Claim: Jim Carrey has worked with director Don Scardino.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Don Scardino and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein , based on a story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell , and Daley & Goldstein . The film follows Las Vegas magician Burt Wonderstone -LRB- Steve Carell -RRB- as he attempts to reunite with his former partner Anton Marvelton -LRB- Steve Buscemi -RRB- to take on dangerous street magician Steve Gray -LRB- Jim Carrey -RRB- . It also features Alan Arkin , Olivia Wilde and James Gandolfini .   The film began development in 2006 , when New Line Cinema bought Kultgen 's script , `` Burt Dickenson : The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth '' . The development process gained momentum when Charles McDougall was hired as director in 2011 , but he eventually left the project and was replaced with Scardino . Daley and Goldstein rewrote Kultgen 's script which then saw further rewrites from Jason Reitman in June 2011 .   Filming was scheduled to begin in October 2011 , in Los Angeles , California but was pushed back to January 2012 . On a $ 30 million budget , filming began on January 10 , 2012 in Nevada with filming later moving to Los Angeles . The Incredible Burt Wonderstone was released on March 15 , 2013 , and earned over $ 27 million . Reviews generally praised Carrey 's and Arkin 's performances , but criticized the plot 's inconsistent tone and predictability . Variety magazine listed The Incredible Burt Wonderstone as one of `` Hollywood 's biggest box office bombs of 2013 '' when it had made $ 27.4 million against a $ 30 million production cost .