Latest news with #Shazam!FuryoftheGods
Buzz Feed
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Zachary Levi Says Politics Affected His Career
You know Zachary Levi — even if you maybe wish you didn't. Zachary has worked steadily since his role as Chuck in, uh, Chuck — if not quite successfully. His last two big projects, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Harold and the Purple Crayon, were critical and commercial disappointments, to say the least. More recently, Zachary has gained attention for his political stances rather than his acting abilities. He endorsed Trump and emerged as a vaccine skeptic, and Broadway legend Laura Benanti came forward to say that she basically hates him in response to all of his public shenanigans. Brutal. Now, Zachary is far from "canceled." He just starred in the faith-based film The Unbreakable Boy and has several projects currently in post-production. He's also currently filming the action film Hotel Tehran. But, as Trump-supporting Hollywood types often do, Zachary is now claiming that his career's been hurt by his political opinions — specifically, in a new profile that Variety recently published. 'I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know,' he said in the profile, apparently gesturing towards Beverly Hills in conversation. 'They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually.' Oh well! You can read the entire profile here.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support Show Caption Hide Caption Zachary Levi opens up about therapy, role in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Zachary Levi opens up to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his mental health journey and how it informed his role in "The Unbreakable Boy." Zachary Levi is speaking out about how his conservative beliefs have impacted his work in Hollywood. The "Shazam!" star opened up in a Variety story published May 22 about the aftermath of voting for President Donald Trump and his vocal vaccine skepticism. "I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions," Levi said. "My team has let me know. They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually." But still, he says some in the film industry are supportive of his views. Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us' "I know it to be true because I've gotten messages from lots of people who I won't name but who were very grateful to me for taking the stand that I took," Levi said. "They would tell me, 'I want to do that, but I'm so afraid.' And I would tell them, 'Listen, you're on your journey. I'm on my journey." "'You've got to keep trusting God. And if you feel compelled to step out in that way, then do it boldly and know that you're going to be OK. And if you don't feel that conviction yet, then don't," Levi said. "It's all good." Zachary Levi praises left-leaning 'Shazam!' co-star Rachel Zegler The "Chuck" actor is building a $100 million studio in Austin, as his own creative space outside of Hollywood. He said that "AI is about to be the nail in the coffin, and we wonder why LA has become the Detroit of the entertainment industry." Variety said the campus for his Wyldwood Studios will include two 20,000-square-foot amphitheaters, a boutique hotel, cabins and a farm-to-table restaurant on 75 acres along the Colorado River banks. Levi added that "this industry is crumbling around us" and "in order for us to survive, we need to have a space for artists that will foster certified organic human-made content." Rachel Zegler addresses backlash to controversial 'Snow White' comments: 'It made me sad' The "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" actor also spoke out about his fellow controversial co-star Rachel Zegler. Zegler wrote, "May Trump supporters … never know peace" on Instagram after Trump won the 2024 election. Despite their political differences, Levi still praised Zegler during the Variety interview, even though he is "one of those people, obviously." "I think that we have got to recognize that a lot of times people's decisions are predicated upon the bad information that they're being fed on a regular basis," the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" alum added. "So should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis? She's a really talented girl, and I do think that she wants the best for the world deep down." Zachary Levi shares what he's 'not a fan of' about Donald Trump While Levi voted for Trump, he said, "I was not a fan of Trump's Trumpiness." "I didn't like a lot of these personal things, the ways that he carries himself a lot of the time. I understand people's aversion," Levi told Variety. "Do I think the whole package is somehow perfect? No. In fact, most people who voted for Donald Trump recognize a lot of the imperfections in all of it. Nobody was saying, 'This is the Orange Messiah.'" Khloé Kardashian, Zachary Levi blast California leadership over Los Angeles fires He holds some conservative views, but Levi said he still boasts a liberal streak. "I have conservative views, and I have more liberal views. And one of my more liberal views is that particularly growing up in the arts, I've had gay friends my entire life, and I've never, even within my spirituality, seen it as this thing that we need to be fearful of or scorn or bully or anything," Levi said. "I love my gay friends, my gay community." "Jesus wouldn't bully somebody online or otherwise because they're gay," the actor continued.
Hindustan Times
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
David Sandberg reveals he got death threats from fans for Shazam Fury of the Gods, will never make another IP-based film
Fandoms in superhero universe can be brutal, as director David F Sandberg discovered a couple of years ago. The filmmaker recently revealed that he received death threats from fans after the release of his 2023 film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. (Also read: Biggest box office bomb of 2024 lost $200 million, was beaten by $2 million indie film, director froze studio out) In an interview with GamesRadar, Sandberg candidly discussed his experience working on the Shazam! sequel and how it has now prevented him from seeking out IP-based projects. The director, known for films like Lights Out, said, 'Fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get, like, death threats and everything. So, after Shazam 2, I was like, 'I never wanna do another IP-based movie because it's just not worth it'.' Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a sequel to the 2019 DC hit Shazam! Starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Caroline Currey, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren, the film focused on the titular superhero's fight against the Daughters of Atlas. The film was a critical and commercial failure. It received unfavourable reviews and holds an adverse 49% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At the box office, it grossed only $134 million worldwide, way below its estimated break-even point. After the sour experience with Shazam, director Sandberg landed on the script of his upcoming movie Until Dawn, which he believes to be a "so good" script to pass. Based on a video game of the same name, the movie stars actors Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino in the lead roles. It is currently in the theatres.
