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Thread: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

  1. #46
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    Production suspended

    NEWS MARCH 12, 2020 9:48PM PT
    Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ Suspends Production as Director Self-Isolates
    By JUSTIN KROLL
    Film Reporter
    @https://twitter.com/krolljvar


    CREDIT: INVISION/AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

    Following a number of release dates moving and premieres being cancelled, Marvel and Disney have decided to temporarily shutter production on “Shang-Chi.”

    The delay comes due to director Destin Daniel Cretton being asked by a doctor to self-isolate. Cretton was not feeling symptoms of COVID-19, but chose to be tested as a precaution since he is a new father. He is self-isolating as he awaits his test results.

    The movie had been shooting in Australia since February. The second unit will continue production at this time.

    Marvel’s note to the crew read:

    “As many of you know, Destin, our director, has a new born baby. He wanted to exercise additional caution given the current environment and decided to get tested for Covid-19 today. He is currently self-isolating under the recommendation of his doctor. While he waits for the results of the test, we are suspending 1st unit production in an abundance of caution until he gets the results this coming week. Second unit and off production will continue as normal. We will reach out to everyone by Tuesday for the latest update.

    This is an unprecedented time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work through this.”

    It is unknown when the shoot was going to end and if it will impact the February 2021 release date at this time.

    The film stars Simu Lu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung with Cretton directing.

    The original Marvel Comics “Shang-Chi” follows Shang, a half-Chinese, half-American superhero created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin. In the comics, Shang-Chi is a master of numerous unarmed and weaponry-based wushu styles, including the use of the gun, nunchaku, and jian. Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973.

    Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige is producing the film. Marvel’s Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Jonathan Schwartz are executive producers on the project.
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  2. #47
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    Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Set Video

    Gene Ching
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  3. #48
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    More postponements


    BY KYLIE HEMMERT ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

    Black Widow Release Date Pushed Along With Eternals, Shang-Chi & More!



    Walt Disney Studios has announced new release schedules for a number of movies, including Black Widow, previously dated for November 6, 2020, and now moving to May 7, 2021, and Eternals, previously dated on February 12, 2021, and now scheduled to release on November 5, 2021.

    Death on the Nile has shifted to December 18, 2020, moving back from its October 23, 2020 release. The Empty Man has moved up to the October 23, 2020 release from its December 4, 2020 slot, and Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings will now release on July 9, 2021, from its original release date of May 7, 2021. An Untitled Disney Event Film that was previously dated for July 9, 2021 has been removed from the schedule.

    Additionally, Deep Water will now release on August 13, 2021, moving back from its November 13, 2020 release date, with West Side Story moving back to December 10, 2021, from its previous release date of December 18, 2020. The King’s Man will now premiere on February 12, 2021, moving up from its February 26, 2021 release date. An Untitled 20th Century film previously dated on August 13, 2021 has been removed from the schedule.

    Eternals will now open against Paramount Pictures’ Clifford the Big Red Dog, Warner Bros.’ Elvis, and Sony’s untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel. Death on the Nile will open against Paramount’s Coming 2 America and Warner Bros. Dune, while Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings will now open against Universal’s The Forever Purge. The King’s Man will open against Universal’s Marry Me and Paramount PIctures The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

    Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha Romanoff, a spy and assassin who grew up being trained by the KGB before breaking from their grasp and becoming an agent of SHIELD and an Avenger. The film is expected to be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but before Avengers: Infinity War.

    Black Widow will also feature a star-studded cast including Golden Globe nominee David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy) as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh (Fighting with My Family) as Yelena Belova, Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) as Melina and O-T ***benle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Mason. The movie was directed by Cate Shortland (Lore) from a script written by Jac Schaeffer (The Hustle).
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  4. #49
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    July 9 & Sep 3

    Mar 23, 2021 11:30am PT
    ‘Black Widow,’ ‘Cruella’ to Debut on Disney Plus and in Theaters as Disney Shifts Dates for Seven Films


    By Rebecca Rubin

    Black Widow Trailer
    Courtesy of Marvel
    As moviegoing slowly begins to rebound in the U.S., it appears Hollywood studios aren’t yet ready to release their biggest blockbuster hopefuls on the big screen.

