Derren Brown as Doctor Who

A while back, Derren joked about being the next Doctor Who. A tumblr blog took the next logical step and created a fan fiction magazine cover of Derren as the Doctor.

See it at: Doctor Derren

What is Derren Brown's new Thorpe Park ride?

For weeks now, Derren Brown has been teasing us with hints about his new attraction at Thorpe Park. It will undoubtedly be creepy (as evidenced by the creepy Victorian dolls that are promoting it) -- but what will the ride actually be?

Here's what we know so far, thanks in part to an interview with the BBC:

1. It is not a rollercoaster. (but is instead an "experience")
2. It lasts 13 minutes.
3. It is expensive and elaborate.

Derren explains that: "The sheer budget involved is huge. If it does everything that it should do, it will be phenomenal."

Ride designer Paul Moreton explains to T3.com that: “We have created something which, if you're open to it, will challenge your view of what is real and what isn't. We will immerse people in a world where even the most hardened will question what's perception and what's reality. Is seeing really believing?”

I can't help picturing one of those old amusement park fun houses with distorted mirrors, rolling floors, and so forth. Or, perhaps a Victorian freak show with bottled heads, etc.

Derren will probably surprise us again. It will definitely be worth a visit. The ride opens March 2016.

Derren Brown meets Arsenal stars

After a performance of his stage show, Miracle, in November, Derren met several Arsenal stars who were in attendance, including Santi Cazorla, Hector Bellerin, Olivier Giroud, Nacho Monreal, Kieran Gibbs and Joel Campbell.

The Sport Review discusses the meeting and shares a photo Derren snapped and posted to Twitter.

But the article does not answer the question on all of our minds: Did Derren use hypnosis to give Arsenal players an advantage in future matches? How could a player sit through Miracle, and not at least ask?

Creepy Dolls promote Derren Brown Theme Park Ride

Earlier this month, commuters encountered a creepy pair of life-size (and apparently alive) Victorian dolls riding London's subway system. The stunt was a promotion for Derren's upcoming amusement park ride.

The disturbing visitors succeeded at attracting media attention, including a short piece with a video of the dolls at Portsmoth.co.uk: Video: Offbeat - Magician Derren Brown give commuters a shock

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Learn the Piano in One Week (Trick or Treat)

Remember the time when Derren Brown taught a woman to be concert pianist in one week?

Relive it with this video clip:

Does Public Reaction affect Derren's Stage Performances?

You have to wonder how the public's reaction to a stage show affects a performer's performance on subsequent nights. In a January 2014 interview, Derren Brown told the Nottingham Post that it doesn't:

Infamous has been well received by critics and the general public alike. Does that affect you when you're performing?

It doesn't. The only advice I really listen to is my director in the first instance, my producer, and occasionally my manager or the guys that come on tour with me make a point that I think is worth taking on board. ... [A]side from the relief that no one's complaining about it, I don't think it has any effect on the show.

Read the rest of the short interview at: Nottingham Post

Derren Brown's version of Re-Gifting

With the holidays approaching, you might be thinking about what to give your friends and family. You might even be thinking about re-gifting presents you have received in the past.

In a February 27, 2014 tweet, Derren Brown told us about his re-gifting plans:

Have received lots of birthday/valentine gifts. I'm going to pass them on to worthwhile charities, I hope that's ok - thank you all so much.

Good at mind reading, and generous, too.

"Kindness at Christmas is as transparent as a dodgy magician."

The post title is a statement by Derren Brown in his Christmas message included in the book "The Atheist's Guide to Christmas" and excerpted/abridged at: The Guardian. Aside from the atheist message, Derren means to remind us that we should be kind all year long.

Derren Brown's Kung Fu Ghost Punch

Remember when Derren punched a Kung Fu student in the stomach without really touching him? Relive the moment with a YouTube clip:

Preview of Derren Brown's book on happiness?

For two years or so, Derren has been working on a forthcoming book about happiness. In a 2014 interview with The Press and Journal, he shared some thoughts that will no doubt end up in the book:

We are fed a very unrealistic and anxiety-inducing model of what happiness is. It says that if you set goals you will achieve them and be happy. And there are so many mistakes in that....

...there are things in your life which you are in control of, and those you’re not. You need to not care about those things which you’re not in control of. And when you come to really understand that, you can go from being really upset about something to that lovely feeling of being a kid where everything is okay.

Hopefully the book will come soon. Derren has posted on Facebook that he has been reading about ancient philosophers as part of his writing effort -- so this could be a pretty exhaustive treatment of happiness.