Fox News: Blaine’s ‘Dive of Death’ one of TV’s top-10 worst moments
December 22, 2008
In what surely won’t be the last such top-10 list, David Blaine’s “Dive of Death” made Fox News Entertainment’s list of the 10 worst TV moments, joining company such as Rosie Live, reality TV stars opening the Emmys and stars showing their secret talents. Ignoring Blaine’s explanation of how the stunt went wrong, the obvious physical difficulty and almost two hours of insane street magic (and two gut punches from Kimbo Slice), Fox packed a paragraph of VH-1-wannabe snark with a photo:
The dive itself, occurring live at the end of a two-hour telecast, was an anticlimactic flop at the end of what looked like the world’s least-bouncy bungee cord, after which Blaine was yanked off into the darkness, presumably so he could avoid network executives demanding their money back.
Hmm… A TV network publishing a list of the worst TV moments; yet only two out of 10 aired on Fox (Paula Abdul’s future prediction and “The Moment of Truth”). We’ll take their diss of Blaine with the typical grains of salt required of anything coming from Fox News.
K, I’m off my soapbox now.
Quick hits: Clipse immortalizes Blaine; don’t believe Angel rumors; Brushwood wins iTunes award
December 4, 2008
Time to break out the bullets. No, not this. These:
- David Blaine’s latest stunt is officially legit, now that it has been immortalized in a gangsta rap song with the likes of President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. Clipse, in a special release for Play Cloths (link definitely not safe for work because of offensive lyrics), raps the following in their song “Intro”: It’s the hood’s Obama shoveling McCain / Out the project windows, the drama’s insane / The rap game’s upside-down like David Blaine / You fans is Times Square for following them lanes.
- So, you might have heard some rumors that Believe, Criss Angel’s collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, is headed for early closure because critics hate it and Angel isn’t happy with it. As usual, iTricks sets us straight and breaks the news of what’s really going on: The show will break throughout most of January so Angel can take a vacation. But the show will also undergo a major revamping in that time.
- Magic Newswire reports that Brian Brushwood’s Scam School, a 37-part dissertation in deceit, was selected as one of iTunes best podcasts of 2008. Dodd Vickers also features a podcast interview with Brushwood.
Astrologer: Overcoming challenges in Blaine’s blood
October 20, 2008
For those who wonder why David Blaine got away from street magic and concentrated so much on stunts (never mind how that was completely disproven by “David Blaine: Dive of Death”), the answer is in the skies.
Astrologer Julie Rimmer, who blogs astrological at The Twelve Gates, read a chart for the Mysterious Stranger and found that he is deeply driven to overcome challenges. She even compared Blaine to Franz Reichelt, the unfortunately famous Austrian tailor. Maybe that should be the famously unfortunate tailor.
Mars trine Pluto in air can signify an ease in expressing his will-power through the mind. Also present in his chart is Uranus in Libra opposing Sun/Venus and Chiron. There is the Promethean spirit here, Mars in Aquarius can be brilliant but add Jupiter and the Promethean vision is expanded. When Uranian energy is strong in the chart there is of course the danger of being perceived the fool.
Rimmer has also done charts for Warren Buffet, Marilyn Monroe and Nick Adams. Based on her reading of Blaine’s stars, and if you believe in astrology, then the ridiculing of Blaine won’t stop, and the next stunt should be even more insane. We can’t wait.
Brad Christian responds to quote in Page Six story
October 8, 2008
Brad Christian, President and founder of Ellusionist.com, is featured in a newly-released podcast from Magic Newswire.
He speaks for 30 minutes about a recent misquote in a Page Six Magazine story, gives personal thoughts on David Blaine and the recent special, “David Blaine: Dive of Death”, and speaks about the beginnings of Ellusionist and magic on the Internet.
The podcast is featured here:
Earlier this week, Page Six published the report about David Blaine and his feelings about the flubbed ending. Reporter Rachel Syme talked to Blaine, some fans and members of the magic community and wrote a story that Jonathan Bayme, CEO of Theory 11, told iTricks “was not a fair assessment at all.”
Christian was quoted in the story as saying Blaine was considered “a bit of a joke” among certain groups of magicians. His quote was used to suggest the magic industry feels betrayed by Blaine and his attention to stunts instead of magic. However, he told Justin Robert Young, of iTricks, earlier this week that he was taken completely out of context.
Today, Christian spoke at length with Magic Newswire about the story behind the story of the story. He also talks about the history of Ellusionist and more about David Blaine’s career.
Rough week for well-known magicians
October 1, 2008
Man, what a week for magicians.
