There is one thing we can say for Criss Angel, he never does thing halfway. Many a magi have performed levitations but only one did it on top of a Las Vegas Casino. Criss Angel is taking the same philosophy to the web and broadcast world.
The illusionist leaked word of the August 2011 launch of MagicPlace.com to Robin Leach. Robin, in turn, shared the news with about a few million readers of his Luxe Life column in the Las Vegas blog, VegasDeluxe.com. Criss Angel told the cigar-chomping reporter of all things rich, famous, and glittery the site will be a combination of a broadcast network, magic portal, magic store, and magician school and talent agency.
Criss Angel intends on having 14 magic shows produced and “aired” each week. He will handle the hosting duty for four and enlist additional talent for the remaining ten shows.
The Pierced One told Robin Leach, “It’s completely different from anything ever attempted before on or off the Internet. I’m insanely passionate about it. I believe it will ultimately revolutionize the way people experience everything magic. There’s nothing in the world like it.” Continue reading Criss Angel’s Plans for MagicPlace.Com Portal
Readers know we have a tough time watching underwater or underground escapes. The elements of earth and sea do not always cooperate with a performer: currents shift, burial plots cave in. Like a lion tamer, the escape artist can perform only if the adversary behaves or at least behaves predictably.
Michael Griffin will sink to the bottom of the strong-willed Ohio River at noon today.
A committee will bind him in shackles, chains, and more chains all locked to a 20 pound cinder block designed to pull him from the surface to the river bed where he will either escape or stay forever.
If you are in the Marietta, Ohio area, you can see the stunt at the Public dock located at the ends of Front and Post Streets by the Lafayette Hotel.
And speaking of the Lafayette Hotel, Michael is performing a full show tomorrow (Saturday) night at 8:00 pm. He hopes the escape will give an enticing taste of what will be served in full courses tomorrow night.
But other than promoting his show, why would Michael Griffin risk his life?
As a special sneak preview for his show Saturday night 8:00PM Oct 30 at the historic Lafayette Hotel http://www.thelafayettehotel.com.Why is Michael Griffin willing to challenge death by drowning handcuffed, shackled and weighted down?
We hear Michael wants to perform the escape to show people what a real escape artist does for a living. Once he sinks into the rapid current of the watery boundary between Ohio and West Virginia, his survival depends on his ability to stay calm and execute the escape. There are no camera angles, no re-takes, no stooges or hidden assistants with keys and spare canisters of air.
In short, Michael Griffin will perform a very real escape with very real risks before a very real audience. Not, he points out, some scene created for TV, “a Chris Angel style camera tricks and paid stooges.”
Should a pageant judge known for his public outbursts be allowed to pack heat to the Miss Universe finals?
The Miss Universe judge in question is magician Criss Angel. The heat he is packing is a firearm, not Jim Pace's iconic (and often knocked-off) Electric Hot Leads.
He has a license to carry. By the way, the cool way to talk about concealed weapons is to not provide the noun. So, one would say, "I have a permit to carry; you have a permit to carry; he,she,it have permits to carry."
We don't know what type of weapon Criss Angel carries. We also don't know why he carries. There were rumors a couple of years ago that because he was living at the Luxor whilst he worked on Believe! and his Mind Freak series, fans would have an opportunity to flock him.
We have always been against shooting flocking fans. In fact, Harper Lee confessed on an old Dick Cavett Show the original title of her Pulitzer Award winning novel was titled To Kill a Flocking Fan. Apparently because lead character Atticus Finch had a heavy southern drawl, there was concern this line could pose censorship issues.
Norm Clarke credits Richard Abowitz for bringing the issue to the fore. You can read the blog post that got it all started at www.goldplateddoor.com.
Robin Leach goes full bore with a virtual open house tour of Criss Angel’s new home in Nevada.
Nicknamed Serenity, Robin Leach describes it blithely as “inspired by an Old World Tuscan castle, Criss Angel’s extraordinary 22,000-square-foot home is a breathtaking 2 1/2-acre mountaintop paradise with spectacular views of the mountains and the entire Las Vegas Strip.”
How nice is it?
Well, The Association of Pool and Spa professionals named his 22,000 square-foot pool and spa as one of the “Top Five Most Beautiful Residential Pools in America, and it won the Gold International Award.”
Robin Leach reports that Mindfreak star Criss Angel will attempt “the most dangerous stunt of his career this weekend.”
The magician intends the underwater escape as a tribute to Houdini and in true Houdini fashion his publicist describes just two potential outcomes. ”In If he fails to escape from the chilly waters of the Colorado River at the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, he will drown!”
Criss Angel will be adorned in chains, shackles, and handcuffs before being wrapped in rope and dropped into the freezing river beneath the London Bridge at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. ”Once submerged, he has only two choices: Escape or drown.”
Robin Leach tells readers “Criss has told me several times of Houdini being his inspiration, and this stunt re-creates one that Houdini mastered in England.”
Robin Leach also reports that Criss Angel “has been named Magician of the Year five times and most recently Magician of the Century.” Criss Angel’s web site mentions he was named Magician of the Year five times in a row but does not tell readers the group bestowing this honor. According to some on SAM Talk (Society of American Magicians ListServe) the honor came from the International Magicians Society and in 2005 the Academy of Magical Arts proclaimed him Magician of the Year as well. We could not find a citation for the Magician of the Century, however.
If he was named Magician of the Century for the current century, 2000 through 2010, the honor seems a bit premature.
On the other hand, if Criss Angel was the Magician of the Century for 1900 through 2000, it means he beat out such lesser magic names such as Thurston, Harry Blackstone and Harry Blackstone, Jr. , Harry Kellar, P.T. Selbit, David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Lance Burton, Penn & Teller, Kreskin, Chung Ling Soo, Ching Ling Foo, Siegfried & Roy, Mark Wilson, Walter Blaney, Bev Bergeron, Dai Vernon, Ace Gorham, Jay Marshall, Paul Daniels, Jade, Wayne Dobson, Mark Kalin and Jinger, Li’l Tom Hardy, Melinda Saxe, Orson Welles, P.C. Sorkar and P.C. Sorkar, Jr., Derren Brown, Becky Blaney, Theo Anneman, and of course the object of Criss Angel’s homage, Harry Houdini.
The Houdini escape episode will air as a one-hour special when the new season premieres in July.
Of course, if you don’t mention Criss Angel Mind Freak, you can get a room with two queen beds or one king for five dollars less than the MindFreak discount; at least that’s what we found on the Travel Lodge site today (Saturday May 8th).
There is one thing we can say for Criss Angel, he never does thing halfway. Many a magi have performed levitations but only one did it on top of a Las Vegas Casino. Criss Angel is taking the same philosophy to the web and broadcast world.
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