    All that is to say Disney has massively overhauled its upcoming slate and amended release plans for “Black Widow,” Emma Stone’s “Cruella,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Pixar’s “Luca” and several others.

    Notably, “Black Widow” and “Cruella” will now premiere on Disney Plus at the same time they open in theaters. “Cruella” is arriving as scheduled on May 28, while “Black Widow” has been pushed back two months and will debut on July 9 instead of May 7. Both titles will be offered on Premier Access, which comes with a $30 rental fee.

    “Black Widow’s” move means that Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which was previously set for early July, was bumped back to Sept. 3. It’s expected to have a traditional theatrical release.

    Meanwhile, Pixar’s animated coming-of-age adventure “Luca” won’t play in theaters and instead is launching exclusively on Disney Plus, at no extra cost, on June 18.

    Despite the massive refocus on streaming, Disney doesn’t plan to entirely ditch theaters. Numerous smaller titles, mostly those inherited from 20th Century, have been postponed but will bow solely on the big screen, including “Free Guy” (Aug. 13), “The King’s Man”(Dec. 22), “Deep Water” (Jan. 14, 2022) and “Death on the Nile” (Feb. 11, 2022).

    Kareem Daniel, the chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment distribution, says the announcement “reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences.”

    “By leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world,” he said.

    Earlier in the pandemic, Disney’s “Mulan” remake skipped theaters and launched on Disney Plus for a premium fee. Disney hasn’t released viewership numbers on any streaming offerings, but the company’s CEO Bob Chapek has hinted that the studio will continue to experiment with release plans as the global theatrical market remains impaired. The announcement comes days after Disney touted record (though entirely vague) viewership for the Marvel Studios TV series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney Plus.

    Among film exhibitors and some studio executives, optimism has been mounting in recent weeks as movie theaters in Los Angeles and New York City have started to reopen. However, capacity is being capped 25% (or 100 people per auditorium in L.A. and 50 per auditorium in NYC). That’s notably restricted ticket sales, making it virtually impossible for big-budgeted films to turn a profit in theaters alone. Marvel films, for one, regularly cost over $200 million to produce.

    Disney has postponed much of its slate, including several Marvel titles, numerous times amid the pandemic. The studio has been able to witness firsthand how the U.S. market is recovering, as it recently released “Raya and the Last Dragon,” an animated adventure geared toward family audiences, in theaters and on Disney Plus for a premium fee. The film has made $23.4 million in the U.S. and $71 million globally, which is modest by pandemic standards. But it would be financially detrimental for “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi” or any other tentpoles to replicated those results.

    Still, Hollywood studios aren’t betting against the summer movie season entirely. Disney and rivals are hoping the general public will feel more comfortable returning to recreational activities, like going to the movies, as more and more people get the COVID-19 vaccine. To that end, Paramount has moved up the release of “A Quiet Place Part II” from September to May 28, while Universal marginally bumped “F9” from May to June 25.

    “Black Widow” stars Scarlett Johansson and takes place after the events of 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” It was originally slated for May 2020 but was delayed three times amid the pandemic. As Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff, finds herself alone, she is forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her former life as a spy, long before she became an Avenger. Cate Shortland directed the film, the 24th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Florence Pugh and David Harbour round out the cast.

    “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” puts the spotlight on Simu Liu as the eponymous superhero, who grapples with his past after he is drawn into the Ten Rings organization. The movie, which has also been bounced back a few times in the past year, features Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Ronny Chieng and Michelle Yeoh.

    In the last 12 months, studios have made some bold moves to compensate for the near closure of indoor movie theaters. Perhaps the most notable has been the sledgehammer that was taken to the theatrical window, which is the industry term for the amount of time that new movies play exclusively in theaters. It was traditionally about 90 days, and cinema chains had long resisted studio’s attempts to shorten that timeframe.

