Entertainment

Inflation comes for Burning Man, leading iconic camps to bow out

HBO’s “The Man Will Burn”, a documentary about Burning Man, shows participants flying towards each other with foam swords while rigged up on ropes. The scenes were shot at Death Guild Thunderdome which has brought Mad Max style combat to Black Rock City Desert since 1999.
There’s no better way to see the anger that two fighting hippies have repressed. Marisa Lenhardt, the camp’s leader said: “They’re angriest fighters that I’ve ever seen.”
This year the hippies are going to have to come up with a different way of expressing their anger: Thunderdome will not be attending.
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The camp is one of several long-standing ones that won’t be around in 2026. Others include the psychedelic camp Zendo Project, and Distrikt sound camp. List goes on – from Kostume Kult’s barge-like, art-car-like Mayan Warriors to their iconic sound system. Leaders are hosting an arts-focused camp in its place. Some notable absences included Milk & Honey and Miso. Other noteworthy no-shows were Couchburners. Sumanah. My Dad’s House. Desperados. Black Rock Community College. Duckpond. Dolly Lamas. Mythmaker. The playa is going to look very different.
Thunderdome Exit
The main issue for the Thunderdome was the staffing. To run the camp in a safe manner, it takes 20 to 25 people. Some jobs are highly specialized, and they require volunteers who can pull fighters back. These aren’t jobs you can train for at the last minute. There are only 3 people in the world who are able to set up fighters, none of whom could be there this year.
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Lenhardt stated, “We have been training up people and we are doing a great deal of work on succession planning.” It’s unfortunate that these three people didn’t plan to attend Burning Man in 2018. We can be as enthusiastic as we want, but we cannot do this without someone to safely set up the fighters.
Thunderdome has a modest budget of around $27,000, which is a lot less than some other camps. Thunderdome is a camp without a power grid or showers. They also have an extremely high commitment level, with most people working every evening, as opposed some other camps that only require one night shift.
Lenhardt stated, “We would rather be here than anywhere else.”
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Thunderdome staffing problems are indicative of a bigger Burning Man problem: as attendees get older, they’re not being replaced by younger people. Only 10% of Black Rock City’s 20-29 year olds were present in 2025, down from 31,6% in 2015. At 38.7%, the 30 to 39 age group is most common. The 40 to 49 range follows at 26.1%. Interestingly, almost the same number of attendees (8.1%) attend as those under 30.
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Lenhardt is convinced that most camps, even those with a long history of camping will face the demographic challenge.
Lenhardt asked: “The question that I ask myself constantly about Thunderdome, as a microcosm of Burning Man and Burning Man as a culture in general is whether people are interested in participating in things their parents have built or if they prefer to create their own? How do we deal with that?
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Zen on the Playa
Zendo Project is a space where Burners can calm their nerves. Thunderdome allows them to release their anger. Originally founded at Burning Man in 2012, the organization’s goal was to offer mental health counseling. Around 60% of patients have had challenging psychedelic experience, and 40% just need emotional support.
It’s our own event. Our project really began here. Burning Man’s ethos is to try out new ideas on the playa, and then take those discoveries back into the real world. Chelsea Rose, executive director of the nonprofit organization said that this is something they are doing. “We’re definitely not going to go there this year”, she added. The nonprofit, she said, has expanded into the nightlife sector and covered events with more than 200,000 total attendees.
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Zendo’s decision to not attend the 2026 event was based on two things: financial pressure and operational burden. In a typical year, Zendo serves 350-700 attendees. However, it requires an army of staff and volunteers — as many as 450 people at their peak. The planning and building of all the infrastructure takes months. To run the camp, five semitrucks are needed to transport the necessary materials.
A mental health clinic in the desert can be expensive. Zendo, at its peak involvement, spent around half a mil to provide its services for the Burn and anywhere between $250k and $300k to run in a smaller capacity. The organization was granted $100,000 by the Burning Man organisation last year. However, this funding has dried up.
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Zendo will still send five or seven members of staff to help the Green Dot Rangers who deal with psychological crisis. The 8 to 12 hour training courses that were offered in past years will not be available this year. Instead, Zendo plans on sending a skeleton crew of five or seven staff members who can assist the Green Dot rangers in responding to psychological crises.
Rose explained that “one of the best things about working there is the fact that hundreds of people can volunteer to help us do our work, which you cannot do anywhere else.”
Stop the music!
Distrikt is one of Black Rock City’s largest sound camps. This group was formed after the Deep End (established in 2001) decided to stop. Chris Kramer, co-founder and President of Distrikt has attended Burning Man every year for the past 23 years. He transformed Distrikt from a non-profit organization to one that organizes events all over the United States and operates a record company.
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The team has never made money from Distrikt events; they all help raise funds for Burning Man which costs about $200,000 per annum to produce.
Kramer stated that “everyone is doing it out of the goodness in their heart and they love to see 10 000 people dancing every day under the sun.”
It’s impressive just to look at the footprint. The camp is run out of 7 shipping containers that are stored on the fabricator’s property outside Sacramento for the remainder of the year. All of them have been custom-made for various purposes. From DJ booths, to bars and containers people can dance in. Each member is expected to work three shifts.
It was strictly a financial decision. Kramer believes that costs to operate the camp increase by about 20% every year due to the rising cost of power and sound equipment. The 5,000 square foot shade structure that was built last year has been destroyed. This added a huge infrastructure cost. The camp has always relied on fundraising dance music concerts held year round. In recent years the attendance has decreased at these events.
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It’s hard to convince people to come out and support Burning Man. Kramer stated that he believes the “club scene” in general has been dying for a long time. “… In the last year I’d say it has improved, but we still can’t make money by doing nightclub parties.
Kramer of Thunderdome and Lenhardt from Burning Man both said that one factor could be the fact that Burning Man does not offer the theme camps and sound projects the same honoraria grants that are given for art projects.
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Do I wish we received more financial support from the organisation? Kramer replied, “Absolutely.”
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According to Kramer the Burning Man experience is unique and you cannot expect the same thing as previous years.
You have to expect that this trip will be unique. “If you go expecting the same thing, then it will be disappointing,” said he.

