Aibu to think that anyone who believes is derren brown is daft?

[TENDTOprocrastinate]

I have no belief in derren browns psychic ability. his usual hypnosis shows are blatantly all set up with actors/actresses. I have had many an argument about this in the past with dh. His current 'apocalypse' show- if it were real- would be a Jeremy beadle gone (far) too far. However, this apocalypse show is mildly entertaining. At least he is admiting that there are actors involved- though clearly guy who is supposed to be hypnotised is an actor too. (Dh thinks otherwise)

his Q&A addresses everything a little too well, don't you think? It's as if he's read this thread and written a response. Too clean if you ask me.

Of course he has written a direct response to all these accusations. He didn't need to read this thread either, people have been posting exactly the same stuff all over his Facebook page.

<a class="break-all" href="//www.t.co/5Hdr8zCI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.t.co/5Hdr8zCI

I think it is safe to say that Derren is pretty pissed off. Imagine spending months making a TV programme that you're really excited about only to have some eejits on twitter spoil it for people by saying 'hey, the main guy is this actor from a noodle ad', which is evidently total bollocks.

It proves he isn't psychic anyway

Ffs, no one - including Derren Brown - said he was.

Er...joke

Nobel - yes that's my point. It's as if he's read this thread. I.e. he's pre-empted any possible response. When did he do that press release exactly? ny possible

Sorry, phone does weird edits. Ignore the last bit

....and re being pissed off - that's exactly what he wants you to think.

Or is it :P you

Telly insider here. The Press Release / Q&A's will have been prepared weeks before broadcast - standard for all shows, especially controversially ones. And he / the Press Officers will have been able to anticipate the questions based on past experience of his shows.

And re the actor question... We are not allowed to lie in telly! We categorically cannot say something has happened in such a way if the exact opposite it true. As unbelievable as it may seem, we do have to abide by OFCOM / legal rulings and saying 'this person is a general member of the public and not a paid actor' is not allowed if the opposite is true. Nor if they are an unpaid actor! And he won't have edited the show. Producer and editor will have done that. DB would come in for viewings / sign off. He's too close to the material to be able to edit it objectively.

They will just say at the end though, won't they?

Jack, he did that Q&A after the show aired. He asked people to tweet him questions 2 days ago on twitter, and tweeted 22 hours ago that he was busy compiling the answers, then posted them 14 hours ago. They read like a response to the accusations because that's exactly what they are. That's how social media works these days. I'm not sure how you thought he would have written about the noodle actor in advance, given that that accusation was just bizarre.

He's not an actor or stooge, clearly.

BUT...he is not really believing it's happening. He doesn't really believe he's in danger and he's going along with it (and quite enjoying it, in the way that people enjoy horror films). He auditioned for a Derren Brown show and when strange things started happening, he realised that's what it was. I can't really interpret it any other way. The 'hypnosis' thing that Derren performed on him in the coach is very far-fetched. I don't believe hypnosis makes a person completely unaware of what is happening. At least, that is not my experience of hypnosis.

And actually, I still question how ethical it is to remove someone's clothes without their consent (which is what must have happened in the hospital).

If DB is pissed off he should have hired a better actor I'm totally unconvinced by his statement. He has the same disclaimer before his TV shows and he uses stooges then. He is a clever guy and will have a huge, highly skilled team working for him to get around these legal obstacles. He may not be an actor but just be a guy who's in on it. Legally there may be a difference.

I don't believe a newspaper would run an 'i was DB's stooge's real mum' story because no one wants to be the one who ruins the magic show (and Channel 4 would be pissed). The actors may also sign non disclosure agreements. Also, being his real family doesn't mean they can't be in on it together.

Totally agree with the poster who mentioned the lack of swearing also.

I would take DB's 'explanations' with a pinch of salt too. I think any explanation based around psychology is probably made up.

Well I didn't know that, did I. He could have easily pre-empted the questions. He's Derren Brown!

I don't understand, jack how you could have read a Q&A that said 'people on the Internet are claiming blah, this is bollocks because blah' and not realised that he was responding to what people on the Internet were saying

I don't get all the people who are still claiming it's fake. After all the amazing tricks Derren has done in his time, why would he throw all that away for a scripted and entirely fake show where any number of the crew/family and friends could give him away to the tabloids?

And having followed his career from quite early on, it doesn't seem like something he would do. He's a clever guy who can do clever tricks, and he's been doing this a long time. He has won awards for his shows. Where, for him, would be the challenge and professional satisfaction in pretending to do something that he has shown himself capable of doing for real? Unless you think his whole career is bollocks and every single person he has ever worked with is an actor, including the people on this thread who have said he has done tricks that have worked on them.

Oh FFS... lighten up.

How rude.

"I don't get all the people who are still claiming it's fake. "

Because there are too many things in the show which look fake.

Yes, let's not get all aerated- you should see that shower over at DigitalSpy: the way they talk to each other is hideous.

Derren Brown is a very clever and talented man but he does mess up sometimes - remember the lottery balls up and the casino one where he got the number wrong.

If Steve isn't an actor then he has been tipped off by one of his family members beforehand, or realised himself that its all fake (that wouldn't be impossible, as none of us are convinced by the terrible actors and improbability of it all) and he is just playing along. He would have to play along wouldn't he, the alternative is upsetting lots of people and not getting on the tele.

I really hope I'm wrong and there is a massive twist and we are all under Derren Brown's spell, hypnotised and unable to see that we are actually being invaded by aliens as I speak, or something like that. We shall see on Friday.

Murder, your objection to the fake zombie apocalypse is that it looks fake?

Can't comment on the wobbly cameras as I didn't notice. Earpieces - he said in an article before airing that the actors were wearing hidden earpieces. I suppose if they were hidden, that would explain not seeing them. As for cameras, we are filmed every day of our lives in most situations and for the most part, completely ignore it. If there were visible cameras in the hospital or wherever, wouldn't that be expected?

People who say that it's all acted seem to in the same breath say that it's terribly acted. If it was all scripted and acted then presumably you would expect it to look better? Or at least closer to our expectations of how one should speak and act during a zombie apocalypse, gleaned from our viewing of films on the matter?

oh, this is all brilliant!

Sorry, but I love conspiracies etc.

I suspect DB is going to use this in some way to convince us all that there really are zombies everywhere, and he's going to take over the world, starting with this country, moving on to Europe.....

We really are going to be bewitched through the telly and simple force of suggestion!

Meanwhile, we're all going to watch/read The Wizard of Oz and sales will go through the roof. Perhaps DB has a thing about Liza Minelli ... (I'll have to think about that one a little more to get it to work.)

Jux I think you've solved it!