    But the pandemic has accelerated those changes, with Warner Bros. releasing its entire 2021 theatrical slate on HBO Max on the same day the films launch in theaters. Starting next year, the studio will keep its movies in theaters for 45 days ahead of putting them on home entertainment. Paramount similarly plans to keep its new releases on the big screen for 45 days before moving them to the newly relaunched Paramount Plus streaming service. Meanwhile, Universal has forged its own model that enables the studio to offer its films on premium video-on-demand platforms after 17 days in theaters. In return, theater chains are getting a cut of the digital profits.

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  5. #50
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    Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Official Teaser

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  6. #51
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    Going back to the theaters. Yay!

    May 13, 2021 1:53pm PT
    ‘Shang-Chi,’ ‘Free Guy’ Will Play in Theaters for 45 Days Before Home Viewing


    By Adam B. Vary


    Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and 20th Century’s “Free Guy” will open in movie theaters exclusively, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced during a Q2 earnings call on Thursday. But both films will only play in theaters for 45 days before transitioning to home viewing on VOD and streaming.

    The decision is the final nail in the coffin for the traditional 90-day exclusive theatrical window that had been the industry standard for decades before the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Shang-Chi” (which opens on Sept. 3) and “Free Guy” (Aug. 13) are Disney’s first pure theatrical releases since the 20th Century film “The New Mutants” opened on Aug. 28. Otherwise, the company has either sent its features straight to streaming on Disney Plus (as with Pixar’s “Soul” in December and “Luca” this June 17), or debuted them simultaneously in theaters and via “Premium Access” for an additional $30 on Disney Plus (as with “Mulan” in September, “Cruella” on May 28, “Black Widow” on July 9, and “Jungle Cruise” on July 30).

    Chapek said the decision to release “Shang-Chi” and “Free Guy” exclusively into theaters was based on “recent signs of increased confidence in moviegoing.” But he also indicated that Disney will continue to pursue its new hybrid release framework as movie theaters in the U.S. and the rest of the world attempt to return to a new normal.

    “Flexibility is a key component of our distribution strategy,” Chapek said. He specifically cited high merchandising revenue for the Disney Plus series “The Mandalorian” as an example of how the company is seeing ancillary financial benefits without the boost of a theatrical debut.

    Disney’s decision to halve the 90-day window aligns the studio with Paramount’s announcement in February that its upcoming theatrical releases — including “Mission: Impossible 7” and “A Quiet Place Part II” — will play for 45 days before premiering on its rebooted streaming service Paramount Plus.

    It’s unclear if the shorter windows will outlast the pandemic. Chapek described them as a concession to “the relatively fluid nature of the recovery.” He noted that theaters are open all across the U.S., but revenues are still down.

    “We’re trying to monitor are consumers ready to go back to theaters,” he said.

    Other studios have used the pandemic to experiment with different distribution strategies. Warner Bros. sent shockwaves last December with the decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, but for 2022, the studio is also beginning to shift to a shortened theatrical model. In March, Warner Bros. signed a deal with Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas, that will allow for a 45-day theatrical window in its theaters; in the U.K., the window will be 31 days, with an option to push to 45 days if the film hits certain box office benchmarks.

    Universal was the first major studio to shatter the theatrical window when it announced last July that it had forged a revenue-sharing deal with AMC Theaters that would allow some Universal features to play for as little as 17 days in theaters before moving to premium VOD. Universal struck a similar deal with Cinemark Theaters in November.

    The only remaining major, Sony Pictures, hasn’t yet announced its long-term plans for theatrical exclusivity, but industry observers expect the studio will adopt a similar shortened window.

    CORRECTION: Disney has not announced specific post-theatrical plans for “Shang-Chi” or “Free Guy”; a previous version of this story stated that they were going straight to Disney Plus.
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  7. #52
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    Feige regrets white washing

    May 20, 2021 7:27am PT
    Kevin Feige Admits Marvel Shouldn’t Have Whitewashed Tilda Swinton’s ‘Doctor Strange’ Character


    By Jordan Moreau


    Courtesy of Marvel
    Marvel film “Doctor Strange” courted some controversy when it cast actor Tilda Swinton, a white woman, in the role of The Ancient One, who is typically portrayed in the comics as an Asian man. Marvel Studios defended the casting leading up to the release, but now president Kevin Feige has addressed the controversy and admitted the company could have handled it differently.