Entertainment

TK to Host Season Premiere, TK Is Musical Guest

The 52nd edition of “Saturday Night Live”, which will feature a host of stars, is set to take place in the fall.
Katseye, a popular K-pop band, will provide the music for the premiere of the new season, which is set to be broadcast on September 26. Jalen, the host, recently won the NBA Championship with the New York Knicks, and Jalen Brunson are the hosts. The “SNL’ debuts of both Brunson and Katseye are set for Sept. 26.
Dakota Johnson will headline the Oct. 3, 2018 episode, along with hardcore rock group Turnstile. Johnson’s film “Verity”, which hits cinemas Oct. 2, will be her third appearance on “SNL”. Turnstile, who are currently touring with their Never Enough Tour Pt., make their debut at “SNL.” 2.
On Oct. 10, Shane Gillis, with Rosalia performing as his musical guest will be hosting “SNL for the third consecutive time. Gillis recently broke the Guinness World Record of the largest audience for a stand-up show this summer, and released Season 3 on Netflix. Rosalia is wrapping up her Lux World Tour the month prior to her second appearance at “SNL.”
Gracie Abrams will return to the “SNL,” for the second consecutive time, after releasing her album, “Daughter From Hell,” earlier in the year.
The “SNL’s” offseason has not been very exciting. However, the most important update is that Chloe Fineman has left the show after seven years. Martin Herlihy who appeared in four seasons of Please Don’t Destroy as a cast member and also worked on the Season 51 writers’ room, is no longer a part of the show.
The British version of “Saturday Night Live” announced its date for the premiere of its second season before the American one. Jeff Goldblum will host the show and CMAT will be the musical guest. This series will feature the entire cast of its first season and run 12 episodes.
Will Ferrell was one of the hosts for “SNL’s” Season 51, along with Bad Bunny and Matt Damon. Musical guests included Doja cat, Sombr and Cher. Harry Styles and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as Olivia Rodrigo, all served as host and musical guests.
Variety asked some Season 51’s newcomers what they hoped to achieve in their sophomore year.
Jeremy Culhane commented, “The older people do a great job of capturing themselves in sketches. People like Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson are excellent at this.” “That’s a skill I would love to improve.”
Veronika Slowikowski continued, “And by working together.” This year we all tried to do our own thing, which was understandable. “Next year, I would like to create characters with my friends.”

