9 Comments
Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Matthew Burke/APWI
Criss Angel.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 | 12:46 a.m.
Audio Clip
- Criss Angel, Mary Wilson and Jeff Timmons
-
You need to upgrade your Flash Player
Criss Angel at the 2011 NHL Awards at The Pearl in the Palms on June 22, 2011.
2010 Miss USA Rima Fakih and Criss Angel at Ghostbar at the Palms on June 19, 2011.
No matter the day, Criss Angel probably slept no more than four hours last night.
“I’m a workaholic. I work and work and work,” Angel said Wednesday afternoon during a segment recorded for the latest episode of “Kats With the Dish,” which aired at 6 p.m. Friday on KUNV 91.5-FM (the show is linked in this blog).
When asked by co-host Tricia McCrone if it’s true that he’s dating 2010 Miss USA Rima Fakih (the two were spotted at Ghostbar the night of the most recent Miss USA Pageant), Angel said, “We’re friends … but, honestly, no. I’m married to my work. I’m so busy. I’ve got so many projects going on.”
Angel is about to launch the Web site MagicPlace.Com, for which he is recording a series of shows called “Magic Jam,” focusing on magic and celebrities who are interested in the craft. Siegfried & Roy, Lance Burton and Ke$ha are those who have been interviewed so far. To fill the 14-shows-per-week schedule, Angel and a camera crew are recording nearly his every move, including the recording of the radio show, which also was being recorded by a crew from Vegas TV (KTUD), as there are plans to put the radio show on Vegas TV.
So the session was a little cluttered for all the technology, but Angel was comfortable and forthcoming in the 30-minute session.
Most interesting, he disclosed that he is in talks with Cirque du Soleil about a new production. Angel said he’s been in talks this month with Cirque President Daniel Lamarre. Lamarre was in Las Vegas for the fifth anniversary of “Love” at the Mirage.
“I have another show, a touring show, that they are very, very interested in me writing and directing and putting out,” Angel said. “We haven’t signed any deals yet for it … but it’s a multiple amount of magicians and different specialty things.”
Angel said the discussion served as vindication for his creative aptitude after “Believe” at the Luxor, his original partnership with Cirque, was hit with rough reviews until Angel and Cirque agreed to allow Angel to turn the show into his own magical vision. Shed were most of the Cirque acrobatic and dance elements, staging and storyline.
“So for all the people who are naysayers out there, if (“Believe”), my abilities and talents were not there in full force, (Cirque) would never be in discussions with me about another project,” he said. “I’m very excited about it because it shows that as a creator and a director, I can stand on my own two legs.”
More highlights from the sit-down with the man who brought the TV show “Mindfreak” to A&E:
On the creative split between he and Cirque that made the revamped “Believe” possible: It’s a brand new show now. (When it opened) people wanted to see “Mindfreak,” they wanted to see what was performed on TV onstage. It’s like seeing an actor in a movie, you want to see him play the same part in every movie that he does. This was an opportunity to try something that was very unique, and really combining these two very different styles that, unfortunately, didn’t pan out in the way we had liked.
But even with all the bashing, even with all the negativity, I would never have changed it, and I’ll tell you why, for two simple reasons: It gave me the opportunity to try it, and it gave me the opportunity to evolve, develop and mature as an artist and as a human being. … Life is about the lessons you learn each and every day. I learned some tremendous lessons that will be with me for the rest of my life.
On decisions he’s made in the past that he would wish to undo: Probably the Perez Hilton incident (when Angel unleashed vulgarities at Hilton from the stage as Hilton tweeted barbed criticisms of Angel from his seat). I’ve never honestly met the man, and he might be the nicest guy in the world and this might be his mantra, his way of getting eyeballs to his Web site. But he was constantly bashing me and many other celebrities for a while … When he came to that show, I knew he was in the audience, and I was going to go out and meet him after the show, have a conversation with him and kind of try to befriend him.
But when everything went down during the show, which I thought was incredibly disrespectful, at the end of the show, I thought, let me give him a little taste of his own medicine. But what I realized is … I don’t want to stoop to all the trash and all the nonsense. … He wore my T-shirts, actually, at a premiere. But Perez, God bless you. If you’re listening, give me a call.
On his feelings for ex-girlfriend Holly Madison: It’s honestly such old news. Over two years ago, we dated for 10 or 12 weeks. I have taken the high road. I wish her only the best, even though sometimes she spews negativity, unfortunately, but she has to live with that, not me.
At the end of the day, I live my life, I do my thing, and she does her thing (“Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood and “Holly’s World” on E! Entertainment). You know, I helped set that situation up for her, and I’m happy that I did that for her. I only wish her the very, very best, but it’s old news, and, quite honestly, I’ve moved on a long time ago from that. … I don’t even spend a moment thinking about it. It’s so old, I’ve moved on from that mentally, physically and emotionally, a long time ago.
