CRISS ANGEL STARTS BEST YEAR YET’ FOR MINDFREAK

November 5th, 2007

Mindfreak magician Criss Angel, who has already stunned TV audiences around the world with his incredible illusions, has just begun filming his fourth season of A&E cable shows. “It will be the best year yet,” Criss told me. “I’m so far advanced than when we started four years ago. We are able to do things now even I never thought possible at the beginning. I’m surprising myself about what we can achieve today compared with how we set out on our journey. It’s truly incredible, and if fans and viewers were amazed and mindfreaked last season just wait till we are broadcasting the new season of episodes. It is absolutely extraordinary.”

Criss, who has just returned from a near-medically mandated three-week R&R total chill-out vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, has set up his Vegas HQ again at the Luxor resort-hotel. In addition to the production offices at the casino playground he’s also opened his own video editing and recording studios this year downtown.

“This is now the first year we’ll be able to do everything here in Vegas without wasting hours and hours commuting back and forth to Los Angeles. With all we have scheduled before we move into the new Luxor theater mid-April for the start of the new Cirque show rehearsals, we just had to base everything in Vegas,” he told me.

The star is hoping his new state-of-the-art studio facility will attract other TV shows and productions to Vegas. In addition, he has finalized negotiations with a major Vegas-based entertainment conglomerate for yet another project. I’ve been sworn to total secrecy about all the details until we get closer to next year’s official announcement. Somehow Criss has to finish not only the 22-episodes of Season four Mindfreak and two connected specials, but he’s set to shoot the Mandrake the Magician movie–all before the April 14 Cirque start. Present plans call for Criss to begin his multi-million dollar 10-year contract with the new Cirque du Soleil magic spectacular with four to five months of rehearsals, advance planning and iron out the wrinkles before August ’08 previews and a gala September premiere. Insiders with the ambitious first-ever solo star Cirque show have revealed the launch and pre-production budget alone is way over $100-million!

“It’s amazing what we are planning,” said Criss. “It will be the most spectacular and incredible show ever presented on the Strip. It will be unlike anything the world has ever seen or imagined. It will be years before anybody could come close to competing with what we are creating.”

Criss wouldn’t reveal any advance secrets of the sensational spectacle he’s planning, but he did let me in on one of the first mind-blowing stunts he’s already shot this first week of Mindfreak filming that will be included in the premiere weeks of the TV series starting next Spring.

“You will see me being mowed down by a 100 mph car–and at the split second of impact I’ll vanish and be found behind the wheel driving it,” he confided. “That’s something I wouldn’t have imagined us pulling off four years ago. We’ve come so far with the illusions now that, not only will this be our biggest and best year so far, but I’m even blowing myself away with what we’re now able to do.”

Criss is currently tangling with contestants on the supernatural show Phenomenon on NBC-TV and he almost came to blows with mentalist James Callahan, with bodyguards having to separate them, after Criss called the act “bogus.” When we chatted, Criss was reluctant to talk about fellow magician David Copperfield’s ongoing current legal situation relating to an FBI investigation arising from rape allegations by an un-named Seattle woman at his Exuma Islands retreat in the Bahamas.

He did admit the two are rivals who don’t particularly care for each others’ magic styles. “My TV-ratings are fantastic and my shows and illusions are unique and totally different, so I’m on top of the world. I just did an hour with Larry King on CNN,” said Criss, “and he also asked about the problems. It’s just sad that he hasn’t been charged with anything and already the newspapers have made him guilty.”