Entertainment

Kim Zolciak’s Son KJ Biermann Makes a Critical Legal Move After Being Indicted

Kroy Biermann Jr. (15 years old) is Kim Zolciak’s son. He has taken a significant step in the case of sexual assault. The case is being transferred by his legal team to the juvenile courts. A Georgia grand jury had indicted KJ on seven felonies. KJ is still in jail as the case progresses.
KJ Biermann, indicted for seven felonies, seeks to be tried as a juvenile
Page Six reports that KJ’s attorney Jason Sheffield has filed a request to move the case from adult court to juvenile court. In the motion, it is also requested that confidentiality procedures be followed. Sheffield stated that the state plans to prosecute KJ as a grown-up. The defense, he said, wants KJ to be “tried as a child.”
Sheffield said that the defense also expects KJ to plead not guilty at his arraignment on October 14. He told the outlet that he expected to plead not guilty to all of KJ’s charges. KJ is facing seven felonies, including child abuse, sodomy, and sexual assault. Also, he faces charges of false imprisonment and three counts each of sexual assault against a minor under the age 16 as well as aggravated sodomy.
KJ’s situation stems from a alleged incident on April 23, involving a classmate. She accused him of sexual assault at a gym located in Alpharetta in Georgia. KJ, who was arrested in Atlanta on August 17, remains there at the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center. According to Fulton County Court records, his bond hearing has been scheduled for September 11.
Sheffield criticised the length of time KJ spent in custody while waiting for a bail hearing. He told Page Six that it was difficult to understand how a child of 14 or 15 years old could be detained for up to a month while awaiting a hearing. The detective had decided to hold KJ for serious crimes, he said. Now, the defense hopes that the case will be transferred to the juvenile court system.

Entertainment

ABC responds to rumored ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ cancellation

ABC clarifies the facts amid reports that they plan to end “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the current season.
A spokesperson for ABC Entertainment told Us Weekly that “This information was inaccurate – any reports regarding the future of this show are at this time purely speculation.”
After multiple outlets claimed that Kimmel’s 24th-season late night program would end after the premiere of ABC’s Tuesday’s show, ABC clarified its position.
After a morbid joke about the first lady, Trump calls for ABC to terminate Jimmy Kimmel, again
According to TMZ, Kimmel has been shopping for other projects in recent months, such as a podcast, along with other shows. This news follows an interview Kimmel’s spouse, Molly McNearney gave on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” where she spoke about her husband’s eventual retirement.
McNearney’s response to the question “What do you think about it?” was: “It appeals to my nervous system for the family.”
She continued, “It’s like Jimmy is holding a flashlight in his other hand while holding a fly-rod in one.” “I feel like Jimmy deserves to be out on the river, relaxing. But I want him to continue fighting.” “I feel this desire not to quit, because what he is doing right now I believe is extremely important.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! debuted in January 2003. Since then, it has broadcast over 4,000 episodes. Kimmel’s Show was pulled abruptly from airwaves almost a year ago. Executives said it would “preempt indefinitely”. This happened because of the host’s comments about the dialogue sparked by the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a political activist of the right, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on September 10 as part his American Comeback Tour. Kirk was shot in the neck during an outdoor event at the Orem campus, Utah. He was taken to hospital where, a few minutes later, he died.
Kimmel’s monologue after the tragic event was critical of the MAGA movement and President Trump for blaming Kirk’s demise on “radical left”.
Kimmel apologized for the remarks he made. He became emotional at one stage and said, “It wasn’t my intention to lighten up a murder.”

