I heard this rumour as well. The only problem is the box is not hanging over the Thames - it's actually quite a long way away from the water.

Graham

Just me,but,I'm not a big Blaine fan,but,I do hope whatever he does goes over well. Anything that has the potential of this effect (breaking records or something that has been secretly planned all along) could only bring good publicity. Not just for David,but magic in general. As I stated above, I'm not a big fan but, you have to respect what he does. He reaches people. How many times have you heard a layman say "I saw David Blaine do this thing on TV....". I've heard that more times than I can recall. Think about it. Serious(Lee)!! - Lee.

I think David Blaine is a genious. I mean, he doesn't perform more difficult tricks than any of us. However, he has become a millionare doing it while I continue to perform for friends in bars. I perform magic because the feeling I get is unexplainable in words when I get a good reaction from a spectator. However, if I could make tons of money doing it, that would be great. Blaine didn't do anything that any of us couldn't have done. He just did it first. I wish I had thought of it first.

One word: Ewwww.

No Kathryn. After weeks of no food, it's more like "Mmmmmm! can I have another please!"

He is NOT a genius by any stretch of the imagination. He has drive and has gone after success and publicity like there's no tomorrow, to the point where people are sick of seeing that constructed melancholic face of his.

Surely, a genius would be perceptive enough to understand the requirements of covertly portraying false characteristics. At least enough to gage the average person's perception, enough therefore, to resign to being himself or indeed, to do the job better and therefore stop looking as if he is in a permanently docile, about to cry, speaking as if he has just awoken from a major operation and to stop putting them cringeworth inserts into his specials where he walks along the street doing stupid walks.

You might think I am being harsh on the man, but I only echo what the majority of Britain think - he is false and transparent in his persona, he is a show-off obsessed with getting his name in the media, his endurance tests would be better received if he went up Everest, rather than using stage-like props which perpetuate the belief that he is simply an illusionist who is cheating.

David Blaine IS a marketing genius. And the proof: count up how many active posts there are on the Café about him, how many times does he appear in newspapers of the world?, how much money has he earned thru his career? It doesn't matter if you like him or hate him, he has done what many of us can't or won't. He has turned simple effects and stunts into millions of dollars. And as the saying goes any publicity is good publicity.

Spadone,

You do realize that a big part of performing magic is acting and misrepresenting the facts. Every time you do a sponge ball routine, you are lying to the spectator when you say "one ball in the hand, and one in the pocket". Blaine puts on an act and he does it well. You may not like his style, but the lay people love him. People (not magicians) actually believe that he is the devil and that he actually has magical powers.

What is wrong with shooting for success and publicity? Isn't that what any performer would want. Are you just jealous because he has done a better job at it than you have?

I totally agree, and the force behind his success is his own drive and commitment. I rarely contribute to threads on Blaine, however, I feel compelled to in that the vast majority of lay people currently do not feel the same way about him as many of you magicians.

My point is that the British people I have met do NOT think he is convincing. I loved his earlier specials, but something he has done since then has irritated the British public; that ‘something’ perhaps may reside in the reasons I give in my last post.

Where I am from, the opinion is overwhelming, that he is just an illusionist and that he comes across as pretentious. The beauty of close-up is that it really makes people ponder whether magic might be possible. He has wandered from this personal arena of magic and has done so in such an exaggerated form that people question him and analyse him.

My description of him and his act was perhaps a little sensational, but my point was to emphasise the doubt the public have in him. Stage magic today in this country is a subject of doubt and often humor i.e. Alan Partridge with his reference to levers in the Tony Le Mesmer sketch (for those of you who know Steve Coogan…). Blaine’s current work is often viewed in a similar way.

He does not seem as natural as he did - "I am doing it for my art" has been imitated with sarcasm many times in bars and pubs many times in the last month.

I think Blaine could have continued his mystique and fame with the close-up he became famed for without entering the world of endurance testing.

I liked his earlier contributions, but his most recent stunts have left me cold, as they have many people I meet. Obviously, there are those who he really appeals to and who he will continue to entertain, thus, increasing the longevity of his success, which is a positive thing.

The good thing about Blaine is that he brought magic back into modern times, made it fashionable again. I give him credit for that I’m just not into his new stuff and exaggerated persona.

I don't want to stereotype, but I think the British (my mom is British) are generally much more adverse to tooting their own horns in public. In the average Englishman's view, people who self-advertise are looked on as ill-mannered immodest attention seekers. Americans, however, tend to see that same person as someone with individual initiative and a good communicator. It really is a pretty basic cultural difference. I think this may be one reason why this stunt of Blaine's does not sit well with many Brits. Had he stuck to the low key close-up stuff while in Britain, ironically it may have gone over better than this 44 day up in the air stunt. Conversely, had he done this stunt in Times Square, I don't think he would have gotten the negative feedback he's gotten so far.

