talkmagic.co.uk

lately there havent been anything big in magic since david blaine street magic what you think ?

No offence mate, but I think you really need to qualify that with a proper introduction to show your interest in magic and so prove that you're not a troll

He's obviously never seen me in person... I'm pretty a pretty big "thing" in magic...

Craig Browning wrote::lol: He's obviously never seen me in person... I'm pretty a pretty big "thing" in magic...

They can put a man on the Moon, but they can't make a low-fat middle age spread.

ballersunit wrote:Lately, there hasn't been anything big in magic since David Blaine's street magic, what do you think?

Has anyone else heard of this Darren Brown fella?

i think the next big thing will be a mind-reading tortoise called Hector...

There's plenty of stunning magicians and mentalists all those inbetween we sadly dont get to see for various reasons...thats one of the biggest shames in magic i think...

i always try and treat myself to a book, effect or dvd everymonth by someone i've not heard of...just to see if they're worth hunting down...

I guess this post stirs up the interesting question of:

Who the heck in the 'magic fraternity' considered David Blaine as the 'next big thing'?

The thread-starter is obviously layperson—as I don't believe that anyone who has been a magician consider's Blaine as a 'next big thing'.

Frankly, I see magic(ians) like Dave Forrest, WizardPK and Danny Garcia as being 'big' in magic... but alas, I doubt whether ANYONE in the mainstream will hear about them...

(although, sad git as I may be, I DID catch a rather 'uncredited' glimpse of a certain James Brown on Jade's PA the other night! And for those of you wondering, I was in the living room with Mrs Seige, who was watching said programme... whilst at the time I was reading Dai Vernon's biography... I heard 'magician' and looked up. Mrs Seige will confirm this.
I WASN'T WATCHING JADE'S PA, HONEST!)

*seige feels he's REALLY let slip this time

I agree that Blaine isn't the most inovative of magicians. But he's put magic back on the map. He got out there and inspired a whole new generation of magicians. He's been very influential, just look at the number of 'Blaine clones' that there are out there. He's influenced many people both old and young in the same way that Paul Daniels did to me when I was a kid.

Lady of Mystery wrote:I agree that Blaine isn't the most inovative of magicians. But he's put magic back on the map. He got out there and inspired a whole new generation of magicians. He's been very influential, just look at the number of 'Blaine clones' that there are out there. He's influenced many people both old and young in the same way that Paul Daniels did to me when I was a kid.

Hmmm... like I said, to the LAYPERSON he's a BIG THING, but all I was trying to point out is that I've been 'inside' magic for donkeys, way before Blaine appeared, and to be honest, the only thing I initially thought was that it was nice to see more magic on telly.

As a magician, and as a layperson, the 'Next big thing' question surely has two totally different answers!

And by the way, Paul Daniels ROCKS!

I have to admit that when I read the words 'big thing', I took it to mean mainstream success. There are lots of great magicians out there who aren't enjoying mainstream success, and possibly never will. It's unfair, but it's true. As an analogy: I love underground punk music, and many of my favourite bands have never been heard on commercial radio. They're important to me, but I'd never refer to them as 'big', because they sell thousands of CDs rather than hundreds and play to small but fanatical audiences in small sweaty clubs.

I personally find David Blaine's stage and screen persona annoying, but I have to admit that I found his Street Magic show exciting, as it was the first time I'd seen magic performed in that context. I hadn't played with magic for some years at that point, and it got me hankering to pick it up again. But the real motivator for me was when my wonderful wife bought me the four-disc set of banachek's PSI series one birthday (sometimes I think she's a mindreader).

Anyway, that's beside the point...

David Blaine's is the most mainstream magician around today. And that makes him a 'big thing' in my book - even if he does annoy the hell out of me!

Blaine has a "stage personna"?

I didn't think he could do anything but pan handle and mumble...

