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Has anyone ever seen this before? Is this trick for sale?
It looks impossible to me to do this without stooges.... But who knows..
Any ideas?

Impressive stuff!

very impressive.

I think I would be less apt to think that he used stooges if it wasn't him. But who knows? Could be all sorts of things! It is a very cool effect indeed. And Ill try not to ruin it by trying to suss it out!

Why does it look impossible to do without stooges?

If this was an effect shown on a Copperfield special, would you even entertain such a notion? If it was a coin and Kems was showing it on this forum, would you claim he had a stooge hand him the quarter and soda can?

Do a bit of thinking, for crying out loud. Instead of jumping to the default (and in this case, COMPLETELY WRONG) conclusion, try thinking outside the box a little bit.

A great effect, don't know what else to say. Doesn't really matter if the people are stooges or not because it's all an illusion anyway. The only thing I don't get is the way the bottle broke at the end. The thing is... it's very very hard to break a 0,5 L bottle (if that's the case and I think it is). Just try it yourself and you'll see. They are designed to stay in one piece even when they fall to the ground.

Obviously I wont expose the trick but it did use stooges. It can also be done without stooges but it was probably safer and easier for Criss to use them as the stoogeless version would not be very easy to pull off. However it is still a VERY impressive trick. I love it

Demitri wrote:Why does it look impossible to do without stooges?

If this was an effect shown on a Copperfield special, would you even entertain such a notion? If it was a coin and Kems was showing it on this forum, would you claim he had a stooge hand him the quarter and soda can?

Do a bit of thinking, for crying out loud. Instead of jumping to the default (and in this case, COMPLETELY WRONG) conclusion, try thinking outside the box a little bit.

I think its just that a lot of the reactions in mindfreak are a bit over the top. Dont get me wrong, if I saw some of the tricks in person i'd probably be shocked but most of the stooges he uses like to overact. No idea if he asks them to or not but eh.

For the love of God - this effect did not use stooges.

Seriously, bizkit - I've been nice up until now, but this c*** (not the best) is getting really old. You've said yourself that you're a relative newcomer to magic, yet you draw these conclusions as if you simply know all there is about the art of illusion. Your comments lead me to believe that you THINK you know how this effect is done - however, that you've simply decided a stooge was employed, it only makes me believe you don't know how it was done, you're just guessing and you came to the easiest conclusion.

If you're so sure that a stooge was used, please pm me with your conclusion.

Just because YOU couldn't pull it off in this situation, doesn't mean others will have the same problem. Stop coming onto these threads and claiming to know how these effects are done, when it is becoming more and more clear that you don't.


I never thought I'd have to ask this - but your overacting comment makes me wonder. Do you know the difference between stooge and spectator? 95% of the people on these shows (and every other one) overact BECAUSE THEY'RE ON A DAMN TV SHOW!!! They're mugging - not stooges. Oh, Mylanta... indulgent and sometimes unecessary reactions to a trick doesn't mean you're on the payroll!

Demitri wrote:indulgent and sometimes unecessary reactions to a trick doesn't mean you're on the payroll!

True...but dont you find the sometimes things are too "convenient" for Criss? A lady walking around with a spoon in her purse...a lady with a tent sized sheet sitting by the pool...Watching his illusions many times kind of makes it hard not to wonder how come things are always so convenient for him which leads many people to think that everytime the spectators are stooges. However, I'm not saying that every spectator at every illusion is a stooge...i just think Criss himself is in a way to blame because of the nature he performs in, kind of lets people in on things.

No, I don't find it convenient - I find that at certain times Criss Angel, like any other professional, sets things up before hand. Have you ever stacked a deck or added a duplicate card to the deck under the table? I'll bet you have. Have you palmed a coin while pretending to look for a marker? I bet you might have. You're PREPARING THE SITUATION to perform a piece of magic. When you take the semantics and rhetoric out of the equation - this is no different than any other magician.

I agree that stooges have been used in for certain effects (the hallway illusion) - but in this case there isn't one.

The situation can certainly be controlled at times - but that doesn't mean stooge - it just means pre-show preparation. It's exactly the same thing a stage magician would do - this just lends to the illusion that it's all on the spot. We all know that not all of it is impromptu (I do not want to rehash this argument again, so don't try it), but certain elements are done to make it seem like it is.

For instance - Penn and Teller set 52 different "predictions" around a section of beach, and then proceeded to perform a card trick and point them to the area that had their selection. This is exactly what Criss Angel does - he sets up a situation to perform a magical effect that seems like it's off the cuff. Those "in the know" can see through that part - but it doesn't give you the right to jump on and claim that the whole thing is rigged.

Malini was famous for doing things just like this. I've read he used to have coat check clerks plant items on spectators for Malini to "find" or "produce" days or even months later. It's not stooging to place a prop near a potential audience.

This is the problem people seem to have. If the effect doesn't seem like it can be impromptu, they immediately assume that everyone was paid to pretend they saw magic and tape it for a TV show. It's as if the entire concept of pre-show prep is thrown out the window, in lieu of a simple answer that was presented by someone else who was just blowing smoke.

Since this will no doubt continue - I would like proof of who the stooge is, and why. Show me proof and perhaps I'll listen.

Nice effect, nice reactions, nice nice nice.

Yeah, the only word I can think of is 'nice'.

Criss Angel is an entertainer. A nice one.

He earns his money by entertaining using magic. Nice!

I just watched that clip, and I was entertained. Nicely.

Do I care how it was done? Nah. I have a pretty good idea, and it doesn't involve stooges (controversially). And at the age of about 19 I did a similar effect with a Newcastle Brown Ale bottle and a wallet. No big deal. But it was nice.

So... why are people finding it necessary to rip this apart and question HOW, when what we seem to be failing to admit is that it's a good, solid, entertaining piece of magic.

Why do magicians or people who know a little about magic feel they have a right to openly rip performances apart? Not nice.

Personally, I don't care how he achieved this. I just like the cleanliness, the 'reality' and the reaction. Well done Criss. Nice.

I agree, who cares how it's done anyway? As for the overeactions, that's a must in every entertaining TV special that requires any kind of crowd reaction. It makes the effect even more incredible than it really is.

seige wrote:So... why are people finding it necessary to rip this apart and question HOW, when what we seem to be failing to admit is that it's a good, solid, entertaining piece of magic.

Why do magicians or people who know a little about magic feel they have a right to openly rip performances apart? Not nice.

Personally, I don't care how he achieved this. I just like the cleanliness, the 'reality' and the reaction. Well done Criss. Nice.

I know you werent personally directing these comments at me but I said I DID enjoy the effect and I think its a very effective trick just incase someone thinks I meant otherwise


Demitri: I'll pm you shortly.