There are still six new episodes left in the third season of Criss Angel’s Mindfreak, the magical A&E show that’s unlike anything else on TV. Though this is obviously one of those series that falls decidedly more into the “Entertainment” category of “Arts & Entertainment,” it has been one of the more successful for the network. And for good reason: Criss Angel performs tricks that even rationale can’t seem to explain. In past seasons of the show, Criss has been run over by a car, blown up inside a box with explosive, and electrocuted. What could be possibly do in his new season to top the crazy tricks he’s already performed in the past? This is the same man, mind you, that levitated from rooftop to rooftop in glittering Las Vegas, right in the middle of broad daylight. Yet, Criss Angel promises the best is still yet to come.

More celebrity guests, street performances, and stunning magical sites are lined up for the remaining episodes of Mindfreak, not to mention peeks at how a master trickster like Angel pulls off his magical feats. For this new season, Angel has moved to the fabulous Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, and several of his tricks have largely involved the famed casino. Among other tricks, Criss plans to pay a tribute to Houdini and make a Lanborghini disappear to amazed live and television audiences this season.

The next new episode of Mindfreak airs Tuesday, June 19 at 10:00pm ET. In “Motorhead,” Criss Angel will turn a Bentley into a Lamborghini, then make himself and car vanish while driving inside. An encore of the episode will air June 20 at 2:00am ET. To catch the Angel of magic in action, he’ll be performing at a Cirque du Soleil production at the Luxor in Las Vegas starting September 2008. Until then, he’ll still be working on all new Mindfreaks to blow audiences away.

Viva Las Vegas by James Parker

Mere blocks away, hard-rock illusionist Criss Angel was moving into his new digs at the top of the Luxor, which he represented as the summit of earthly achievement: “My father always said that if you follow your dreams, and your actions speak louder than words, you will accomplish your dreams!” On the third-season premiere of MINDFREAK (A&E, Tuesday at 10 pm), Criss warmed up for his big trick — levitating off the pyramidal tip of the Luxor in a face-frying beam of 42 billion candlepower light — by floating downward through the hotel’s enormous atrium with an expression of religious transport on his face. Noisy rubes gathered around him as he made his landing, their cellphones raised in tribute. “Whether you’re a believer or not,” said Mindfreak consultant Justin “Bro” Gilbert, “Criss Angel is always pushing the boundaries.” Later, Criss consented to be bound in a chair and thrown into a seething jacuzzi by Duane “Dog” Chapman, of Dog the Bounty Hunter fame. One minute passed . . . two minutes . . . “Come on, brother, escape!” urged the Dog mildly, his peruke of starched hair whiffling in the desert breeze. Three minutes . . . Criss’s foot appeared above the water. A man wearing goggles stuck his head into the bacterial murk: “I can’t see him!”

Two new episodes this week! :)

STEAMROLLER

"In this episode, Criss lies on a bed of broken glass as a
steamroller rolls over his body. Criss will also produce a beautiful
woman from a box of merchandise. He performs street magic where he
bends a quarter in his mouth and makes a card appear in a lit cigar.
Special guest Jason Hervey from The Wonder Years."

Airs Tuesday, June 12 10:00pm ET and again on Wednesday, June 13
2:00am ET.

PRISONER TRANSPORT ESCAPE

"After being locked in a mailbag, Criss will attempt to escape a
caged truck filled with explosives as it races towards the edge of a
cliff. Then he visits a golf course and shows off some golfing
skills that even Tiger Woods would envy. He uses his unique powers
on the fairways and putting greens, and shocks a group of golfers by
levitating high over the course and the trees."

Airs Tuesday, June 12 10:30pm ET and again on Wednesday, June 13
2:30am ET.

- Samantha

EVB was hired to promote the season three premiere episode of A&E’s popular real-life series Criss Angel Mindfreak on a virtual platform.

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Each week, The Examiner showcases an advertising campaign by a local company.

Client: A&E Network

Job: Promote the season three premiere episode of A&E’s popular real-life series Criss Angel Mindfreak on a virtual platform.

Agency: EVB, digital content marketing firm, San Francisco.

Principals: CEO Daniel Stein, Executive Creative Director Jason Zada.

Other clients: Adidas, LeapFrog, MTV, 2K Sports & Alberto Culver.

Creative team: Jason Zada, executive creative director; Bob Goeldner, copywriter; Ryan Carver, art director; Jeff Titus, technical director; Justin Peterson & Lucas Shuman, programmer; Shawn Meyers, motion graphics; Amanda Cox, executive producer; Ryan Toland, account supervisor.

The plan: The Freak Your Mind campaign launched online mid-May and is supported by banner advertisements.

The theme: “Freak Your Mind”

The concept: EVB produced a new web experience at freakyourmind.com. Freak Your Mind transfers the entertainment experience of television to an online platform that appeals to a virtual audience. It’s a cyber magic trick one can virtually play on friends, taking them on a multiplatform roller coaster ride that ends in a mind-boggling scare. With the help of MINDFREAK host, Criss Angel, users create and send a personalized video e-mail that is sure to freak their friend’s mind. Opening the video email, viewers are greeted by Criss, who is performing a magic trick, which shockingly reveals the viewer’s name and phone number. The video self-destructs, and seconds later, the person’s phone is ringing, and Criss is on the line, reminding them to watch his season premiere, which was on Tuesday. Freak Your Friends before they freak you.

Bob Goeldner
Age: 36
Position: Copywriter

Ryan Carver
Age: 29
Position: Art Director

What drove your development of the concept?: Every day we wake up in the morning and ask ourselves, “How can we freak someone’s mind today?” So it was quite fortuitous when we were assigned this project to promote a TV show about a man who makes a living freaking minds. Everything just sort of fell into place.

Working on next: Next, we’re launching an online game to promote Microsoft’s maps.live.com, a map based search tool. We’re also working on concepts for adidas that will support its new line of NBA team inspired sneakers.

June 11, 2007

Criss Angel: Mindfreak
by Russell Miner

If you Haven't heard of Criss Angel, you are missing out. He is a magician, illusionist, and daredevil. And he filmed the third season of his television show at the famous Luxor in Vegas. That season is airing now on the A&E channel.

Here's the Snippit from A&E's webstie:
Mindfreak takes viewers into the world of Criss Angel -- called the "postmodern Houdini" by MTV -- whose distinct blend of magic, mentalism, and dazzling pyrotechnic effects has made him the hottest young magician in America today. In past seasons, he has astonished fans with such incredible feats as hanging suspended by hooks from a helicopter over the Nevada desert and splitting a woman in two in a public park.

In the third season -- in addition to celebrity guests, street performances, and behind-the-scenes looks at the magic -- Criss Angel will perform all new mind-bending feats: levitating 500 feet above the ground over Las Vegas' Luxor Hotel and Casino, (whose 800-degree light beam is the only man-made object besides the Great Wall of China that can be seen from space), making a Lamborghini vanish -- at high speed -- and topping Houdini himself in a tribute to the father of magic.

If you are a Vegas casino goer, than like us, you're probably a sucker for a good magic show. This is deffinitely one that will keep you guessing... unless you buy his Secrets DVD of course!

Read about Criss Angel at Wikipedia
Visit Criss's Mindfreak Homepage
Visit the Luxor's Page on Criss
Visit A&E's Criss Angel Page