by jittrbug » Feb 12th, '06, 07:26
I have read all the opinions in this thread and can agree with any and all of them, to some extent. I've got no problem with saying "Hey, he (Criss) screwed that one up". But I also still applaud when I see a live performance and the magician accidently fumbles or flashes the secret. The difference here is that Criss is making big money for his show and I believe he could be doing a better job in some ways. Do I think he is not a competent magician?... of course not. He can conjure circles around most of us hacks. Do I think he should have caught his mistakes in post production and said "hey guys, we botched that one, let's not use it, or let's do it again"?... absolutely.
If it's a live performance, once it's botched, it's botched. You can't take it back. But when you are on tape, on international TV, and you are representing magic in general, you had better be "on", none of that sloppy stuff. When you DO screw up and you have the chance to "take it back", then do it. Then again, they may have been facing the issue of getting it "in the can" by the air date deadline. Maybe they didn't have time to do another take, or maybe the editor didn't see the exposure, maybe it was a budget issue, maybe it was laziness on somebody's part, or maybe they thought the public is too stupid to catch his mistakes. The problem is that the camera does not blink or look away (I could only WISH that I had that problem). But, in this day of Tivo, they HAVE to know that there are going to be certain people who are going to go over their stuff frame by frame. So I believe that they need to do their best to present the absolutely best product that they can, with that product being a great illusion that can't be exposed.
OR, maybe Criss is just being honest and saying "this is the way it happened, warts and all, take it for what it's worth, hope you enjoy it anyway". If that's the case, then kudos to him for being a straight up kind of guy.
Now, regarding Criss' presentation style, I don't have any problems with his persona. Every magician needs a character or some type of personality, and the brooding rocker magician is Criss'. He does it well. Not my cup of tea, but I still like to watch him.
What I DO have a problem with is some twerp figuring out how something is done because of some technical or lighting problem, then going online, exposing the snafu, and then blasting the performer as a charlatan. It's like the guy sitting next to you in the movie theater at the climax of a suspenseful film who leans over and says "I saw this one already, the butler did it with the candlestick in the library." You just want to kill them. One of the golden rules of being a magician is respect for your fellow performers. DO NOT badmouth other magicians, regardless of their skill level. It only drags down the art in general and makes you look stupid at best. I'm willing to bet that the guy who posted the "exposure" at the beginning of this thread couldn't do a decent DL or classic palm to save his life.
Criss has picked up the torch that David Blaine lit. Like them or not, they are shining a new light on magic, and from the ratings of those shows, the public is eating it up. Blaine is a household name on at least two continents and Criss is right behind. Even my 75 year old mother-in-law, who isn't the least bit interested in magic, knows who David Blaine is. This type of attention can only benefit everybody who loves the art. So let's see a little less bashing out there. If you are busy practicing like you should be, you wouldn't have time for running down other magicians.
.... and that's just my two cents.....