My thoughts on Disney's Houdini project news

I know I'm on a holiday break, but I felt I had to drop back in to comment on the news of a Houdini project in development at Disney. According to a report at Deadline, Becoming Houdini is a "spy thriller" about "Houdini’s undercover work for his adopted homes of Britain and America." 

Here's the comment I've left on the story. It doesn't appear to have been approved, so I will share it here. Feel free to quote, copy, or steal:

While Houdini was friendly with law enforcement and did advise police at times, the idea that Houdini was some sort of super spy is an idea that has little grounding in fact.

It is true that Houdini was friends with William Melville of Scotland Yard, who is said to have operated an informal, early version of British Intelligence. Houdini appears to have provided Melville with two "reports" while he was in Germany in 1900 and 1902. Does that make him a spy? Kinda! But that's it. Everything beyond this is pure speculation, with no secret missions, assassins, and no connection to U.S. intelligence whatsoever. 

Houdini had a brilliant career as the world’s foremost magician, escape artist, and debunker of fraudulent spirit mediums. It’s a shame to see Disney forgoing his fascinating real life in favor of salacious pseudo-history that is more the stuff of the History Channel.

Good title, though!

It might not be all bad. The article states that the film is "set to be written by Michael Finch and Alex Litvak," which means this was likely just a pitch sale and a long way from becoming an actual movie. Plenty of time for them to find a better approach.

Okay, back to the hot tub.

Related:

• Summit set to turn Houdini into an action hero
• The Secret Life of Houdini screenplay reviewed
• Brad Meltzer is out peddling the myth that Houdini was a spy