Latest news with #MagicMountain
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Rapidly-Growing Canyon Fire Nears Magic Mountain North Of L.A.
A fast-moving brush fire that erupted near Lake Piru in Ventura County rapidly burned toward Magic today, prompting evacuation orders in the Val Verde area west of Castaic and an Evacuation Warning reaching eastward to within about two miles of the theme park. There are no indications that the Six Flags plans to interrupt operations at this time. The Canyon Fire erupted shortly after 2 p.m., burning in a remote area east of Lake Piru but spreading rapidly eastward through the brush. Initially estimated at about 30 acres, the blaze grew rapidly, and within an hour it was estimated by crews at the scene to have scorched roughly 600 acres. By 4:12 p.m., it was over 1,000 acres with 0% containment. More from Deadline Donald Trump Says He'd Use National Guard Or Military To Keep 2028 L.A. Olympics Safe FoxLA Anchor Elex Michaelson Is Leaving Station How Get Lit's 'If I Awaken In Los Angeles' Immersive Performance At The Ford Theater Will Craft A "Love Letter" To The City's Many Cultures & Communities The latest Evacuation Warnings issued at 4 p.m. indicated the threat of spread was on the fire's northern flank, away from Magic Mountain. With the fire advancing, Evacuation Warnings were issued in the Val Verde area. That warning was later elevated to an Evacuation Order, while some surrounding neighborhoods were placed under additional warnings. Evacuation Orders are indicated in red on the map below, while Evacuation Warnings are in Yellow. Fire crews from Ventura and Los Angeles counties were battling the flames, with assistance from Angeles National Forest personnel. The National Weather Service reported that temperatures in the area were hovering around 100 degrees Thursday afternoon with the wind out of the west at about 5 mph. The blaze was burning about 90 miles southeast of the much larger Gifford Fire in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. That wildfire has been burning for close to a week and has scorched nearly 100,000 acres. There was no immediate word on the cause of the Canyon Fire, and no reports of any injuries. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Emmys, Oscars, Grammys & More
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Iconic TV star who featured on Australian Story and Penn and Teller dies just days after birthday
Australian stage magician and entertainment trailblazer Arthur Coghlan died earlier this month aged 93, just days after celebrating his birthday. Coghlan brought a touch of magic, mystery and showbiz glamour to the Gold Coast for more than half a century. His career as a professional 'escapologist' spanned decades and he leaves an incredible mark on the world of entertainment with his daring escape acts and innovative stage shows. The internationally acclaimed magician became a household name thanks to his spectacular escape acts, including a legendary stunt where he freed himself from shackles on a roller coaster track just moments before the train sped past. Affectionately known as 'Australia's Houdini', Coghlan was also the founding force behind the Magic Mountain theme park at Nobby Beach, which became one of the Gold Coast's most treasured tourist attractions until it closed in 1987. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Throughout his career, Coghlan mesmerised audiences worldwide, including a memorable appearance on The Don Lane Show in 1979. On the Channel Nine program, Coghlan was locked inside a 44-gallon drum, sealed in a box, and suspended by a crane - all live on television - and viewers across Australia saw him escape unharmed. The segment drew the show's highest ratings of the year and earned him a rare encore invitation the following week. He featured on many other TV shows across his career, in which he showcased his incredible tricks, including Australian Story and Penn and Teller: Fool Us. The former mechanic turned magician performed more than 6,000 live shows at the hilltop amusement park Magic Mountain alongside his daughter Helen, drawing crowds from around the world. Born into the world of magic almost by chance, Coghlan's journey began when he assisted in creating an illusion show while working as a mechanic. Determined to honour a promise after the show's owner passed away, Coghlan embarked on a career that would see him go on to become one of Australia's most respected entertainers. He was profiled on the ABC series Australian Story in 2022, which featured an interview with legendary American magician Penn Jillette, who said Coghlan's magic skills were second-to-none. His career as a professional 'escapologist' spanned decades and he leaves an incredible mark on the world of entertainment with his daring escape acts and innovative stage shows 'Arthur has been bamboozling audiences, performing incredible escapes and making the impossible possible for years,' Jillette said. 'He and his daughter are two of the finest minds in magic!' Heartbroken fans took to social media to pay tribute to Coghlan. 'Thoroughly enjoyed his shows. Gold Coast Legend,' one person wrote. 'He was a great man. Condolences to the family,' a second added. Coghlan was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2021 for his service to the performing arts, magic and escapology. He is survived by his beloved wife Valma, their children Lynette, Jeffrey and Helen, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Gizmodo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
