20 Things You Didn't Know About The Prestige
9. Nolan Didn't Do Much Research Into Magic Tricks...
Nolan is a very meticulous filmmaker, finishing his shoots on time and within budget, and generating very little waste footage or deleted scenes in the process.
So it might surprise you to learn that he didn't do much research into magic and illusions, and, in his own words, a lot of the tricks in the film were just "made up".
During an interview to discuss the film, the director was asked about how much research he put into finding out how tricks were done, replying with "I'm not a big one for research", and adding that the movie made a lot of that stuff up:
"As far as what the film reveals, a lot of it is stuff we just made up. I’m sure it would be very difficult for any magicians to complain that we were giving away too much unless they’re prepared to admit to the awful things we did with birds in cages. I think we’re pretty safe."
Since the film isn't really about the ins and outs of traditional magic tricks, there was really no need to research that area too heavily. And by not knowing, Nolan basically freed himself up to portray the magic in the film in any way he wanted to, or the way that worked best cinematically.