Feige Talks 'Shang-Chi' Representation and Addresses "Experiment" Comment

►"It was not the intention." A welcome sight on Monday evening as the stars of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gathered in Hollywood for the world premiere of the Marvel tentpole. But in an awkward set of circumstances for Marvel chief Kevin Feige, the event came just 48 hours after the film's lead, Simu Liu, took aim at Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who had described Shang-Chi's release strategy as an "experiment" for the company.

Fronting up at the premiere, Feige addressed both the "experiment" controversy as well as Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney. The story.  

—"I’m not an adviser. I’m a brother." CNN anchor Chris Cuomo returned from vacation Monday night, and addressed the biggest story to break during his week off the air (at least until the Afghanistan news broke over the weekend): His brother New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation. The story. 

—Skipping theatrical. Sony’s Hotel Transylvania: Transformania will bypass a theatrical run, opting instead to stream on Amazon. The decision to skip theaters and head to Prime Video could result in a deal valued at around $100 million. The story. 

—"Key to NYC." People attending indoor live events and performances across New York City will be expected to show proof of COVID vaccination along with a photo ID starting Aug. 17, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday. The story.

—Lawsuit. An unnamed woman has accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her in 1965 when she was just 12 years old, according to a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court. The story.

ViacomCBS has sold the original CBS HQ in midtown Manhattan, or Black Rock, for $760 million to Harbor Group International. The story.
 

ScarJo Joins New Wes Anderson Movie

►DJ Khaled voice: Another one. Yet another casting scoop on Wes Anderson's untitled next feature, this time Scarlett Johansson is joining the all-star cast. The Black Widow star joins the usual repertoire of Anderson players, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton and Rupert Friend, and high-profile newcomers, Margot Robbie and Tom Hanks. The story. 

—Pod to screen. Discovery has ordered a two-part docuseries that will follow Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett as they go on tour for their hit podcast, SmartLess. Set for 2022, the series will include celebrity interviews, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. The story. 

—"Fresh and unexpected." Bridgerton showrunner Chris Van Dusen discusses how he applied what he learned from growing up in Shondaland to creating Netflix's record-breaking series and took cues from BBC's famed Pride and Prejudice adaptation. The story.

—Raising guidance for the year. In its second quarterly earnings report since going public in April, Endeavor reported revenue of $1.1 billion, just missing Wall Street expectations for revenue. And while the company turned a modest profit in Q1, it had a net loss of $319 million in Q2. The results.  

Peacock Picks Up Mike Schur's 'Field of Dreams' Series

►Is this heaven? Field of Dreams, the iconic Kevin Costner-led baseball movie, is coming to television. The Good Place creator, and baseball superfan, Mike Schur is adapting the 1989 feature as a scripted drama, which has been ordered straight to series at Peacock. The story.  

—"I’m not serving anyone but myself." Lizzo is back in the spotlight after releasing her new single "Rumors," but the Grammy-winning singer has been the subject of a wave of racist and fat-phobic comments on social media. The musician took to Instagram live to open up about hurtful responses and how she's trying to stay positive. The story.  

—Arrested. Chinese Canadian pop star Kris Wu was arrested Monday on suspicion of rape in a high-profile case that followed an accusation the singer had sex with a 17-year-old while she was drunk and lured young women into sexual relationships. The story. 

—"Watershed moment." Smriti Mundhra, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Netflix's Emmy-nominated series Indian Matchmaking, recounts the long journey to put a nonwhite dating show on air and how "no single show can represent the diverse identities and ideologies of 1.3 billion people." The guest column. 

"If I Survive This, I Will Make Films About What Happened"  

►"The problem is actually how to get to the airport and how to find the plane." THR's Alex Ritman speaks to Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat — who claimed the Cannes Directors' Fortnight prize in 2016 for Wolf and Sheep — about the nightmarish situation she currently faces as she tries to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with her family, and how current events have already impacted her future filmmaking plans. The story. 

—"He scared the living s*** out of me." Robert Patrick has been discussing his three-episode run on The Sopranos on Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa's podcast and he recounted how he made it a point to get under James Gandolfini’s skin right away to ensure his character’s beating in a classic episode would be intense. The story. 

—Overall deal news. Comedian Wyatt Cenac has signed a cross-studio overall deal with Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. Under the pact, Cenac will develop and produce animated programming at both studios for a range of audiences, including preschool, kids and adult audiences. The story. 

In other news...

—Film review: Neill Blomkamp's Demonic. 

—Film review: David Bruckner's The Night House.

—Star Wars: Visions drops first eye-popping trailer for Disney+ anthology anime series.

—Discovery obtains Dutch license for Polish news station TVN24. 

—MACRO, Beats partner for HBCU film competition.

—THR Presents Q&A with Pose’s Mj Rodriguez and Steven Canals. 

—THR Presents Q&A with Black-ish stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross.

—ShortBox Comics Fair to feature 48 artists with new material in October.

What else we're reading...

—"Axel Springer in Talks to Buy Ownership Stake in Politico" [Wall Street Journal]

—"Amazon’s Move Into Podcasts Was a Big Advertising Play All Along" [Bloomberg]

—"Jennifer Coolidge Gets Dramatic" [Vanity Fair]

—"Forget Scarjo vs. Disney. Hollywood’s Streaming Fight Is Just Beginning" [Los Angeles Times]

—"The Artist Behind TV’s Richly Emotional Cartoon Comedies" [New Yorker]

Today... 

... in 1979, the Monty Python team brought religious satire Life of Brian to theaters. A huge box office success upon release, the Brit comedy, directed by Welsh Python Terry Jones, continues to be ranked amongst the greatest comedies of all time. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Robert De Niro (78), Sean Penn (61), Austin Butler (30), Donnie Wahlberg (52), Julian Fellowes (72), Natalie Gold (45), Thierry Henry (44), Raphael Bob-Waksberg (37), Spiros Focás (84), Belinda Carlisle (63), Tim Bagley (64), Taissa Farmiga (27)