DC Comics at Theme Parks Has Had a Bizarre History but ‘Superman' Could Change That
There's nostalgia for the Batman movie era at Six Flags as we head toward a new DC Studios era with Superman, On a recent visit to Magic Mountain, I found myself reminiscing fondly about the stunt shows from the '90s. Both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were draws as WB movie-inspired attractions for folks who didn't want to only do roller coasters. The most vivid memory I have is Batman swinging into action and riding in the Batmobile for the explosive, stunt-heavy Magic Mountain version of the show. The Caped Crusader teamed up with Robin and Batgirl against Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy for super abridged versions of the film's plot against perfectly dilapidated Gotham sets. At Astroworld in Texas, an early version of the show took place in a water arena where the iconic DC duo took on the Riddler and Two-Face in a high-octane show with jet skis and a helicopter. For a while, DC Entertainment seemed invested in being a worthy competitor to the outdoor staged experiences presented at Universal Studios Hollywood or even The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Walt Disney World. But then, more and more, all the coaster-centric parks began to only license DC iconography to slip on steel coasters, including Batman: The Ride, Riddler's Revenge, and Superman: The Ride. With little to no effort on theming, investment in places where you could immerse yourself in the world of these characters was nowhere to be found for years. Sure, there would be some slight attempts, like a meet and greet here or there timed to ride openings, but gone was the value placed in thematic storytelling to draw repeat visits. Only the memories and the Batmobile from the long-gone stunt shows remain for photo ops. During Christopher Nolan's Batman era, the thing that most reinvigorated DC and Warner Bros.' interest in participatory entertainment was an ARG marketing campaign. The level of immersion with Animal Repair Shop's The Dark Knight: Why So Serious? experience made the world a theme park. Fans who wanted to learn more about the second Nolan film were able to participate in flash Joker Mobs at places like San Diego Comic-Con or follow clues in other major cities to shopping centers or college campuses to collect artifacts from the yet-to-be-released film. Even in the digital world, the internet landscape was changed as Batman fans unlocked the first look at Heath Ledger's Joker. It was a game changer and one that at least some major theme parks sought to bring into their offerings, except seemingly Six Flags. In 2010 things changed in theme parks when Universal Studios opened the first major themed land based on a film franchise with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The irony being, of course, that Warner Bros. partnered with a competing theme park for this—all while having DC Comics just be stickers to slap on any given coaster. Wizarding World lit a fire that would go on to motivate the landscape to evolve quickly from just having attractions or shows touting a major IP. Now, the blueprint was set to make whole areas that take you into the world of your favorite fandom, paving the way for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Avengers Campus at Disney Parks and, most recently, Universal's own Epic Universe. Warner Bros. has had an international arm that's put familiar properties in various theme parks around the world, notably in Spain and Australia with Warner Bros. Movie World parks. These were essentially original regional parks in major metropolitan cities that partnered with WB to rebrand into Movie World Parks. They very often get better production value for their properties with DC Comics, The Wizard of Oz, and The Looney Tunes at their amusement parks, while we get paint refreshes on existing coasters. Before you surmise that 'Wow, DC fans really got the short end here,' you might be surprised to learn that there is a fully realized DC Universe land: Warner Bros. World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The first from-the-ground-up WB theme park, it opened in 2018 and predates Galaxy's Edge with multiple themed lands designed by the Thinkwell Group, a hub of park and immersive designers. Here you'll find Gotham and Metropolis as two separate areas with attractions inspired by the worlds of Batman and Superman. There are meet and greets with multiple characters throughout, from heroes to villains; even the Looney Tunes get fully decked out in DC Comics gear too. The ads for this park are always making us feel like we're truly missing out. The most we got around that time of its