    In 2016, Marvel Studios released a statement about Swinton’s casting, saying “Marvel has a very strong record of diversity in its casting of films and regularly departs from stereotypes and source material to bring its MCU to life. The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic. We are very proud to have the enormously talented Tilda Swinton portray this unique and complex character alongside our richly diverse cast.”

    On Wednesday, Feige spoke to Men’s Health for a cover story on the upcoming Asian-led Marvel film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” saying that “Doctor Strange” could have cast an Asian actor.

    “We thought we were being so smart, and so cutting-edge,” he said. “We’re not going to do the cliché of the wizened, old, wise Asian man. But it was a wake-up call to say, ‘Well, wait a minute, is there any other way to figure it out? Is there any other way to both not fall into the cliché and cast an Asian actor?’ And the answer to that, of course, is yes.”

    At the time, “Doctor Strange” director Scott Derrickson and co-star Benedict Wong defended Swinton’s casting, while other Asian actors and visibility groups criticized it.

    In a major push for diversity, “Shang-Chi” will be the first Marvel film to feature a predominantly Asian cast, with the lead role being played by Simu Liu. The film hits theaters September 3.
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  8. #53
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    Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Official Trailer

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  9. #54
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    Need | Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

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  10. #55
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    Screener seen

    I'm under NDA for a little bit but watch this space for my coverage.

    I can say this - I loved it.
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  11. #56
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    Did Warcraft Redemptions survive the pandemic?

    Hollywood’s China Box Office Hopes Dim As Fewer Tentpoles Get Releases
    Only 13 revenue-sharing U.S. studio titles have been released in the country so far in 2021, down from the 22 titles that were released by the end of July in 2019.


    BY PATRICK BRZESKI

    AUGUST 17, 2021 6:07PM

    Spectators attend movie screening of Disney's 'Free Guy' at a movie theater in Hong Kong. BUDRUL CHUKRUT/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
    Chinese films have reaped record earnings at their country’s theatrical box office in 2021, but Hollywood ticket revenue in the Middle Kingdom remains mostly in the doldrums. Now, an outbreak of the delta variant, rampant piracy and unpredictable political challenges are clouding the picture for the U.S. film industry’s hopes for an end-of-year comeback in China, which has emerged from the pandemic as the world’s largest theatrical marketplace by far.

    Chinese-language films not only have recovered from the darkest days of the pandemic, when taken in aggregate, they are performing better than ever before. Local titles, led by huge hits like Beijing Culture’s Hi, Mom ($822.1 million) and Bona Film Group’s Chinese Doctors ($197 million), collectively earned $3.9 billion at China’s box office from Jan. 1-July 31, considerably better than the pre-pandemic benchmark years of 2018 and 2019, when sales for the same period totaled $3.8 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively, according to data collected by consultancy Artisan Gateway.


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    Hollywood imports have achieved little of the same recovery in China, however. In 2021, imported U.S. studio films had earned just $700 million as of July 31, down 66 percent compared to sales over the same stretch in 2019 ($2.1 billion), and falling 61 percent from 2018 ($1.8 billion).

    Overall, China’s annual box office was down 15 percent during the first seven months of 2021, from $5.5 billion in 2019 to $4.7 billion this year, with a decline in total sales for Hollywood product comprising nearly all of the shortfall.

    The biggest problem, analysts say, is simply a dearth of product. Release delays related to the pandemic resulted in a scant few U.S. movies hitting Chinese screens during the first half of the year. And Beijing film regulators’ usual blackout on foreign film releases during the peak summer moviegoing period has been stricter and longer than usual in deference to this year’s politically high-profile 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. Altogether, only 13 revenue-sharing U.S. studio titles have been released in China so far in 2021, down from the 22 titles that were released by the end of July in 2019, and 26 in the same stretch of 2018.