Mint
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Director David Sandberg received death threats from fans after Shazam! Fury of the Gods release
Washington DC [US], April 27 (ANI): Director David F Sandberg has decided to never work on Intellectual Property (IP) based projects after receiving death threats and negative reactions from fans after the release of 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods', reported Variety. In an interview with GamesRadar, Sandberg spoke candidly about his experience working on the 'Shazam!' sequel and how it drove him away from seeking out IP-based projects, at least temporarily. The 'Lights Out' director revealed that he received death threats from the fans after the release of the 'Shazam' sequel. This paved the way for the director to think that "IP-based movies" are not worth his efforts. "I mean, to be honest, fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you, you can get, like, death threats and everything, so after 'Shazam 2,' I was like, 'I never wanna do another IP-based movie because it's just not worth it.'" said Sandberg as quoted by Variety. After the sour experience with 'Shazam', director Sandberg landed on the script of his upcoming movie 'Until Dawn,' which he believes to be a "so good" script to pass. "I was sent this script, and I was like, 'Ah, this would be so much fun to do, to do all these kinds of horrors? I kind of have to do it, and hope that the people see what we're trying to do and like it.' I really thought it was brilliant of the writers to come up with this time loop idea where the night starts over, because then you do kind of get that feel of the game, when you're replaying it and making different choices. I think it's very much in the spirit of the game," said Sanberg as quoted by Variety. The movie is based on a video game of the same name. As per the outlet, the "Until Dawn" video game was first released in 2015 and makes use of a 'butterfly effect' mechanism, forcing players to make spur-of-the-moment decisions that alter the course of history. "What I loved about the script [is] that it wasn't trying to recreate the game. Trying to condense 10 hours into two, or something like that. But it is scary still, even though we're doing a new thing," Sandberg added as quoted by Variety. Sandberg's 'Until Dawn' stars actors Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino in the lead roles. The film is currently in the theatres. (ANI) First Published: 27 Apr 2025, 10:24 AM IST
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ethel Cain & Pedro Pascal throw support behind Rachel Zegler amidst 'Snow White' drama
Ethel Cain and Pedro Pascal are the latest celebs to throw their support behind Rachel Zegler amidst her continued scapegoating for the underperformance of Disney's live action version of Snow White. Zegler has been drawing backlash for Snow White ever since her casting was first announced back in 2021. At the time, the complaints largely revolved around racism — with "skin as white as snow," the character should be played by a Caucasian person, her detractors insisted. Since then, people have come up with new reasons to be angry about her involvement in the film. She had the audacity to point out that there's some creepy stuff going on with the romance in the original that does not play well in a modern world. And drawing even more performative outrage, she said "free Palestine" on X (fka Twitter) last summer and later spoke out against people who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Her Palestine comment reportedly prompted an in-person scolding from producer Marc Platt (Ben Platt's father) in addition to a continual pile-on from strangers online. Now that Snow White is underperforming at the box office and the folks who love pointing fingers scramble for something to blame beyond "everyone is tired of these boring remakes," Zegler is shouldering a lot of the flack. Never mind that she's got a devoted fan base, or that Gal Gadot has become a flop magnet, or that pesky racism we mentioned earlier, or any of the other myriad of reasons the film has yet to make back its unnecessarily bloated budget. It's easier to blame Zegler. Fortunately, fellow actors have been showing support for the young star amidst this foolishness, both publicly and privately. Zegler previously shared that former Shazam! Fury of the Gods costars Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu have been in her corner, as has Jameela Jamil, who is certainly no stranger to public controversy herself. She even said that Ariana Grande reached out to her out of nowhere at some point to offer support. Melissa Barrera, who similarly received flack over her support of Palestine, reposted something on Instagram last week that denounced the way Variety was allegedly attempting to "paint [Zegler] as difficult and politically radical." More recently, Cain chimed in, sharing an Instagram story that simply reads, "@rachelzegler don't let em get u down, legend." — (@) "ethel cain is always on the right side of history and i'm obsessed," one fan replied. Pascal made a similar choice, opting to share a photo of Zegler and writing "#icon" underneath it. — (@) Right-leaning tabloids like The Daily Mail have already bent over backwards highlighting the backlash Pascal has received for taking a small (but meaningful) stand for Zegler. But considering his legion of fans and the number of people who are cheering on his public support, it seems safe to say he won't be too bothered. — (@)