opening was a single dark ride in the form of Six Flags' Justice League: Battle for Metropolis. Which brings us to the DCEU phase, in which Six Flags got some costume redesigns inspired by the New 52 on select DC characters with limited engagements on appearances throughout the country. The Warner Bros. Studios tour in Burbank expanded to feature interactive displays with costumes from the Snyderverse films and tour set stops. My favorite experience of this era was when the studio decided to try its hand at hosting its own Halloween after-dark ticketed event. With Horror Made Here, scary walk-throughs based on franchises like The Conjuring and Friday the 13th were joined by an Arkham Asylum maze where the Joker and Harley turned guests into inmates. It was scary and delightfully demented with elements of immersive storytelling and escape room antics. Alas, Horror Made Here was only around for one year; every year we hope it comes back. As the DCEU neared its end, a new Wonder Woman coaster opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain with little fanfare. By that point, fans' relationship with the brand had perhaps been pulled in too many directions. As we enter DC Studios' next chapter with the release of James Gunn's Superman, its heroes and villains are being scattered throughout various summer offerings. The most exciting-sounding one is being run in collaboration with the Gaylord Hotels, which is transforming a number of its resorts with a 'DC Summer' theme for the 2025 season. The offerings include superhero training with the Justice League, meet and greets, nighttime spectaculars, themed meals like a Harley and Joker buffet, a Riddler-themed immersive scavenger hunt, and a secret villains bar at select locations. There's even an expansive comic-book-come-to-life illuminated walk-through experience: Universe of Light at the Gaylord Texan, with heroic and splash-page-themed art installations for the whole family to enjoy. Meanwhile, as Six Flags undergoes its current phase of new ownership through Cedar Fair, there's been a resurgence of the characters at select locations, including Magic Mountain in California. For the summer, the West Coast park has 'DC Heroes and Villains Fest,' featuring a small parade cavalcade of characters from DC Comics and a cluster of themed food booths. With a new stage show that's more of a dance party than a stunt spectacular on the level of what was there in the '90s, there are some signs of progress with seeing how kids react to seeing Superman and his super friends take on Lex Luthor and the Joker. But on the whole, it's just a whole bunch of coaster-centric activities that are not as accessible as other places. It still just feels like a missed opportunity to start anew alongside DC Studios. The costumes still harken to the New 52 aiming to pull in fans with the recognizable iconography alone. On a recent visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain, we found the food was good but definitely still felt lacking in regard to theming, though that just might be because there were only three booths with a few options. Overall, it isn't too different from some of the recent things Six Flags has been doing anyway for the summer season around the country. It's just too all over the place to feel a part of what's next. The effort at the parks has room to evolve as Superman arrives. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour feels more connected to what's to come: the DC area of the walkthrough for the tour includes a celebration of past projects while shifting focus to the now. There are costumes from Matt Reeves' The Batman on display right out of the Batcave, which feels and sounds like it with incredible screens that transport you there with a touch of that Nolan feel. And James Gunn's mark is starting to take hold; you exit with a Daily Planet desk illuminating the new tone of the DC Studios era. The costumes for Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and the Superman suit fill the place with excitement against a Fortress of Solitude display. Even the WB store, which is a modern version of the ones from the mall in the '90s, got redone with Metropolis set pieces to admire while you shop, complete with a Krypto the dog plush fountain. Somehow that evoked more theme park vibes than anything else we've experienced so far in the world of DC comics this year. While we see places like WB World Abu in Dhabi soar, we hope that stateside we get more invested in incorporating everything this massive fandom is missing out on. With the arrival of more DC Studios here, let's hope their worlds immerse ours and we can go up, up, and away too. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Thomas Mann's 150th birthday present to Germany and the world: a warning from history
