Simu Liu says ‘Shang-Chi’ will bring “pride where there was shame”

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentUndeterred by the pandemic, the wheels of Switzerland’s film production machine kept on spinning in 2021, churning out the meticulously made multicultural co-productions the country is known for that scored slots at top festivals.Works by young directors such as Elie Grappe, whose coming-of-age drama “Olga” launched at Cannes; Niccolò Castelli’s terrorism-themed “Atlas,” which bowed at Locarno; and also the VR project “Caves” by Carlos Isabel Garcìa, which premiered at Venice; provided a preamble to the exceptionally strong Swiss presence at this year’s Berlinale.Berlin sees a record-breaking two competition slots filled by new works from established Swiss directors, Ursula Meier’s “The Line” and Michael Koch’s “A Piece of Sky,” plus several more Swiss titles in other sections. “In the worst year ever we shot three productions back-to-back during the pandemic; somehow we got used to it,” says Oscar-nominated Max Karli (“My Life as a Zucchini”), who is among the producers of “The Line” via his Geneva-based Bandita Productions, in tandem with Pauline Gygax.In Switzerland, the film and TV industry held firm last year as one of the few sectors where camera crews and actors continued to work, unlike advertising, which shuttered completely for many months.“It was quite hard because we were shooting without insurance pertaining to anything linked to the pandemic,” Karli says, though some government subsidies were made available for physical productions struck by COVID infections.But, as Karli and other Swiss producers point out, Switzerland is a confederation.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLola Arabia, the United Arab Emirates label of Oscar-winning Spanish producer Andrés Vicente Gómez (“Belle Epoque”), has struck a 12-movie co-production deal with Dubai-based Charisma Group.The alliance will take in a range of titles, from $2 million-budgeted contemporary comedies to banner productions budgeted at $40 million, revolving around contemporary and historic stories of West Asia.The partners aim to produce an average of four films a year, said Charisma Group co-president Ayham Al Ziyoud.Development has begun on the whole slate. “Although in principle we plan projects with modest budgets, these will be increased in the following year once we find the rights partners outside the Gulf States,” Gómez said.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAt 81, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento is busier than ever.The director of a string of cult chiller classics starting in the 1970s, including “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage,” “Suspiria” and “Deep Red,” was at Cannes last July with his acting debut in Gaspar Noe’s “Vortex,” about a pair of old lovers. Argento was also celebrated last year with a new book by Italian critic Steve Della Casa and a retro at New York’s Lincoln Center.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz was so good on his Premier League debut against Leicester that he had the BT Sport pundits “drooling” over him, according to Michael Owen.There is a lot of excitement around Diaz, who joined Liverpool in the January transfer window from Porto for an initial fee of £37.5million, which could increase by a further £12.5m.Liverpool fans got a chance to see him for the first time in the 3-1 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup on the weekend, but the Colombian international made his full debut at Anfield on Thursday night. He didn’t disappoint, putting in an exciting performance on the left side of Jurgen Klopp ’s front three as the hosts ran out 2-0 winners over Leicester.

Coldplay have reacted to BLACKPINK member Rosé‘s recent cover of their 2008 song ‘Viva La Vida’.The K-pop idol shared a new stripped-down, live studio cover of Coldplay’s seminal 2008 track earlier today (February 11) in celebration of her birthday, accompanied by The Black Label producer LØREN on guitar.The British band have since taken notice of her cover, sharing a link to the video on their Instagram Story, while wishing the Korean-Australian singer a happy birthday. “Love this.

BLACKPINK’s Rosé has unveiled three new live studio covers in commemoration of her 25th birthday.The Korean-Australian vocalist surprised fans with three new “live studio” acoustic covers of songs by Coldplay, Neck Deep and Oasis on her personal YouTube channel today (February 11), in celebration of her 25th birthday.The first, which dropped in the early hours of February 11, was a cover of Coldplay’s 2008 hit ‘Viva La Vida’. “I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing / Roman Cavalry choirs are singing / Be my mirror, my sword and shield / My missionaries in a foreign field,” the K-pop idol sings, while reading the lyrics off her phone.It was followed by a truncated version of Neckdeep’s 2015 single ‘December’, as well as a tender and slowed-down rendition of Oasis’ 1995 classic ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.

The Apprentice has shared a series of inside secrets on what happens behind the scenes on the show on social media. Former contestant Lottie Lion who appeared on series 15 of the show in 2019, dished the dirt about the show's juiciest facts and secrets on TikTok.Speaker to her fans on the video making app, Lottie claimed that two versions of the final are filmed in advance.Lottie, who was just 19 when she appeared on the show, shared that the second version is filmed to allow Lord Alan Sugar to change his mind if any bad press emerges about his intended candidate before the show's release.The 21-year-old also revealed that ahead of each challenge, the teams are issued with a report that outlines various options they can pick - including colour schemes.The revelation about the report may surprise viewers after this year's series saw the Boy's Team in the first few episodes repeatedly use a colour scheme of green and brown in two separate tasks.Lottie also revealed that the same process is in place for product names, as the production teams then cross-reference them with copyrighted businesses to make sure they are freely available to be used on-screen.Lottie's number one tip to determine who won the series is to go back through each candidate's social media feeds and see who has the longest gap between posting about the current series.The idea behind this is that as soon as a candidate is fired they can return to their regular day to day lives instead of being involved in the full 12 week process.The Daily Star has approached the BBC for comment.

