A few days ago Libby blogged about a reported romantic relationship between actress Cameron Diaz and magician Criss Angel. Despite the fact that Angel has his own A&E TV show, he is undoubtedly the lesser-known celeb of the two. However, that could all change if he pulls of his next high-profile stunt.
According to show producers, Angel plans to put his Houdini-like ability to escape challenging situations to the test when he is placed in a cube encased in concrete and suspended 40 feet above the ground near Times Square next month. If he doesn’t make it out within 24 hours, the cube will crash to the ground.
Network executives say the stunt is being done to promote Angel’s show “Criss Angel Mindfreak.” The third season of the show debuts June 5th, the day after Angel presumably makes it down safely.
The illusionist will reportedly be manacled and placed in a glass box four feet high, wide and deep. Before the cube is hoisted in the air, about three inches of cement will be caked around it. If all goes well, Angel will escape and use a rope to lower himself to the ground.
Not that I’m looking to break free from a cement block, but this stunt doesn’t seem half as challenging as the other “death-defying acts” Angel has completed. He has already survived hanging from a helicopter from fishhooks embedded in his skin and having a steamroller run over his body.
“I always try to do things that have never been done before,” Angel recently told news reporters. “I was in the water for 24 hours in Times Square for ‘Good Morning America,’ doing it in 2001. Later somebody else tried to mimic me.”
Ah, nothing like an unsubtle jab at illusionist (and competitor) David Blaine, who had viewers holding their breaths as he tried to set a world record for holding his breath underwater during a prime-time special, which aired last year. Blaine didn’t succeed.
If you are in the New York area during the first week of June you may want to head over to Times Square (actually, at 46th Street at 8th Avenue). That’s where the stunt will be filmed. If you can’t catch Angel in person (though, I bet Diaz will be there) you can watch the stunt on a future episode of “Criss Angel Mindfreak.” Also a 24-hour live webcast of the stunt will be available on A&E’s website.