First, David Blaine’s spectacular, super-secret finale to “Dive of Death” bombs because of technical glitches. Now, Criss Angel is getting pasted with awful reviews for “Believe,” his new collaboration with the Cirque du Soleil folks on stage in Las Vegas. Though magicians regularly like to debate the differences between Blaine and Angel, the two have a lot in common this week.
Blaine has been getting ripped by countless bloggers, talking heads, comedians and even a snitty Anderson Cooper. Pretty rough for a guy who actually apologized the morning after the big jump. Still, none of it compares with the indignity of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog pulling a Mary Jane Watson on Blaine.
But Blaine has had it relatively easy compared to Angel. You’ve probably already seen Doug Elfman’s review of audience members’ take on the show in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Elfman eschews the show and opts to interview audience members who were, at best, ruthless. An alleged PR rep for Angel told the magician’s side of the story to Perez Hilton. Other bloggers and columnists have made the people quoted in the Elfman story look like soccer moms (too many links for linking, sorry). Unfortunately, a review written by a columnist who actually saw the show doesn’t give much hope for it, either.
Lost in all this is the magic. Angel’s fourth season of Mindfreak is improved from previous seasons, in regards to actual magic being shown. Tickets for “Believe” are selling fairly well. And Blaine’s “Dive of Death” featured some of the best magic since, arguably, his first, groundbreaking special. If your friends and co-workers are dogging Blaine or Angel, don’t get disheartened. Blaine and Angel are larger than life, because of their ambitious projects that don’t always pan out. That doesn’t mean you can’t still floor your friends with your ambitious card routine.
What’s that ticking sound on Ellusionist.com?
September 25, 2008
Must be… the countdown for the release of Daniel Garcia’s BentTouchSlink, Daniel available at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific) Tuesday, Sept. 30.
BentTouchSlink is a DVD featuring three effects by Daniel Garcia, who was one of David Blaine’s creative consultants for “David Blaine: Dive of Death.” Remember when Blaine took a dollar bill and moved the inks in a seal to the other side of the bill? Blaine committed Fraud, and Garcia is the genius who devised it. Garcia’s effects are among some of the most simple to perform and shocking to spectators. Check out the promo video and see for yourself.
It wouldn’t be an Ellusionist release without some killer promos, however: For the first three hours, every seventh order will include a FREE copy of Fraud and a FREE copy of Tricycle, the effect where a card prediction is made right on the box. This effect, by Garcia and Luke Dancy, is so killer that several Ellusionist gaff decks have incorporated the principle behind it.
Don’t miss your chance to stock up on some classic Garcia magic. Be there this Tuesday. Get ready to drop jaws and blow minds.
Blaine: Finale didn’t go as planned
September 25, 2008
Photo courtesy the Associated Press
The controversial, anticlimactic finale to “David Blaine: Dive of Death” was not supposed to be that way, said Blaine.
Magic Newswire posted an audio link of Blaine talking about the stunt this morning. According to the interview, Blaine was to jump and descend about five feet, then balloons were supposed to whisk him away after everything went dark. But President Bush’s address to the nation pushed the time schedule back, then winds picked up, complicating the stunt.
Blaine also addressed the controversy over his potty breaks on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” Said Blaine: “I think there was some confusion about why I was taking breaks. There’s no way to relieve yourself without putting everyone below you at risk.”
Here’s his appearance this morning on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” It’s not the best video quality or the complete interview; his interview starts around 5:18:
Dive of Death: Spectacular magic, controversial ending
September 24, 2008
Now that it’s over, here’s my take: This was a magic climax straight from the mind, or spirit, of Andy Kaufman. We are meant to be talking about this, because it is completely NOT what we were expecting. Hindsight shows that the poster gave us a clue. For those who didn’t see it: Blaine jumped from the top of his rig, floated down, then ascended up into the air and disappeared.
There’s some general disappointment from the users in the iTricks chat; Justin Robert Young suggests the bullet catch would have been a better ending. All the way around, it was an awesome special packed with incredible magic. Look at all the tricks he did below.
Here’s our running account of the street magic performances David Blaine does in “Dive of Death.” Keep checking back for more (latest tricks on top)…
- Interesting climax with the dive. He plummeted to the platform, then ascended into the air… and disappeared. This is going to be controversial for a while.
- Justin Robert Young rocks the Iron Man mask. Only Downey does it better.
- One word for the bullet catch: WOW. Two more: Slow motion.
- Here’s a shout out to those following on the iTricks live chat.