    The last U.S. movie to open in China was Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway on June 11 (it earned $30.7 million), and the only Hollywood movie granted a release date since is Disney/Pixar’s Luca, scheduled for Aug. 20. The backlog of tentpoles awaiting release dates as China’s summer blackout on Hollywood winds down include: Disney’s Black Widow, Jungle Cruise and Free Guy; and Warner Bros’ Space Jam: A New Legacy and The Suicide Squad. Disney and Marvel’s rapidly approaching Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, set to open in the U.S. and most major global markets on Sept. 3, also remains unscheduled in China.


    The rare U.S. tentpoles that have opened in China this year have demonstrated that the Chinese audience, irregardless of growing nationalist sentiment in the country, remains ready to embrace effects-heavy Hollywood spectacle. Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong earned a healthy $135.4 million in China in March, followed by Universal’s F9: The Fast Saga, which debuted on May 21 and pulled in $203.8 million.

    But the recent spread of the highly infectious Delta variant in China has many in the local industry on edge. Beijing’s aggressive “zero COVID” policy means that the broad swaths of the country’s services sector, including cinemas, are at risk of total shutdown the moment a nearby local infection is discovered. Thus far, Chinese authorities’ drastic measures, including the testing of entire cities and shutdowns in inter-province travel, have failed to fully stamp out the Delta variant. As of Aug. 13, locally transmitted COVID-19 cases had been discovered in half of China’s 26 provinces and reached 878 total infections, more than double the 390 cases recorded for the entire month of July, data reported daily by China’s National Health Commission shows.

    “The impact of the ongoing pandemic cannot be understated,” says Rance Pow, president of Artisan Gateway, who notes that nearly 3,500 cinemas have been recently closed in China as a precautionary measure related to Delta variant spread. “We’ll be closely watching local handling of the current outbreak, as well as the developing release calendar, for signs of a late year turnaround,” he adds.

    But even assuming the emergence of a favorable release schedule and total local elimination of the Delta variant — both big ifs — all of the currently unreleased Hollywood product faces another obstacle that could prove just as pernicious: Piracy.

    Thanks to Disney and WarnerMedia’s controversial strategy of releasing recent tentpoles simultaneously in cinemas and over their in-house streaming services, Disney+ and HBO Max, high-definition copies of Black Widow, Space Jam, The Suicide Squad and Jungle Cruise have been available on easy-to-access Chinese piracy networks for weeks.

    Further darkening the overall earnings outlook, Disney, consistently the most successful U.S. studio in China, must contend with murky political challenges surrounding its remaining two Marvel superhero tentpoles for 2021 — the franchise that has consistently been the company’s most bankable product in the China by far (Avengers: Endgame remains the highest grossing U.S. movie ever with $629 million).

    Marvel’s Eternals, due to begin its worldwide release in October, is directed by China-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao, who came under attack from nationalistic social media accounts earlier this year after an old comment she made in an interview criticizing China as a “place where lies are everywhere” was resurfaced and went viral. The ensuing outrage resulted in the near total local censorship of Zhao’s historic best director Oscar win for Nomadland.

    Shang-Chi, meanwhile, heralds the debut of Marvel’s first Asian superhero, played by China-born actor Simu Liu, with supporting performances from Chinese screen icons Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Michelle Yeoh. Much like Eternals, the local connections that might have seemed a boon instead have proved only a burden. Users of China’s social media services have lobbed criticism at the project for months because of the painful legacy surrounding the character of Fu Manchu, the villain who turns out to be Shang-Chi’s father in the original Marvel comics. Fu Manchu has been criticized for decades as a racist embodiment of the “yellow peril” stereotype. For the forthcoming film, Disney is known to have rewritten the character as Wenwu, aka “the Mandarin,” but some Chinese internet users have argued that the film should be boycotted on principle no matter how tenuous the historical connection.

    “It’s become very easy to offend nationalist sentiments in China in general,” says Stan Rosen, a professor at USC who specializes in the Chinese film industry, “but whenever Hollywood makes a film involving Chinese culture, it really becomes a mine field.”

