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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Thomas Blaine

Aired August 30, 2003 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: American magician David Blaine has been entombed in a block of ice, buried in a coffin for extended period of time. And now he's in London preparing for his very next stunt.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Blaine will be hanging out over the River Thames, losing some weight in the process. Going to be something like six weeks.

So he joins us now from the British capital to tell us all about this.

Hi, David. Thanks for being here.

How did you choose this stunt?

DAVID BLAINE, MAGICIAN: How are you?

I think of it as kind of performance art pieces, and I think about visually what I like the most, like with this one, I thought it would be amazing to see a human being framed in a glass case, almost like this butterfly that I have in my apartment that someone gave me that was dead, and then a little clear from all side glass frame, I always thought it was amazing.

So that's kind of where the idea originated. And then it also had to do with the Kafka short story called "The Hunger Artist," about this performer that put himself in a little cage and put himself on display and starved himself. So that kind of combination triggered this idea.

ROBERTS: And David, why six weeks, why that period of time? Why not one week or two weeks? Why six?

BLAINE: The way I thought about it was 44. I've done things where I fasted for a long time or I've withdrawn from food or I've been isolated, but I figured 44 was the absolute furthest that I could push myself before it becomes an actual risk of death. And I think I'm at the time period in my life where I could do the most extreme stuff.

Like, I think right now I'm in my (UNINTELLIGIBLE) physical peak, kind of. So I'd like to go as far as I can with it.

COLLINS: And David, what are all of these stunts all about for you?

BLAINE: I think of them as performance pieces, performance art almost, creating images that I've always been fascinated by, that I loved. And I also do it kind of to strip, I guess, strip everything out, and just figure out what's real in the meanwhile, even though it is a public display, I still play with that stuff.

ROBERTS: David, we talk a lot about the success of the illusions that you've been able to pull off over the years, really creating yourself to be, you know, worldwide known as an illusionist and magician. But what do you say to some of the cynics out there that say, Yes, this is just a stunt. It's not real.

BLAINE: Well, I think that there -- the only way that they can understand that it is real will be at the end. Like, not week one, week two, week three. I mean, besides, that they can come at all times to see it, and it's lit up in the nighttime, and it's -- it'll be obviously visible all day, and it's in an open space where everybody can watch it.

But besides that, I think towards the end of it, like when we get to the 30-day mark, I think that visually, if I'm even able to stand and move around, I think that it will be obvious that this isn't a trick or an illusion. And I think that's a misconception people have, because I don't consider myself a magician or illusionist at all. I consider myself a showman, and I love magic, and I love art, and I love performance, and they're all separate.

You know, the only unification to them is that there's something that triggers an emotion or a reaction, whether it is cynicism or whether it's not, or whether it is, you know, enjoyment or wonder, whatever that is, they all make those reactions come out.

COLLINS: And David, just real quickly, when you work on coming up with an idea for one of these illusions, or, as you say, performances, do you have a team of people that sits around and kind of talks about what you could do? Or do you sort of come up with these ideas on your own and then you find a team of people that can make it happen?

BLAINE: I have a few friends that try to talk me out of all these ideas, but, no, nobody that tries to talk me into them.

ROBERTS: Well, David, we wish you luck with this. Forty-four days, coming up soon. Good luck, and I know we'll be looking for you probably on a week-to-week basis, see how it goes.

COLLINS: Yes, keep eating until you start, huh? Thanks so much, David Blaine.

BLAINE: Great.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 30, 2003 - 09:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: American magician David Blaine has been entombed in a block of ice, buried in a coffin for extended period of time. And now he's in London preparing for his very next stunt.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Blaine will be hanging out over the River Thames, losing some weight in the process. Going to be something like six weeks.

So he joins us now from the British capital to tell us all about this.

Hi, David. Thanks for being here.

How did you choose this stunt?

DAVID BLAINE, MAGICIAN: How are you?

I think of it as kind of performance art pieces, and I think about visually what I like the most, like with this one, I thought it would be amazing to see a human being framed in a glass case, almost like this butterfly that I have in my apartment that someone gave me that was dead, and then a little clear from all side glass frame, I always thought it was amazing.

So that's kind of where the idea originated. And then it also had to do with the Kafka short story called "The Hunger Artist," about this performer that put himself in a little cage and put himself on display and starved himself. So that kind of combination triggered this idea.

ROBERTS: And David, why six weeks, why that period of time? Why not one week or two weeks? Why six?

BLAINE: The way I thought about it was 44. I've done things where I fasted for a long time or I've withdrawn from food or I've been isolated, but I figured 44 was the absolute furthest that I could push myself before it becomes an actual risk of death. And I think I'm at the time period in my life where I could do the most extreme stuff.

Like, I think right now I'm in my (UNINTELLIGIBLE) physical peak, kind of. So I'd like to go as far as I can with it.

COLLINS: And David, what are all of these stunts all about for you?

BLAINE: I think of them as performance pieces, performance art almost, creating images that I've always been fascinated by, that I loved. And I also do it kind of to strip, I guess, strip everything out, and just figure out what's real in the meanwhile, even though it is a public display, I still play with that stuff.

ROBERTS: David, we talk a lot about the success of the illusions that you've been able to pull off over the years, really creating yourself to be, you know, worldwide known as an illusionist and magician. But what do you say to some of the cynics out there that say, Yes, this is just a stunt. It's not real.

BLAINE: Well, I think that there -- the only way that they can understand that it is real will be at the end. Like, not week one, week two, week three. I mean, besides, that they can come at all times to see it, and it's lit up in the nighttime, and it's -- it'll be obviously visible all day, and it's in an open space where everybody can watch it.

But besides that, I think towards the end of it, like when we get to the 30-day mark, I think that visually, if I'm even able to stand and move around, I think that it will be obvious that this isn't a trick or an illusion. And I think that's a misconception people have, because I don't consider myself a magician or illusionist at all. I consider myself a showman, and I love magic, and I love art, and I love performance, and they're all separate.

You know, the only unification to them is that there's something that triggers an emotion or a reaction, whether it is cynicism or whether it's not, or whether it is, you know, enjoyment or wonder, whatever that is, they all make those reactions come out.

COLLINS: And David, just real quickly, when you work on coming up with an idea for one of these illusions, or, as you say, performances, do you have a team of people that sits around and kind of talks about what you could do? Or do you sort of come up with these ideas on your own and then you find a team of people that can make it happen?

BLAINE: I have a few friends that try to talk me out of all these ideas, but, no, nobody that tries to talk me into them.

ROBERTS: Well, David, we wish you luck with this. Forty-four days, coming up soon. Good luck, and I know we'll be looking for you probably on a week-to-week basis, see how it goes.

COLLINS: Yes, keep eating until you start, huh? Thanks so much, David Blaine.

BLAINE: Great.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com