He's not bringing in Cirque. They went after him. Which means he has something to offer them. Which I would agree on, since his stage act is quite nice.

My daughter says that he is just an advisor for something that will be done in there act and he will not even be doing anything.

Why would they take out a multi-million dollar insurance policy on him, then? He's definitely performing...

I am glad Jay Sankey ditched him as he said on the Cafe. He could tell Criss was very arrogant and not a "team player."

Everyone that's not a "Criss & E" fanboy can see that.

Are you referring to Criss Angel being the advisor? The show is apparently a Cirque du Soleil show "featuring" Criss Angel. His involvement may indeed be limited. I would not be surprised.

My sentiments exactly, very well summarized. I also agree with what fallingblood said about Criss simply being unlikeable.

i may be a newb, but didn't the lambo vanish use mirrors?

Mirrors are fine, so long as you can reproduce the effect in front of a live audience. The Lambo vanish had to be done at a certain angle, hence the low camera angle.

I don't understand when it became acceptable in our community to use camera edits or trickery to perform magic. It may be since camcorders are pretty cheap, and anyone can post a video on youtube.

My problem with camera editing is, it's Like standing on a stage, putting a girl in a cage, then after covering the cage with the cloth....telling everyone in the audience to close their eyes, while you take the girl out of the cage, and replace her with a live tiger.

Where do you draw the line? and who draws the line?

Let's say i am doing an ambitious card routine on youtube, and after placing the signed selected card I cut, then take the card out of the middle of the pack, then i place it on top... then turn the camera on, to reveal the card, and the " totally innocent spec" that signed my card looks all amazed. Is that what magic is coming to?

I could of course just learn how to do a decent DL, some misdirection, put some energy into some convincing patter, and performance... but...why should i bother when i can just use camera tricks?

Why bother learning sleights at all, when i can just get a camcorder and edit away?

Some say I am jealous because he is rich and popular and can do things i cannot figure out. Ok let's see..Juan Tamariz is talented and Popular and does things I cannot figure out... and yet I love him. Ask anyone here if Juan Tamariz uses camera tricks... why doesn't he? If he did, then he wasted most of his life, since he devoted a LONG time to getting those skills. Plus, he does not need to use camera tricks to amaze.

Lance Burton. His dove productions, with scarves and candles has to be one of the most beautiful effects I have ever seen.. I do not hate him. Does he use camera tricks? Why not? because he does not need to.

I guess you get the point. Then there is Criss Angel. It seems to me that if the masters above can become successful without using camera tricks, why does he deserve a free ride? And if they can amaze, and confound, and entertain, without usding camera tricks, why does Criss Angel use camera tricks? maybe because Unlike Tamariz, and Burton he needs them? And I do not like Criss Angel, maybe because he needs to use camera tricks to appear to be a good magician?

Oh before I forget another magician that never needed to use a single camera trick... Bobby Wonder. He could amaze, he could confound and entertain, with zero camera tricks, more skill than i will ever possess and yet, when i see his performances I leave smiling.

Camera tricks are a short cut. They cheapen the art. They allow many to pass themselves off as magicians that truly aren't. They are a spit in the eye of Tamariz, Burton, and Wonder, and those of us, that do not want Camra edits to be a part of our art.

If Tamariz, Burton and Wonder can become Good magicians without Camera tricks, so can Criss Angel, if he cannot then he either lacks talent, skill, the perseverance to practice until he actually becomes good, the patience to put hard work into it...or is just plain lazy. And yes, he does make it harder for the rest of us, by raising the expectations of everyone else that sees us perform. I just do not think camera editing or cuts, or trickery have any role in our art. They cheapen it, by giving people access to shortcuts.

I have always said that here as well, why would anyone be jealous of some hack who obviously has no discernible close-up skill to speak of? As I have also always said, any bum off the street can be brought in and use cut-shots and stooges. Criss' so-called magic was even worse without the cut-shots, especially when you could hear someone dragging the manhole lid back into place. This idiot can't even edit correctly.

Personally, as I also already stated a million times; I have no intention of being famous...only to continue making a great living through magic, and having a decent private life. But there are a lot better performers to idolize if any of that interested me as stated above.

Because he's rich and famous and kids all over the world idolise him.

He was the first one to think of using camera trickery for a living, so he must have some creativity.

Do you honestly believe Crissy Angel had enough creativity to come up with the Camera Tricks and Army of stooges on his own? Criss is a moron. Any creativity for his little cable show came from the production staff and magic advisors.

I for one am not jealous of this untalented, egotistical hack. Who cares if he’s rich? I certainly don’t care. And as for the kids that idolize him; those so-called “Loyal” are a bunch of freakishly creepy sheep that will hopefully grow up and realize their blunder.

Reminds me of the space monkeys in "Fight Club" for some reason.

All I want is to entertain. I want to leave people with a smile on their face. My defenition of true magic is stuff you can do in front of unpaid stooges ... live. The way Copperfield does. Or Burton. etc...

There is more to magic than just " baffling" TV audiences. If this is all Criss thinks of magic, he is doing us all a disservice. Magic is about Theater, about entertaining, about performing. Sorry, Criss "walking on water" is not entertaining, his " levitation" from building to building is laughable, he doesn't even hire GOOD actors... those stooges sucked at acting...totally not credible. His pulling a woman in half has no logic... the " innocent Bystander" he pulled in half just runs off on her hands?? that gave away the fact that she was one of those people that was born without legs... you have any idea how strong you need to be to do that? And she just happened to be strong enough to run off on her hands?? Like that is the first thing someone would do who just had their legs pulled..( pardon the pun)...

No... not jealous of some hack. I do not want legions of brainless space monkeys worshiping me, or defending me.

Lastly Criss is not the first magician to use camera tricks to " entertain". In the beginning of the movie industry this was done.. Using camera edits to simulate magic is not new. So no he is not creative, if anything he is using something that has been around for a hundred years.

Lastly, and the main reason Criss pisses me off... Every magician that has appeared on Television since Mark Wilson has worked very hard to put magic on TV with the promise that what you see is what the audience sees. They gained a Public trust. They made Copperfield and Burton possible, who continued to gain the public trust in turn.

Criss is endangering that trust since the moment it gets out into the general public that he uses stooges and camera tricks they will NOT react as lackadaisically. Sponsors pay magicians to put magic on television. Why would anyone watch a TV magic show if they knew it was all " camera tricks and paid stooges"? " Oh that show was easy, all camera tricks... all the audience members were paid stooges..it's Criss Angel, but with more actors."

People pay to watch it in person. But if they thought it was all camera tricks and paid stooges why would they? All of this in danger cause of some goofball?

Yea some of the Loyal (which by the way i'm not) are pretty over the top.
But I don't really believe everything I hear....as many times as i've been lied to....so when I hear people on here saying they have proof that he does camera tricks i'm not really convinced.
Also for pretty much any Criss Angel illusion i've come up with a logical explanation. I don't know if that's how he does it but all I know is i've come up with methods for stuff he does.
Some requireing quite alot of money but as far as i know Criss seems to have alot of that.
I don't really know though and really no one knows...except him. He may be a cheater and use camera tricks and be laughing at all his "Loyal's" for buying into his [edited]. BUT he may also be actually doing tricks that MAYBE CAN be performed live and be mad at everyone for accusing him of camera trickery.
I really can't say because I DON'T KNOW.