    He adds: “Of course, no one has seen [Shang-Chi] yet, but the Chinese audience already feels that Hollywood is telling them, ‘We know how to make a superhero movie about Chinese culture better than you do’ — and so the knives are out.”
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  12. #57
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    Ridiculous

    I've seen the screener. Fu Manchu isn't even in this. And Tony Leung is fantastic as always - one of the most complex MCU villains so far.

    Aug 18, 2021 11:46am PT
    Marvel President Kevin Feige Addresses China’s Biggest ‘Shang-Chi’ Concerns


    By Rebecca Davis

    Jasin Boland / Courtesy of Marvel Studios
    Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed Chinese fans’ most pressing concerns about the upcoming “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in a recent interview.

    Feige held an exclusive 14-minute-long interview in English with the well-regarded veteran Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou on the day of the film’s U.S. red carpet premiere (it’s out widely on Sept. 3), which shone a spotlight on China’s biggest gripes so far about the film.

    “Shang-Chi” doesn’t yet have a China release date, and it’s unclear whether it has formally passed censorship. Past franchise successes prove that crossing that hurdle into the world’s largest film market will of course be key to the title’s global gross.

    One of the last major overseas trips Feige took before COVID-19 shutdowns was to Shanghai in 2019 for an “Avengers: Endgame” promotional event, he told Zhou, calling it “one of the biggest MCU fan events I’ve ever been [to].” The film opened in China two days before the U.S., and grossed $629 million there to become the country’s highest grossing foreign film of all time, and its sixth largest earner overall.

    Marvel is clearly hoping that the franchise’s first Asian superhero will have the same box office appeal, despite some strong local concerns that have been brewing since the project was first announced.

    Many Chinese viewers insist that any film based on comics featuring the archetypically stereotyped character Fu Manchu — who is Shang-Chi’s father and nemesis in the original comics — will turn out to be a racist depiction. Feige, however, explained that the character is “just one of the truths about the early comic books” but is not in the movie “in any way, shape or form” and is not a Marvel character.

    He emphasized and reiterated the point a number of times.

    “[Fu Manchu] is not a character we own or would ever want to own. It was changed in the comics many, many, many years ago. We never had any intention of [having him] in this movie,” he said. Later: “Definitively, Fu Manchu is not in this movie, is not Shang-Chi’s father, and again, is not even a Marvel character, and hasn’t been for decades.”

    A second concern in China is that in the comics, Shang-Chi is at times portrayed as abandoning his Chinese roots to embrace the West, and in one plot line even goes so far as to kill his father.

    “That’s certainly one of the elements we’ve changed,” Feige reassured. “All of our comics go back 60, 70, 80 years. Almost everything has happened in almost every comic, and we chose the elements that we like to turn into an MCU feature. So that story is not what this is about.”

    The film actually tells the opposite story, he explained, depicting how Shang-Chi returns to engage with his father’s legacy after running away from it in his youth. He stressed: “That sense of running away…is presented as one of his flaws. It is a flaw to run away to the West and to hide from his legacy and his family — that’s how the movie is presented. And how he will face that and overcome that is part of what the story’s about.”

    The framing is well-aimed. Chinese audiences in recent years have been particularly drawn to emotional stories about family without black-and-white battles of good against evil, attributes that helped shoot films like local animation “Ne Zha” and sci-fi spectacle “The Wandering Earth” to unexpected box office heights.

    “Shang-Chi” ticks all those boxes, Feige said, describing the film’s story as one centred on the love, conflict and misunderstandings between a father and son, and unique in that there is no true villain.

    Feige said Tony Leung, who plays the film’s ambiguous, flawed bad guy, is “the heart of the movie,” calling the Hong Kong icon “one of the greatest actors in the world.”

    At one point, Zhou posed a question about the uncomfortable but widespread criticism in China that Simu Liu is not attractive or charismatic enough by local standards to carry the role, making the casting choice racist. As Zhou delicately put it, the decision has “caused a lot of misunderstandings among Chinese fans.”