On a couple of promising future projects: There is big news in the coming weeks, hopefully, about my next TV project, which will be huge. ... It will be the biggest thing I have ever done in my television career. … We also just shot a clip with Keenan (Cahill, the teenage YouTube sensation whose lip-synced videos are an online sensation). He actually kills me in this clip. He starts out lip syncing, then discovers his passion is really magic. It’s going to be great, and millions of people are going to see it.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
Enjoyed the article, Mr. Katsilometes. Criss Angel seems to re-interpret how things happened.
I am actually sorry to hear there are plans for some kind of traveling carnival barker show. Criss Angel, in conjunction with Cirque du Soleil, is not only content in providing sub-par entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip, but now he intends to relieve unsuspecting residents of Albuquerque, Jackson Hole and Kukamonga of their hard earned money. It amazes me how much Cirque du Soleil stands behind him, believing the guy possesses talent, going even so far as to make up excuses every time he does something stupid and/or unprofessional on stage. Stuff that anyone else in Las Vegas would be flung out the door and fired for if it were someone else.
"'So for all the people who are naysayers out there, if ('Believe'), my abilities and talents were not there in full force, (Cirque) would never be in discussions with me about another project,' he said. 'I'm very excited about it because it shows that as a creator and a director, I can stand on my own two legs.'"
Not true. He simply signed a deal for ten years with Cirque du Soleil. And Cirque may not want to admit it, but they have decided to take out their poor business decision out on the paying public to recoup the millions of dollars they forked over for a below Las Vegas Strip standards magic show. Rather than let him go.
His statement conveniently overlooks the fact that Cirque du Soleil stands behind their cash cow here in Las Vegas simply because of the power of their marketing and advertising of him based on his television show, STILL making people believe they are seeing someone who actually possesses talent. Cirque doesn't want to let him go because of his abilities and talents"to make money"draw power. It's because of his draw power to bilk people out of money, getting them to fork over money to go in and see a show that has been consistently, over two years, proven to be below average. People see the ads and totally believe they are going to see the same as what he does on a television show. And it lacks and falls short. Cirque is just content with making him stand on stage to make money.
Customer reviews on various websites all prove this to be true. There are reviews by paying audience who consistently for two years state that show has left tourists screaming they not only want their money back, but their precious time. One reviewer on one site mentioned that if he were back in the 1860s as Charles Wilkes Booth in attendance at a theater with President Lincoln and BeLIEve was showing on stage, he would have automatically leaped down from the balcony, head for the stage, run over and fired at Criss Angel. A rather drastic review, but it reveals this show is that bad.
(Continued on next comment....)
"It's like seeing an actor in a movie, you want to see him play the same part in every movie that he does."
Criss Angel clearly appears full of himself. Although this statement proves this is how he makes money. You get to see him on stage. That's it though. The problem for tourists is that the whole show goes downhill when he opens his mouth and performs high school tricks on stage, tricks the advertising says are just like on his television show, but they clearly are revealed to be hokey to the naked eye and simply cannot be reproduced on stage because of his inability to use camera angles and tricks.
"On decisions he's made in the past that he would wish to undo: Probably the Perez Hilton incident (when Angel unleashed vulgarities at Hilton from the stage as Hilton tweeted barbed criticisms of Angel from his seat)."
It is very interesting how the character of this slime bucket is revealed by this statement. Criss Angel seems to be sorry mostly for what he said at Perez Hilton. But he conveniently overlooks the fact that what he did was totally childish. He did a meltdown on stage, berating and yelling at someone in a paying audience. Of course this is totally unprofessional, but in the above statement he overlooks the fact that he used profanity IN FRONT OF CHILDREN IN THE AUDIENCE. Guaranteed for any other show in Las Vegas, this would be immediate grounds for dismissal. But he works for Cirque du Soleil. It's different. His ability to make money for them had them come forward scrambling to make up excuses for his manufactured bad boy behavior he has to thrust forward all the time (which is a personae he furthers"mostly to hide his lack of talent).
It also should be pointed out this is the very first time this knucklehead has come out with any type of apology about anything at all regarding this Perez Hilton incident. As a reminder, it took him six months to apologize to Norm Clark for threatening to take out his eye and blind him from yet another incident at the MGM Grand.
(continued on next post....)
"Over two years ago, we dated for 10 or 12 weeks. I have taken the high road. I wish her only the best, even though sometimes she spews negativity, unfortunately, but she has to live with that, not me."
Criss Angel is yet again selective with his memory. He actually saw an opportunity and used Holly Madison during a time when his show had a "soft opening" (whatever the hell that means) and his reviews were tanking; people coming out of the show in horror at how bad it was. This admission came out of his own lips that he was using her to detract from the bad reviews of BeLIEve. She was with him at the grand opening and in the audience for his shows. She was a stage production for him. Eye candy.