The internet has long been known to have fun with pre-fame photos of celebrities, and Canadian actor Simu Liu is the latest victim.

crushed Labor Day weekend box office records by racking $140 million, brings MCU’s first Asian superhero. Despite his doubters, as well as those who decried Disney for weak promotion, the Canadian actor, stuntman and expert martial artist never stopped believing.

Simu Liu, starring in Marvel's latest blockbuster,, called for some unexpected training.In this sneak peek from the upcoming episode of E!'s, Liu reveals — as part of a trivia question — exactly what it took to prepare for the action epic.«As some of you may or may not know, I was recently in a little Marvel movie, no big deal,» begins Liu, who is joined by his friend, producer and entrepreneur Kelly Mi Li. «To prepare for that role, to be a Marvel super hero, I had to train in the fine art of Is it stunt driving, is it parkour, or is it stripping?»Hosts Kevin Hart and wife Eniko give the episode's contestants some time to mull it over.

Shang-Chi isn't just a part of Marvel's cinematic universe now. Following his superhero origin story — which saw him content mythical dragons and soul-sucking kaiju, underground fight clubs, assassins with knives for hands and his dad — Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is told, in so many words, that's he's part of a bigger universe.

While his hit Marvel Studios movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was breaking box office records, Simu Liu was dazzling fans in San Francisco.The 32-year-old actor threw out the ceremonial first pitch Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park before the San Francisco Giants took on the Los Angeles Dodgers.The actor, who filmed several scenes for Shang-Chi in various neighborhoods of San Francisco, not only delivered a perfect strike... but also wowed fans with a backflip on the mound.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMarvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” capped off Labor Day weekend at the box office with a bang. The superhero action adventure, starring Canadian actor Simu Liu, had an even bigger debut than expected, collecting $90 million in its first four days of release and setting a new high watermark for the holiday weekend.Since Labor Day is traditionally a slow weekend at the box office, the film’s three day total of $75.5 million from 4,300 theaters blew past previous the record set by 2007’s “Halloween” and its $30.6 million start.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton isn’t necessarily the first name you’d think about when imagining filmmakers who would make the big leap from indies to superhero features. However, with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Cretton is the latest young filmmaker snatched up by Marvel Studios to helm a $200 million blockbuster.

After all the hype from the Marvel Studios marketing machine, it’s finally time for the world to be introduced to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” It’s been a little while since Marvel introduced a new character in a feature film (“Captain Marvel” back in 2019), and the studio is hoping people fall in love with Simu Liu and the Master of Kung-fu.

Daily Star's biggest headlines straight to your inbox!Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, the sharpest new signing of the week is Simu Liu, who brings flair, grace and a touch of steel to an ageing Avengers line-up. The former stuntman doesn't put a flying foot wrong in his hugely entertaining first solo movie.When we meet Liu's Shang-Chi, he's going under the alias of Shaun and working as a hotel valet driver in San Francisco with his best mate Katy (Awkwafina).

star Simu Liu, «and whether or not there's a post-credit sequence, that's up to fans to discover for themselves when they watch the movie in theaters on September 3.»What with this being a Marvel movie — and not just any MCU movie, but the first big indicator of Phase 4 on the big screen — there is, of course, a post-credits scene. Two, in fact.

, Marvel's new joint ushering the Master of Kung Fu from the comics into the MCU: Of the months of training star Simu Liu took on to master those martial arts and look the part of a Marvel superhero. Of the long weeks spent shooting even one of the set pieces, with much of the stunt work done by the cast themselves.

Much like Disney/Marvel’s 2018 mega blockbuster and Oscar-winning feature Black Panther was a breakthrough for diversity on the big screen, the studios continue to shine with that this coming weekend with Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings, in what is the first Hollywood Asian-American superhero movie.

Awkwafina in your project, you know you're going to come out on the other end with a happy bestie-ship between her character and someone else. In, that someone is Shang-Chi himself, with Awkwafina as his best friend, faithful fellow slacker and would-be hero, Katy.«Aww, man.

Simu Liu couldn't have a bigger entrée into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the historic leading man of its latest globe-trotting, world-saving blockbuster, But his first time stepping foot onset of a major Hollywood franchise film actually came years prior, as an aspiring actor working as an extra on the superhero-adjacent .That, however, came after a short-lived stint as an accountant. Having graduated from college with a degree in business administration, Liu found himself working at Deloitte in his early 20s.