    Feige explained that many of the MCU’s origin stories for new characters featured lesser known or unknown actors who were right for the part and went on to stardom, citing Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Chris Evans and even Robert Downey, Jr., whose casting sparked initial blowback.

    The executive urged viewers to see the movie before making judgements.

    “Let all the hard work that the performer does be the proof, and not just the announcement or the Google search when somebody learns their name,” he said.

    The interview was seen locally as part successful charm offensive and part last-minute damage control. One film blogger deemed Feige “quite sincere,” with answers that had “basically no ambiguity or deliberate side-stepping.”

    In a comment like over 3,000 times, a Weibo user wrote: “I was previously thinking about not seeing it, but this has finally dispelled my doubts; I feel like I can watch the film with ease.”

    Others bristled that Feige only addressed the widespread Chinese concerns about “Shang-Chi” at the last minute, when its box office there appeared to potentially be in jeopardy.

    As one Weibo user cynically commented: “To sum up: ‘We don’t want to lose the mainland China market.’”

    Threads
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  13. #58
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    Sanzo

    I may have to get me some of this. I'd just want a single can of Wenwu tho...


    LIMITED EDITION

    LYCHEE (BERRY)
    $39.99
    In Celebration Of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

    Special Edition Lychee 12-Pack Featuring:

    Simu Liu as Shang-Chi (3 cans)
    Awkwafina as Katy (3 cans)
    Meng’er Zhang as Xialing (3 cans)
    Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu (3 cans)
    Made For Legends.

    5% Of All Sales Will Be Donated To CAPE, An Organization Dedicated To Advancing Asian American And Pacific Islander Representation In The Entertainment Industry.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #59
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    $71m!

    Marvel's 'Shang-Chi' Smashes Labor Day Box Office Records With $71.4 Million Debut
    September 6, 2021 12:26 PM ET
    SHANNON BOND
    Twitter

    Simu Liu, star of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," attends the film's Toronto premiere on Sept. 1.
    Ryan Emberley/Getty Images for Disney
    Hollywood's newest superhero is saving the day on-screen — and off.

    The Marvel epic Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings rang up an estimated $71.4 million at U.S. theaters between Friday and Sunday, according to tracking website Box Office Mojo.

    Disney, the film's distributor, expects Shang-Chi to sell another $12.1 million in tickets on Monday. But the film has already more than doubled the previous $30.6 million record for the full Labor Day weekend, including Monday, set by the horror flick Halloween in 2007.

    Labor Day weekend is usually slow for movie theaters, industry analysts say, with most blockbusters released earlier in the summer — and attention shifting to the new school year and the start of college football season. The pandemic has made it even tougher to sell movie tickets, especially with the rise of the delta variant keeping some viewers home and forcing several movie openings to be delayed.

    The weekend haul gives Shang-Chi the second-highest box office opening for any film released during the pandemic, behind another Marvel Cinematic Universe installment, Black Widow, which topped $80 million on its opening weekend in July.

    Shang-Chi's theatrical success is "the ultimate confidence-builder" for the industry, Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, told the AP.

    The film is Marvel's first epic to star an Asian hero. It tells the story of the eponymous kung fu master who's hiding from his warlord father by living undercover as a normal guy named Shaun in San Francisco.

    Unlike Black Widow, which was released simultaneously in theaters and on the Disney+ streaming service, Shang-Chi can only be watched on the big screen until October, when it's expected to make its Disney+ debut.
    Wonder how it's doing in PRC...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Wonder how it's doing in PRC...

    I heard that people in the PRC have been saying that Simu Liu is ugly, and is a poor representation of Chinese people. Similar to the way many in the PRC reacted to the cast in The Farewell. Which, if true, is a pathetic mindset on the part of anyone who’s basing the movie on that. I haven’t seen Shang Chi yet, but people need to review it on whether it’s actually a good movie or not, and not on whether you think the star is “handsome” or not. The thing is, I’d really like to see the people who go online and criticize other people’s physical appearances. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the self-appointed “appearance police” themselves are either average or well below average in looks.

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