It is now convenient when Criss Angel don't need her anymore and they have both moved on that he is basically going back and re-writing past history to suit his own stupid needs to market and re-brand himself.
The bottom line is that people really need to look at reviews of his show at the Luxor. Like on websites yelp and tripadvisor. Please check before paying for this guy's show. And that includes here in Las Vegas and if he travels around to a town near you.
All reviews I have seen are predominantly bad. REALLY bad. Don't go to it, tourists. You've been warned. It is guaranteed you will be wasting money. The man has no talent, no personality and he cannot re-produce any semblance of entertainment magic on stage. He proves it nightly at the Luxor.
Sorry, Mr. Katsilometes, for the long comment.
Can't get people to come to las vegas and spend money for this awful time sucker, they need to go on the road where it can be a one hit wonder.
Go in with tons of advertising, get the money, and move on quickly before the pitchforks come out.
CRISS HASN'T TALKED BAD ABOUT ANY1 IF ANYTHING HE HAS TOLD THE COLD HARD FACTS ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME 2 PEREZ HILTON WHO OBVIOUSLY IS A TALKING TROUBLE MAKER & INTERVIEWER I'VE WATCHED HIM ON BAD GIRLS CLUB TOO.CRISS DIDN'T EGG ANYTHING ON HE TRIED FREEING HIMSELF FROM THE WHOLE NEGATIVE VIBE,& HE WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF,& THE 1'S WHO WORKED HARD WITH HIM TO PUT THE SHOW ON.HAVE I SEEN THE SHOW BELIEVE?NO I HAVEN'T & YOU ARE RUINING IT FOR US 2 FORM OUR OWN OPINIONS OF IT.(IT'S LIKE WHEN A CHILD HAS THE 1ST TASTE OF A CERTAIN FOOD SUCH AS BROCCOLI & SEES THE OTHER KIDS REACTIONS TO IT.)YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE IT BUT SOMEONE ELSE WILL.CRISS IS A VERY HARD DEDICATED WORKER THEY ALL ARE.MOST OF YOU ARE JEALOUS B/C FROM THE AGE OF 6 HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS MEANT 2 DO WITH HIS LIFE & HAS SUCCEEDED BY IT.YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NICE THEN DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.WHEN YOU CAN DO WHAT HE CAN DO THEN YOU CAN TALK BAD ABOUT IT.
BTW I love Holly Madison she's so sweet,kind & caring.I believe she even visited me when I was in the hospital.
Check out Paul Carr's review of Criss Angel on the Huffington Post, hilarious and spot on.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-carr/...
OH MY GOD, MSLV!
For over two years now, I have been trying to tell people how incredibly stupid Criss Angel is. And an incredible rip off.
I am so glad you provided that Huffington Post article by Mr. Paul Carr.
He tells it like it is. He is not biased. He gives an incredible review of this show that is spot on and shows what a horse's behind Criss Angel actually is.
People, ESPECIALLY tourists who are first timers coming to Las Vegas, REALLY need to pay heed to that link you provided. They need to watch it and assess whether to pay to see that incredibly horrible show.
I have been saying time and time and time and time again that Criss Angel is a hack. And this is even BEFORE the crap show BeLIEve started. I am actually on record about how incredibly stupid this show is. Don't believe me? Check Mr. Richard Abowitz' previous columns for the LA Times where he had a blog (even further to his new blog). You'll see my comments there.
The truth of the matter is that Criss Angel started out with this incredible stupid bad boy image in Las Vegas during a Miss America Pageant, a show where afterwards he threatened to blind a revered entertainment reporter (Mr. Norm Clark) for asking a poignant question to him. A question he didn't like. A local Las Vegas entertainment reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal who already wears an eye patch because he has been blinded in one eye, and this idiot Criss Angel threatens to take out his other eye!
It's a long story, but it continues on and on and on and on. And the most remarkable thing about all this is...CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, as a company, stands FULLY behind this knucklehead! Why? Because they want to take out their 100 million dollar mistake on the unsuspecting public!
Paint me as someone who is fanatical all you want, but the truth of the matter cannot be overlooked. My comments on various blogs bear fruit to the validity of what I am saying.
And that is to state that Criss Angel is verified to be....crap. Of no entertainment value. Someone tourist should not pay money to see.
People need to pay attention to reviews.
DON'T go to this knucklehead's show. You will regret it. BeLIEve me. (Oops. Sorry for the stupid pun, but it's true.)
What's with all this positive ink on Criss Angel in the Katz Report as of late? Nearly 200 reviews from across the world on yelp and the show still pulls a dismal 2 stars. Are you snorting Criss Angle dust? All that good ink you dole out to Angel just makes you look bad. That show...even the revamped one...is an embarrassment....as is that glowing ink you shine on that charlatan. That show is such a coplete ripoff, I won't even buy Orville Redenbacher popcorn now that Angel is a spoksperson.