YouTube Transcription #22 Derren Brown

In this video Derren is demonstrating card tricks to popular academic, actor, TV personality and writer Stephen Fry.
Derren: Forming the magic for me is not about convincing anyone I have amazing abilities, it’s about providing a journey, which comes to a place where the brain starts spinning, and of course the best brains spin the most… So I understand you are a bit of a magic fan, and that you are, or were, something of an amateur magician.
Stephen: Yes, when I was a boy I used to get all those wonderful books, erm, all those books on card magic in particular, card and coin magic. I’ve never been a great one for displaying cabinet magic from large, lacquered boxes, and disappearing women.
Derren: Oh, do, do light up, by the way.
Stephen: Oh thank you, I’d love to.
Derren: It’s interesting that magic does seem to appeal to creative, and often quite isolated, teenage and kids of a young mentality. Yourself, if that’s ok to say that. Woody Allen, of course, used to be an amateur magician.
Stephen: Absolutely, I mean there’s a theory that it’s the revenge of the nerd, that it’s the rather, kind of, ignored and hopeless child who’s not good on the games field who can, kind of, fool his (?), and in that sense it’s a bit like comedy. You can get one over on the big chaps because you can actually fool one and make them go “Bloody hell, how could you do that? How could you… what? Come on!” You know, and they’re the ones who would otherwise beat you up (??) that.
Derren: Well, perhaps on that note, I should show you a trick, a card trick no less. My very favourite, erm… I’m going to spread the cards out on the table and ask you merely to look down and remember one card and to really burn that image of that card on your mind. So if, for example, it was the three of hearts you see a big “3” and a big heart, and burn that into your head. Please don’t now go for the three of hearts, but any card you like. Are you ready?
Stephen: Yup.
Derren: I’ll look the other way as you do it so that I don’t sort of catch a glimpse of where you might be looking. Got one?
Stephen: Yes.
Derren: Yes, marvelous. Thank you so much. Right, erm, thank you. Now if you look at me and in your mind, not out loud obviously, just repeat that card to yourself over and over again. Just over and over again, like “King of diamonds, king of diamonds.”
Stephen: Shut up!
Derren: Was that it?
Stephen: **** off!
Derren. Thank you so much.
Stephen: Bloody hell! Sorry, that’s a rather extreme reaction, but that is extraordinary.
Derren: That was a charming reaction.
Stephen: Quite brilliant.
Derren* Thank you.
Stephen: Quite brilliant.
Derren: Actually, a little more difficult than I thought. Do you know why?
Stephen: Why’s that?
Derren: Well there isn’t a king of diamonds in there.
Stephen: No, there was.
Derren: There was a, erm, I’m trying to remember, where was it, in the middle somewhere…
Stephen: Yeah, sort of…
Derren: About a third of the way… there was a king of hearts, I believe. Er, king of hearts.
Stephen: There was a… Oh, for god’s sake!
Derren: Excuse me. Your card, there, the, er, the king of diamonds. Thank you Stephen.
Stephen: Oh, brilliant, brilliant! Absolutely superb.
Derren: An unpleasant souvenir for you.
Stephen: Oh, my lord. That’s just extraordinary. It’s almost like a bad shock. You think “No, no!” Your mind wants to say “No, this is not happening, it’s not real, it’s not true, I reject it, I reject everything about it.” Fantastic, quite brilliant.

Expressions used:
Light up = light a cigarette for yourself
Nerd= unpopular child at school because he/she is not cool, not good at sports, enjoys studying
Hopeless = not good at doing things
Get one over on = to trick, to fool
Chap = guy, boy, man (a bit upper class)
Beat someone up = to bully
Yup = yes, yeah, yep