I'll give Blaine his brownie points where they are due... His first special was a hit and woke up many in the magic world, proving that you don't need high end over-priced equipment such as we see in Vegas or the annual Copperfield special in order to mesmerize the public. But, from that point forward Blaine only proved that he was a cheap street hustler and general all around wierdo. He's more afraid of being around other magicians than Copperfield is (and that's saying a lot) but mainly due to the fact that without some of the creative editing he uses, he can't do magic... certainly something I'd want to aspire to be...

Criss Angel WAS a dynamo of sorts but has fizzled out as the result of the demands placed on him by the network and too, the fact that he tripped over his ego vs. the more humbled nature he was known for prior to his "success"... long story short, he's a falling star at this stage of the game unless he puts on the brakes and remembers what it was like to be poor and having to "work" for a living.... gets more human again.

Derren Brown probably has more staying power than most of these other guys but I don't foresee him reaching the status of Mega Celebrity such as we see with Copperfield, Burton or Siegfred & Roy... these are legends and like it or not, they are icons that will be revered for generations to come.

New on the horizon?

We are going to see a brief reprise of classical magic I believe; the manipulators like Jason Latimere (http://www.jasonlatimer.com) and Steve Dela (http://www.stevedela.co.uk). The general public being more interested in TALENT vs. B.S. and imbicils that like to insult people's intellect (which we have far too many of in today's movement). But, the real answer to this question isn't that we need to sit back, waiting to see what the next new big thing will be so we can pounce on it and ride a new wave (proving to the world that we are as fickle as "they" say, and have no sense of genuine focus); Rather, the answer is "When are YOU going to stand up and get counted as a trend setter and leader?" When are YOU going to become the next big example in magic?

The moral of the story is, It doesn't matter what's going on out there IF YOU just do the stuff that's you and hold to that discipline vs. chasing after the next big wave. When you can show consistency, focus, and the discipline that's required for doing a set act year after year... constantly striving towards perfection of that act... then it will be YOU that sets the standards everyone else will be following, admiring and getting excited about down the road.

i think Derren Brown is a little too scared to go "huge"...he says in his book he turned down a massive deal with the BBC earlier...

I caught a little of Criss Angel on that Ellen Degeneros Show last week, and i thought personally, he was a little lacking...fair enough he didnt get much time, but even so he seemed just a little "dry" character wise..but i've not seen enough to come to a proper conclusion though...i keep missing the repeats on E4...

Very true.

And it always strikes me that the 'next big thing' in any field of entertainment will generally catch the world unawares. You can look at current trends and try to project the way in which public tastes are going, but then something completely different will sneak in and overshadow everything.

It happens in movies, in music and in popular literature. If it didn't, the major media companies wouldn't make so many mistakes.

And from my point of view, I've never really thought of Derren Brown as being in the same game as Siegfried & Roy et al. Sure, he's a magical entertainer, but I think that's where the similarities end. It's a bit like comparing Nick Cave to Liberace. For me, Derren Brown's act is much more direct and personal, but unlike David Blaine and others, he makes no attempt to be all 'spooky and mystical'. He genuinely seems to be having fun with his act, and sees no need to 'glam it up'. I like Derren Brown's approach to magic a lot.

Okay. Another ramble over...

Pete

The next big thing in magic? The Amazing Jonathan will sweep the world by storm.

I think the next big thing in magic SHOULD be an "Old school vs. New school" realty-type show, where long-standing magicians (Ammar, Harris, Ortiz, McBride, Sankey, Burton, et al.) compete against newer, younger magicians (Oz Perlman, Daniel Garcia, Jay Noblezada, Eric James, Cyril Takayama, et al.) to come up with the best routines using a certain number of sleights, or coming up with a new routine for an old effect (Twisting the Aces).

Or just coming up with the best effect with a particular object (they walk into an auto parts store, and have to use only the objects in the store for the effect).

Well, if you're talking about pop culture, then the ones that come to mind are David Blaine, Criss Angel, and some others, but of course, they're not the best. There are a lot of magicians that can be considered "big"