Dive of Death - Clarification

Dec 4, 2007
1,074
2
www.thrallmind.com
I just saw Blaine on a show this morning, and apparently at the top of the wire he was attached to, there were balloons. So apparently he floated away on balloons.

Just figured with all the threads and speculation about it, this could put your mind at ease. Take it or leave it.

-ThrallMind
 
May 6, 2008
29
0
Holy Anti-climatic!

That was the dumbest stunt/trick/crap I have ever seen. At least he did some magic on this show. However most of the people he was fooling probably could have been entertained by dangling keys in their face and saying, "Look Shiny". It has gotten out of hand. What a sweet paycheck for David though.

P.S. Anyone else pissed seeing him toss all those split spades all over. No wonder they are 7 dollars a pack.
 
Jun 24, 2008
493
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Harrisonburg, VA
I was pissed at the dive of death. I had watched the show, slightly entertained awaiting this moment. Imagination going wild at what he could be doing and that's what it ends up being.... I turned off the tv and went to bed screw that.
 
Feb 1, 2008
32
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David Blaine is one of the greatest performers of magic ever. A lot of people got into magic because they saw his special 'Street Magic' back in 1996. You could say that he paved the way for the online magic community, everyone wanted to know how Blaine did this or that trick. So we have to support him when everyone else is bashing him for his latest stunt.
 
I think this is what david Blaine was thinking:
"You guys really think, i'm going to jump 44 feet in the air only to break every bone in my body.... no thanks, i'm going to just going to fly way like superman."
Anyway,
HOW'S DAVID BLAINE GETTING DOWN???
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
However most of the people he was fooling probably could have been entertained by dangling keys in their face and saying, "Look Shiny".

Translation: I've never gotten reactions like that before.

And people wonder why magicians get such a bad rap...

I have to say that it is good to know that he had something better in mind, and that wasn't all there was supposed to be. Alas, even the professionals mess up too.j

What Blaine needs right now is constructive criticism and support from the magic community. Same as he always did.

Unfortunately, it seems a certain percentage of the community have their heads too far up their own *sses to think of anyone but themselves. Same as it ever was.
 
Jan 11, 2008
216
0
New york
He did not break his legs and neck hitting that floor.
He did not get tangled in the lighting catwalk.
it ended fine for his body,and health.
 
David Blaine's explanation:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_en_tv/people_david_blaine;_ylt=AjrLe002MlstBdTIVCwVaUFxFb8C

David Blaine says he's unhappy with latest stunt

NEW YORK - Magician-daredevil David Blaine says he's unhappy with how he ended his latest stunt: hanging upside-down without a net high over Central Park for 60 hours.
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The 35-year-old endurance artist, who completed the stunt Wednesday night, expressed his disappointment in an appearance Thursday morning on "Live With Regis and Kelly."

"I had dreamed up the most amazing ending for a stunt ever," he said.

Blaine said his grand finale of diving from a platform 44 feet to the ground while attached to a harness didn't go according to plan. He was supposed to jump and, at 10 feet, be swept away by a bunch of helium-filled balloons.

Instead, he dangled awkwardly for a moment before disappearing in an ascent into the night sky.

Blaine said ABC, which aired the event in a two-hour special called "David Blaine: Dive of Death," had encouraged him not to dive because of high winds.

"I wasn't going to let everybody down, so I just jumped, and somehow the guys with the balloons made it work, and they pulled me slowly up and I went over into the park and they pulled me down," he said.

Blaine added: "I know that it didn't work right when all my friends called up and said, `Wait, what happened? I'm confused.'"

Did his head feel heavy with blood during his upside-down act?

"In the beginning it did," he said. "At the end of the first day I thought I wasn't going to make it. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I didn't want to disappoint everybody, so I kept pushing and going as hard as I could."
 
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May 6, 2008
29
0
Still lame though. It still would not have looked magical since the cables were so blatant and visible. It just would look like a helicopter or something was dragging him off. Hell, I'd have been more impressed if he would have jumped into a pool or something. For instance if there had been a breakaway in the floor and he'd canonballed through it to reveal a pool below. That at least would have an element of suspense.
To Neutino: No offense but when our classic magicians and most prominent figures start selling out to 2 hour specials filled with double lifts and disappointing climaxes, we no longer have to revere them. By placing himself in the spotlight he is asking to be judged. Now, he can still do some good card work and such but his best trick is selling himself and promo.(Which is the key to making a living at any art). AS for paving the way for online communities and the like, that is natural progression and now youtube is filled with 9 yr olds exposing secrets to millions which is neither profitable or good for magic.
TO Steerpike: Yes I have gotten great reactions. With sponge balls and color monte, no less. Amazing ones. If you do any tricks for enough people you get great reactions eventually. That is the beauty of tv. But look at how anti climactic the live stuff was.
 
