The Stooge

"This is the film of my short story, "The Stooge". It was directed by Rogelio Fojo in Los Angeles, and runs for a fraction over 20 minutes. It's another film about stage magic, but this time not set in the period of grand theatrical magic, but a much more modern, realistic, down-at-heel time.

Other than writing the original story, then drafting a screenplay, I had nothing to do with the production process. The first I knew about it was when I was sent a finished copy. To say I was surprised by the result is an understatement. It strikes me as an extraordinary accomplishment. In many ways it looks as good as "The Prestige," but was made on a budget literally .05% of that film, for all its famous stars and legendary director. Fojo has achieved as much, working with less. The Stooge is offbeat, intriguing, thoroughly cinematic, sometimes funny, it has beautiful photography and music ... and real magic. The opening credits show the workings of a sleight - a few moments later you see the sleight again, and you still can't see how it's done. Pure magic."

• Christopher Priest (novelist)