Thomas Mann and James Joyce never met in life but, especially in death, found much in common. Both were writers of challenging fiction who ended their days in self-imposed exile in Zürich. Both are buried there, at opposite ends of town. During their lifetimes their respective homelands rejected them first with mockery, then hatred – Joyce's works were banned, Mann's burned. After decades of posthumous apathy, both were resurrected by their homelands for praise and monetisation purposes. Just 10 days before another episode of Ireland's Bloomsday malarkey, Germany is celebrating Thomas Mann's 150th birthday in a state of nervous jubilation. A new, hefty biography heads the long list of books, while critics and essayists have delivered fresh prophetic framings for Mann's major works in the present. READ MORE Is modern Germany and Europe, some wonder, heading back to the Zauberberg (Magic Mountain)? Mann's 1924 novel tells of a healthy young engineer, Hans Castorp, who visits a friend in a Davos mountain-top clinic only to succumb to its self-indulgent charms of introspection, hypochondria, disease and death. Running through the book, two polar-opposite patients - one a humanist democrat and the other a fascism-adjacent communist revolutionary - debate 'power and law, tyranny and freedom, superstition and science'. Mann was channelling the debates that dominated his world a century ago - and ours today. [ The Magician by Colm Tóibín: Beautiful, sweeping exploration of Thomas Mann's life Opens in new window ] For German writer Thomas Wiedermann, who wrote a novel based on the author, the Zauberberg is 'about a pre-war world, a burnt-out society … where the smallest spark is enough to make the world explode'. A century on, he fears the modern world is 'not repeating [the past] but at least mirroring it'. Others see worrying contemporary parallels to Mann's first novel, Buddenbrooks, drawing on his early years in the northern city of Lübeck where he was born on June 6th, 1875. This debut novel, published when he was 26, sweeps the reader through the rise and fall of a wealthy merchant family whose business is built by the first generation, managed by the second and ruined by the third. Last February, the Neue Zürcher daily suggested Switzerland was suffering from third-generation 'Buddenbrooks syndrome', happily living off the family fortune, 'studying art history, working less, retiring earlier'. Rather than citizens, the NZZ argued, 'the Swiss have become consumers of their own state'. Similar arguments can be heard in Germany, trapped in a never-ending recession, and a recent warning from Chancellor Friedrich Merz that holiday-loving Germans 'need to work more'. Mann won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929 for his work, packed with universal, timeless themes that are finding new relevance and attention today. His 150th birthday today became a dual celebration of sorts. [ Opens in new window ] It marked the reopening of the fabled villa that Thomas and Katja Mann had built in California's Pacific Palisades. It was purchased and restored by the German state a decade ago - but it's a miracle there is even a house left. Last January, as wildfires raged through nearby Santa Monica and edged into Pacific Palisades, villa staff raced through the house, snatching the writer's handwritten papers, paintings and beloved Goethe complete works - but had to leave behind thousands of personal mementos and rare books. Much of the neighbourhood was consumed by fire but the worst damage to the Mann villa was a thick coating of soot on the facade, which has been scrubbed and repainted for Friday's party. Mann knew personally how quick disaster could strike. He was on a lecture tour of Europe a month after Hitler took power in 1933 when he decided not to return to Germany and settle in Switzerland. His denunciations of the Nazis from there saw them revoke his citizenship and burn his books. After their invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, Mann resettled his family in the US. Asked by a reporter there how he felt living in exile, Mann replied: 'Where I am is Germany! I carry my culture within.' It was here that Mann produced his perhaps most relevant works for our time. Not novels, but accessible and urgent essays and public lectures about democracy, its strengths and its enemies. In 1938, with Europe on the brink of war, Mann warned radio audiences that the greatest danger to democracy was the fascination and novelty of fascism. His observations carry eerie echoes today. 'Once [fascism] has subjugated the body through fear,' he warned from personal experience, 'it can even subjugate thought.' In 1943, with war raging in Europe, Mann warned, again on the radio: 'It is a terrible spectacle when the irrational becomes popular.' He eventually returned to Europe in 1952 but settled in Zürich, shunning Germany. His countrymen had never forgiven him – for fleeing, for surviving the war under Californian palm trees, but most of all for his BBC propaganda broadcasts into his homeland. Many Germans who convinced themselves later they they knew nothing of the Holocaust resented how, even in far-away California, Mann knew as early as 1942 of the mass murder of Polish Jews using poison gas. It was, he warned, 'an expression of the spirit and attitude of the National Socialist revolution'. Even worse than him knowing: he knew they knew, a point he kept ramming home. In another broadcast he lectured