As per an interview with Rick Lax of Las Vegas Weekly…
The Internet tells me you used to be a magician. Have you seen any of our magic shows?
I’m a big Penn & Teller fan. But I myself was never very good; I was a teenage magician who performed at kids’ parties. I can still perform a vanish, credibly, and I still, in special circumstances, will make a balloon animal.
We know now This American Life does at least contain one credible vanish. And, no, a balloon animal isn’t magic.
We know it was a rumor.
We know that The Sun is not a reputable paper and has consistently misreported facts surrounding Derren Brown.
We know that Derren Brown is not going to attempt to turn a gay man straight and a straight man gay.
But what this post presupposes is… what if he did?
Let’s say this was a real announcement. Let’s say that Channel 4 confirmed it. Let’s say Derren Brown’s new special “Preference Optional” (working title) is set to transmit in 3 months time.
My initial reaction is that it would be a little too “on the nose”. These kind of issues come with politics that many time cannot be pleased. Beyond the fact that the scrutiny on the special would be beyond anything Brown has seen since the Russian Roulette stunt.
No one has a real stake in the fate of a man who believes zombies are attacking society. But there are PLENTY of people on all sides of the issue that want to know if Derren can REALLY adjust the sexual desires of a volunteer.
But then again, maybe that’s why it could work. The hype surrounding it could be bigger than anything he’s done. The rating would be monstrous. And in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about.
Fresh off their landmark work on blowing apart the Manti Te’o story, sports blog Deadspin decided to have a live chat with famous mentalist The Amazing Kreskin.
Only problem? They initially called the man a “magician” and not a “mentalist.” According to Deadspin, this lead to Kreskin getting angry with the blog’s editors and refusing to answer more than three of the 200 questions submitted.
Quote Deadspin:
No, really. That’s what his publicist told us. We changed the text of the post, per Kreskin’s demand, but he was apparently too upset to continue the chat.
I mean, who doesn’t know Kreskin is a mentalist?
A new study suggests that the Titanic sank because of an optical illusion creating a false horizon. This hid the massive ice berg which eventually created one of the most memorable disasters in modern history.
According to the new theory, Titanic was sailing from Gulf Stream waters into the frigid Labrador Current, where the air column was cooling from the bottom up, creating a thermal inversion with layers of cold air below layers of warmer air creating a superior mirage.
It could also offer a new explanation for another mystery, why a ship later condemned for refusing to help Titanic survivors did not react to distress calls. The Californian had previously come to stop along the outskirts of the fatal ice field and spotted a ship. However, due to the atmospheric conditions creating the visual illusion, this new theory states is possible the crew didn’t believe the incoming ship was the Titanic because it looked far smaller than an ocean liner.
It could have also affected visibility of the morse lamp.
Cinema Blend is reporting that David Copperfield, Criss Angel and film-shy late night host David Letterman might have cameos in the upcoming magic comedy Burt Wonderstone. It would not be the craziest rumor ever, we’ve seen the cast visit DC and CA’s shows over the last few weeks and the film apparently explores the “magic community” element of Vegas.
As for Letterman, who is notoriously critical of magic, this would be the first on-camera cameo for him since 1994’s Cabin Boy.
iTricks has also heard that there are few more names readers to this site might be excited about seeing on the big screen. We will have more on that as we get it.
UPDATE: We’ve received word from a source involved in the production confirming David Copperfield as having a cameo. They also told us that Criss Angel will not appear in the film.
We are getting word that Dirk Arthur’s Wild Magic show at O’Shea’s Casino will close on March 1st, 2012. We also hear that the theater itself will be torn down.
More on this as it develops…
We have heard from a reliable source with knowledge of the situation that Steve Wyrick’s return to Vegas after his drama-drenched bankruptcy-induced closing in December of 2009 will be called “Steve Wyrick: Ultra Magician”.
He will be in the main room of the Las Vegas Hilton.