- Blaine did the matchbook trick again (see below) for a New Orleans Saints fan (WHODAT?!) living in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. He then changed five $1 bills into $100s with just a twist of the bills. He then passed them out. An outstanding, charitable Extreme Burn. The bullet catch is coming up…
- Blaine took a signed, borrowed dollar bill, then moved a seal from one side of the bill to the other. John Mayer didn’t have anything to say this time… he was gobsmacked. Blaine just committed Fraud.
- Blaine had Serena Williams choose a favorite card and hold on to it. Her mother then chose a card at random. Written on Serena’s card was a prediction of what card her mother would take.
- Blaine took a borrowed quarter, then stretched it like it was Silly Putty.
- This one wasn’t magic, but impressive as all getout: He took not one, but two shots in the gut from mixed martial arts fighter Kimbo Slice. OUCH.
- Blaine had a woman choose a card sign it, then put it back in the deck. Blaine had another woman choose a different suit. He held the deck in his hand, which visibly melted away, leaving only the chosen suit and the signed card. He did the same effect for John Mayer, who said it was done with pulleys.
- Blaine had a man choose one card, sign it then hold it in his hands. Blaine had another man name a card at random, then light a match and burn it under the first card. The card changed to the second. The first card? It was the matchbook.
- Blaine did some classic card magic for the New York Giants, including an ambitious card routine. Most of what he did can be learned from Crash Course in Card Magic volumes 1 and 2. CC2 teaches the ambitious card routine — a classic in card magic — and several enhancements to it.
- Blaine had a spectator sign a quarter, then hold it in a closed fist. After everyone in the crowd touched her hand, the quarter bent. Check out a similar effect: The Superman Coin Bend.
- Blaine called for a butterfly, which appeared out of nowhere and landed on his finger.
- Blaine made a little piece of paper jump from his hand to a little girl’s hand.
- Blaine had a girl think of a card, cut the deck, then flip over half of it. The chosen named card was on the top of the flipped half.
- Blaine had actor Orlando Bloom choose a card from a pile of 10 cards while holding a pile of 10 more cards behind him. Bloom thought of a card from the original pile, which then appeared in the pile hiding behind his back. This effect is one of Blaine’s favorites. It’s called Strange Travelers.
- Blaine set up four cellphones circling a plate. He had the owners of the phones call the other phones, then put a quarter on the plate. The quarter started dancing, shaking and vibrating.
- Blaine took a signed dollar bill, ripped an end off and ate it. Then, he blew on the ripped dollar bill and restored the eaten part — on the wrong end.
- Blaine had a man drain a glass bottle. Blaine took the cap, slapped it on the bottom of the bottle… and the cap jumped inside the bottle. He then had another spectator hold his hands near the bottom of the bottle, which drops off by itself. If you liked this effect, check out Bullet and Factory Sealed.
- Blaine had a man take a cell phone picture of another man, then struck an outstretched dollar bill with the phone. The second man’s face appeared on the bill, in place of Washington’s face.
- Blaine had random spectators call out random numbers. He then pulled out a lottery ticket with each of the chosen numbers.
- Blaine had a spectator choose and sign a card. Another man shuffled the deck. Blaine sprang the cards out, then threw a dart. The selected card was on the dart.
- Blaine drew three Xs in a triangle on a man’s hand, then placed a quarter between all three. One by one, he wiped the Xs off, then picked up the quarter… all three Xs were underneath.
Blaine attracts turnout, heckling puppet
September 24, 2008
Kevin Reylek, of the New York Magic Project, has posted an updated timeline of day three of Blaine’s “Dive of Death.” The hours covered in the timeline are from 1 to 6:30 a.m. EST. According to his report, the stunt has attracted a crowd, including many magicians and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. We’re pretty sure there is no way the dog can get enough altitude for Blaine to be something to poop on.
Other events include rigging Blaine into an L shape so he can catch a little bit of sleep and the construction of a pool-type setup underneath him.
Presidential speech to delay beginning of special
September 24, 2008
“David Blaine: Dive of Death” will be delayed by about 15 minutes to make room for a presidential address.
President Bush will address the nation tonight at 9 p.m. EST on the United States’ major news channels. He will speak about the nation’s recent economic woes and a recently-proposed $700 billion bailout for several of the nation’s finanacial institutions. It is his first nationwide address in more than a year, and is expected to be his last, according to the Associated Press.
“Dive of Death,” which was scheduled to air at the same time, will be delayed by 15 minutes, reports The Magic Newswire. While you’re there, check out the site’s final interview with Blaine, where he addresses recent allegations of cheating and how he’s holding up.
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