Magic (1978)

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At one point, Bill Goldman asked me to direct a book he'd written called Magic. I read it and I thought at once Tony Hopkins could do it. There was almost no one else I could think of. His performance is not counted in his great pantheon of marvellous performances, but it is extraordinary. All the performances - Tony, Burgess, Meredith, Ann-Margaret - were magical; and I really mean magical. Although it's out of line with a lot of my stuff, many aficionados seem to prefer this film to any other I've ever done.

Lord Attenborough

"My memory is that Joe Levine wanted to work with Richard and me again because the success of A Bridge Too Far brought him out of the wilderness. He read my book Magic and optioned it immediately. At first I think there was another director involved but he put some conditions on the deal so when Richard said he could do it Joe used that as an excuse to manoeuvre him out. I was thrilled that Attenborough wanted to do Magic because it was not what he normally did.

I enjoyed working with Dickie enormously. He's the world's nicest human being."

Bill Goldman Screenwriter, Magic