the Germans, literally, about the terrible irony of their situation: a dictator dangling before the noses of a people he viewed as 'cowardly, submissive and stupid' a bright future as a 'race destined for world domination'. In an open letter, published four months after Germany's capitulation, Mann insisted he would not return to a 'stupid, empathy-free' German people who 'would like to pretend that 12 years never happened'. The final kick came with his remark in the letter about the Allied bombings of German cities: 'Everything must be paid for'. No wonder, then, that his eventual return to Germany in 1949 was a chilly affair. Many Germans saw Mann as a traitor, even more so after he visited East Germany to accept a literary medal of honour. Two years later, learning that Mann had resettled in Switzerland, the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily denounced him as 'an exponent of an aversion to Germany that goes as far as stupidity'. Germany fell out of love with Mann but eventually warmed again to him in the 1980s. Mann didn't live long enough for that reconciliation - nor to fall back in love with America. A decade after taking US citizenship in 1944, Mann was dubbed a 'suspected communist' and brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee. There he heard himself described as one of the 'world's foremost apologists for Stalin and company'. A chastened Mann warned his adoptive homeland that, with its embrace of witch-hunts and 'loyalty checks', it was 'well on [its way] to a fascist police state'. To his diary, Mann confessed he was 'shockingly touched by the dwindling sense of justice in this country, the rule of force'. Given that, it doesn't take too much effort to imagine what Thomas Mann would have made of German-American president Donald Trump. As for his literary legacy: given that he died exactly 70 years ago, Mann's works enter the public domain next January to join fellow former Zürich resident James Joyce. Brace yourself for the mash-up, Chat-GPT fan fiction: Leopold Bloom on the Magic Mountain, anyone?
Los Angeles Times
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Six Flags Magic Mountain's record-setting Superman coaster will fly no more
Six Flags Magic Mountain's 'Superman: Escape from Krypton,' once among the fastest and tallest roller coasters in the world, has taken its final flight. The ride, which shut down for maintenance last September, will be closed permanently, park officials told the Orange County Register. The theme park did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Times Friday. Originally named 'Superman: The Escape,' the roller coaster set speed and height records when it debuted in 1997 — hurtling riders upward at a top speed of 100 mph before sending them back down on a near-vertical 415-foot plummet where they experienced 6.5 seconds of weightlessness, according to theme park's website. In 2011, the coaster was redubbed 'Superman: Escape from Krypton' and redesigned to run the terrifyingly exhilarating trip backward. 'You're about to shoot from 0 to 100 miles per hour in seven seconds flat — in reverse,' the Six Flags' website described the ride. 'This record-breaking speed and acceleration has never before been achieved in a thrill ride, let alone backwards.' Magic Mountain president Jeff Harris told the O.C. Register that the park had initially hoped to reopen the ride, but sourcing replacement parts for the aging roller coaster had proved cost prohibitive. 'Just like other roller coasters within the theme park industry, there's a life cycle with these coasters,' Harris told the Register. 'It's just reached a point in time where we need to make a wise decision on where we really should reinvest funds that improve the guest experience the most. It just doesn't make a lot of sense from a business perspective to put it back into Superman.' 'Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom' a ride that is attached to the Superman ride and hoists park visitors 40 stories into the air before dropping them back to earth, is currently undergoing maintenance and scheduled to reopen in April, Harris said. The end of the line for Superman was met with an outpouring of grief from adrenaline junkies. 'That saying they have about parents and their children applies here: 'You never know when it will be the last time you'll be able to hold your child in your arms,'' one user wrote on Reddit. 'Same goes for these rides when they go into refurbishment and the same for Superman. I loved Superman ... I never knew the last time I rode it would be the last time ever.' While the extreme ride had a strong fan base, it also experienced technical challenges and several extended periods of closure. Some of these were related to the linear synchronous motor launch system that allowed the ride to reach 100 mph. Currently, the fastest roller coaster in the world is the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2010 and boasts a top speed of 149.1 mph. Six Flags Magic Mountain is now down to 19 roller coasters, but the Valencia theme park has a new suspended motorbike coaster ride slated to open in 2026.
