one night when Levine was there – Levine cast him on the spot. Meredith modelled his performance on the agent Swifty Lazar, even shaving his head to look like Lazar. "I tried to get his cool, understated manner, his sharp clothes, and most of all, his way of speaking softly so that you've got to lean over to hear what he's saying", said Meredith. Goldman later wrote about the film that "Burgess Meredith was perfect and Tony Hopkins...was so wonderful here. But running stride for stride with him was Miss Olsson. I think Ann-Margret is the least appreciated emotional actress anywhere." Ann-Margret and Anthony Hopkins were each paid around $300,000 for their performances. Filming Exteriors were shot in Ukiah, California. Most of the exterior shots were shot at Le Trianon resort on the Blue Lake in Upper Lake, California. Music The score was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. The complete soundtrack was released on CD through Varèse Sarabande in April 2003 and features 22 tracks score at a running time of 42 minutes. It was subsequently reissued by La-La Land Records. Home media Because Disney via 20th Century Studios never owned complete rights to this film, other companies (especially Embassy and, currently MGM) have been able to release home video versions of Magic under different licenses. However, legal complications kept the film from being formally reissued on VHS and DVD in the last decade due in part to Embassy Pictures' corporate holdings being split among different entities. Recently, the rights were acquired by the American Movie Classics division of AMC Film Holdings, LLC, and the TV rights are handled for syndication by Trifecta Entertainment & Media (under Paramount Television Studios). An unedited version is available on widescreen DVD and Blu-ray. Reception Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a complete four-star review, explaining it was because "[the film] scared me, because I admired Hopkins' performance as much as any in this year, and because it would have been so easy for a