Entertainment

Martin Herlihy Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live’ After 5 Years

Martin Herlihy has left NBC’s Saturday Night Live, after a stint of five seasons as a writer/performer.
Herlihy, Ben Marshall and John Higgins were all members of the Please Don’t Destroy Comedy troupe when Herlihy first joined SNL. The trio spent four years making sketches for SNL’s late-night program. Marshall, however, was recently promoted and Higgins decided to leave to become an actor.
Herlihy chose to remain on the show as a writer. He did so for the 51st Season, and also made occasional appearances in sketches.
Marshall will continue to be a prominent player on Season 52, while Higgins is booking acting roles. These include recurring parts in the second season of ABC Scrubs as well as Apple TV Stick.
Herlihy’s father Tim Herlihy had a similarly long stay on SNL as a writer in the 1990s, before leaving in order to concentrate on writing feature films in collaboration with Adam Sandler, another SNL alumni.
Chloe Fineman, the sole confirmed SNL departing cast member after Season 51. After a series of auditions this summer, it is anticipated that the cast for Season 51 will be finalized in the coming week.
LateNighter was the first to report on this exit.

Entertainment

Hollywood Movies to Put Musk, Zuckerberg, Holmes on Trial

Hollywood’s obsession for Silicon Valley will soon reach fever pitch as four major movies are set to tackle controversial tech moguls.
Then there’s the fact that all the films have important dates in October. This results in an extraordinary theme pile-up, as California industries take on each other.
Three of these projects all released teaser trailers within 48-hours of one another earlier this week.
Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning stars Jeremy Strong as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a follow-up (or companion piece, as Sony insists it be called) to The Social Network. The film opens in theaters on October 9.
Andrew Garfield plays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial during a 5-day leadership crisis, when Altman is fired then reinstated to his position as CEO. The Neon movie premieres Oct. 5, at the New York Film Festival (and will be released in limited quantities on December 25).
There are also two documentaries of epic length.
Alex Gibney’s dissection of Tesla and SpaceX tycoon Elon Musk is titled Musk. It runs for nearly four hours, and will be released on select screens from Bleecker St., after its premiere at Venice, Tuesday, Oct. 16.
You Can See Everything by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the A24 surprise project dropped in Telluride and follows Theranos’ founder Elizabeth Holmes as she prepares to enter federal prison. This three-hour movie will also be released in cinemas on October 16.
Should we begin naming release dates now that are head to head? ElonBeth? MuskEverything? Elon Musk? Perhaps not).
Silicon Valley executives are egoists, who talk in grandiose words, claim they help humanity but value power and ambition over safety and ethics, with potential catastrophic results.
If you look at November’s projects, we have another one: Graham Moore’s Netflix series The Altruists. It follows the fall of the crypto exchange FTX, and Anthony Boyle stars as Sam Bankman Fried, the co-founder, and Julia Garner plays Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.
Dramas are being viewed with some skepticism about whether they will be a hit. The Social Reckoning Trailer has been compared to its much-loved precursor The Social Network. Amazon MGM dropped Artificial due to apparent conflicts of interest, and several studios passed before Neon acquired it. This has caused some industry insiders speculate that the film may be lacking. It’s too soon to draw any conclusions. Neither film has even been screened in front of a festival crowd.
However, the initial buzz is astronomical. Both You Can See Everything and Musk have received positive reviews at the respective festivals and are both currently rated 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter reviewed Musk and left their critic in “outrage” for “225 minutes”. Our review of You Can See Everything described it as “fascinatingly slick and dizzyingly brilliant.” The brilliant trailer for You Can See Everything generated immense interest and was immediately meme-able.
Silicon Valley has pledged to disrupt Hollywood for years (and, in some cases, succeeded). With this strange coincidence of timing, Hollywood is now returning the favor.
Here are trailers of all four films.