Yesterday morning , I went to visit David Blaine in Wolman Rink. He was approximately 50 hours into his latest stunt, the Dive of Death.
The press releases from his own website and ABC had led me to believe that he would hang, upside-down and 60 feet from the
ground, for 60 hours.
When I arrived, he wasn't quite hanging, and he was closer to 60 inches from the ground.
After nearly 15 minutes he was finally hoisted back up above the rink. He dangled from his electromagnetic boots for nearly 45 seconds until he reached a platform where he stood, right-side-up, for at least another 10 minutes.
I am neither a David Blaine uber-fan nor a David Blaine hater. Ethics of television magic aside, his magic specials are enjoyable and his effects are innovative. He seems genuinely dedicated to advancing the art of the conjurer.
I don't hate his 'endurance art', as many magicians do. I loved
Drowned Alive. It was well planned, well executed, and aesthetically brilliant. Dive of Death wasn't.
I haven't seen the broadcast yet, and I'm sure it contains some great magic. Unfortunately, David Blaine all but insists that the public define and judge his specials not by the card tricks, but by the endurance stunt he chooses to attach to each one. In that light, I can already call Dive of Death a major disappointment.
The Music of Erich Zann is a short film based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft. Though conditions inside the abandoned Savoy Hotel made this a very challenging project (Sub-freezing temperatures; cramped quarters; enough dust to suffocate Cthulhu himself), I was thrilled with the opportunity to work in such a haunting location, with such a talented and dedicated group of filmmakers.