Moral: Know your audience.

Jack Shalom

Looks like he is going to make it...wondering what the next stunt will be?

Hi there,

Yes Landmark, you've hit the nail directly on the head. Know your audience! Blaine must have PR people and publicists and the like that simply did not do their homework. As you rightly pointed out, British people are much more reserved and cautious when a person claims that he is in some way "mystical", so it's not really a good way to go. David Blaine has become the laughing stock of the British media thanks to this "stunt". Chat show hosts frequently make comedic reference to him and he's now featued in a couple of quite funny TV advertisements for food products etc.

Blaine's attempt to conquer Britain couldn't have gone much worse. He made a complete fool of himself on TVAM with British presenter Eamon Holmes. He wouldn't answer any questions in the interview and just kept holding up his hand which had a little eye drawn on it mumbling something about "The eye sees everything!" in that voice which is SO completely phony. It is the most cringe worthy thing I have seen on television in YEARS! Talk about missing the mark! In an attempt to seem wierd and mysterious he ended up with most of the Nation going to work that morning and saying to their colleagues "Did you see that ignorant **** on TVAM this morning?"

I was in London a few weeks back and went down to see him, dangling there in his box. All the people around me where saying "What's he doing this for?" and What's the point of all this?" as well as few "Is THIS it?" I was sort of hoping he would end the stunt early because quite frankly nobody cares!

My advice to Mr Blaine's team: British people don't care for prima donna's with magical powers or celebrities who don't present themselves in a normal manner. Over here a magician is someone who can do tricks, nothing more. Before returning to the UK you might want to reconsider Mr Blaines "persona"!

In his early days I was impressed by him. His TV specials were brilliant! But now....I'm not so sure! What a shame.

Totally agree Dave.

I think with 20 20 hindsight you could see this coming !!!

David Blaine is an okay magician who focussed on one key area to make his reputation,close up street magic.It was relatively easy for him to do and he did it with great style.

Problem,limited material, ( some shows have the same trick repeated a number of times) and limited skills.where do you go when you've exhausted the tricks you can do and there is an insatiable appetite for more. Well unfortunately not many people do the sensible thing and take a hiatus and to be fair there are usually too many pressures and too much to lose in doing this. Ego is also a huge factor.

So its a case of carry on regardless and what can we do next. In my mind it was going to be escapology but I got that wrong, primarily because I didn't think anybody could make the mistake of partaking in these really naff stunts.But that's what he did, dig out some turn of the last century rubbish and try to sell that to the public as entertainment. Well I'm afraid the British are too cynical for that and I suspect it doesn't go down that well with the majority of Americans either.

Still what is really amusing is trying to guess what he'll do next. Surely he has to do one of Harry Houdini's dangerous escapes. Or the bullet catching stunt. These are probably tailor made for his persona and I am surprised he and his crew haven't thoght of them. Watch this space.

NB David I haven't seen you use a TT yet or do a Bill Switch, or coin to nest of boxes. Surely theres got to be an hours worth of show in there .

You know I hate to point this out, and I'm saying this with the greatest affection towards the British. . .BUT, the British were the ones that fell hook, line, and sinker for Uri Gellar several decades back. He was performing "turn of the century rubbish" too. I think publicity stunts, even the old ones, when well thought out, can be a very effective way for a magician to make a living. (This is all said with tongue firmly planted in cheek, we fell for Gellar too.)

Yes, he's doing old stuff. Yes, I think he's boring. Go to almost any board walk along the East Coast of the US and you'll find somebody doing that "rubbishy" straight jacket escape surrounded by a crowd of people. They love it. They are entertained. They fill hats with cash because of it. And it's been around for a long time. Yes, it's old, and a lot of us have seen it a million times, but it works.

I'm not a huge David Blaine fan, however, he knows how to get attention. I'm learning to appreciate that. Whether you like it or not his latest stunt is probably taking up more space in the Café right now than almost anything else. And crowds still gather in London. Some are jeering, some are cheering. Maybe he didn't take the audience reaction into account really, but we're all watching.

Just my very humble opinion.

Mark

Blaine is not a marketing genius. He's smart, and generates publicity. However, too many are saying: "What's the point?"

I think the real genius is Copperfield. He strategically picked the Statue to make his name. And the Great Wall to penetrate China market. Moreover, he looks more "normal" and more likeable.

Copperfield hasn't been in Newspaper headlines of the world for the last month.

Actually you're wrong about that. David Copperfield was in newspaper and tv media all over the USA last week because he participated and performed at the CBS at 75 special.

I said in papers of the world for a month.

Oops. Your correct. My mistake. However, that is only because Copperfield didn't do anything for a month. If he did, I'm sure he'd gain the same, if not more attention then Blaine.