Feb 1, 2008
32
0
To Neutino: No offense but when our classic magicians and most prominent figures start selling out to 2 hour specials filled with double lifts and disappointing climaxes, we no longer have to revere them. By placing himself in the spotlight he is asking to be judged. Now, he can still do some good card work and such but his best trick is selling himself and promo.(Which is the key to making a living at any art). AS for paving the way for online communities and the like, that is natural progression and now youtube is filled with 9 yr olds exposing secrets to millions which is neither profitable or good for magic.

All right, he must be judged. The question is then, was he or wasn't he well prepared for his stunt? If he was really well prepared and has put the time to make this stunt really work, then it must be some unexpected accidental factor (like the wind or the time limit or whatever) that ruined the stunt and things like that happen, it's live on TV, you cannot edit it. He must still get our support. IF, on the other hand, he was not well prepared, and such incident may have been avoided with more practice and preparation, then he must be criticized. I think however that which such live stunt many things can go wrong, it's difficult to foresee every little factor. Indeed he may be lucky that he did end it in one piece.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Hell, I'd have been more impressed if he would have jumped into a pool or something.

Or snapped his neck on impact. You know, whatever.

Am I the only one who didn't sleep through physics in high school? I don't care how you think you could set up the stunt. You're obviously in no position to tell a daredevil how to do his job.

Falling from 60 feet in the air into a breakaway floor is still going to be extraordinarily painful and possibly life-threatening. Then there's the issue of hitting the water. Even with the breakaway floor, the surface tension would still create a massive impact.

What you're suggesting Blaine do is suicidal. That's not an exaggeration. A stunt like that would result in being crippled at best, dead more likely.

No offense but when our classic magicians and most prominent figures start selling out to 2 hour specials filled with double lifts and disappointing climaxes, we no longer have to revere them.

Emphasis mine.

As if you needed the help, you just shot your credibility in the face with that one. I really hate the term sell out. Maybe one person in a thousand knows how to use it correctly. It's the default art snob attack.

By placing himself in the spotlight he is asking to be judged.

The judgment is worthless if it isn't competent.

TO Steerpike: Yes I have gotten great reactions. With sponge balls and color monte, no less. Amazing ones.

Then why did you feel the need to insult the audience, you sniveling child? Anyone who would degrade another performer's audience in the way you did shouldn't be a magician.

If you do any tricks for enough people you get great reactions eventually. That is the beauty of tv. But look at how anti climactic the live stuff was.

What point are you trying to make? That magic on TV is somehow less valid or something? Throw us a bone.
 
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Sep 24, 2008
48
0
it was because of mother nature....even if the President didnt take the time, the wind may have done the same thing, you can not predict the wind gust...
 
Feb 1, 2008
32
0
Yes, from his explanations I understand that because of time constraints he had to jump and end the stunt while on air, he didn't have the choice to wait for the wind to subside and do the stunt as it was planned. I think he knew before he jumped that the effect will not be as planned, but he had to jump any way.
 
Oct 31, 2007
57
0
35
Still lame though. It still would not have looked magical since the cables were so blatant and visible. It just would look like a helicopter or something was dragging him off. Hell, I'd have been more impressed if he would have jumped into a pool or something. For instance if there had been a breakaway in the floor and he'd canonballed through it to reveal a pool below. That at least would have an element of suspense.
To Neutino: No offense but when our classic magicians and most prominent figures start selling out to 2 hour specials filled with double lifts and disappointing climaxes, we no longer have to revere them. By placing himself in the spotlight he is asking to be judged. Now, he can still do some good card work and such but his best trick is selling himself and promo.(Which is the key to making a living at any art). AS for paving the way for online communities and the like, that is natural progression and now youtube is filled with 9 yr olds exposing secrets to millions which is neither profitable or good for magic.
TO Steerpike: Yes I have gotten great reactions. With sponge balls and color monte, no less. Amazing ones. If you do any tricks for enough people you get great reactions eventually. That is the beauty of tv. But look at how anti climactic the live stuff was.

Oh come on! Aren't you being a bit ridiculous here? So what? He messed up. We all have messed something up at some point and the really let our spectators down. But that doesn't mean anyone should be berated because they screwed up. It seems like you're just pissed cause it was David Blaine and it just so happened it didn't work out for him and since "he's a professional everything has to be perfect all the time." It doesn't work like that. I'm sure if any other average joe were doing a stunt like that and something went wrong you would probably just laugh and walk away not even caring. Why is this so different. This kind of stuff happens all the time... it just sucks that is was on national television, and that it was David Blaine. I'm sure he'll do something to make it up.
 
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