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Florence Pugh is reflecting on Yelena Belova’s direction in Thunderbolts** while recalling incidents from a challenging production, including a scorpion encounter and cast injuries on set. The Marvel film, directed by Jake Schreier, features a team of conflicted operatives led by Yelena and includes Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).

At last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Pugh revealed she completed a base jump from Merdeka 118, the second-tallest building in the world. The Malaysia stunt, filmed alongside longtime Marvel stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker and base jumper Katie Hansen, was not for individual recognition. “That day in Malaysia was an achievement for all of us,” she said. “We all got to say that we worked on that stunt, and what a powerful way to start a movie.”

Production also involved real-world threats. During a desert scene, Pugh...

Florence Pugh might have daredevil in her DNA.

At last summer’s San Diego Comic-Con, Pugh revealed that she had a major stunt in “Thunderbolts”: jumping off the second tallest building in the world, Merdeka, a 118-story skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It’s the type of terrifying feat that would freak most grandparents out, but Pugh’s grandmother, affectionately called “Granzo Pat,” didn’t seem to bat an eyelash during the London premiere of the Marvel movie.

“She loved the movie. She said, ‘Brilliant, darling. Very thrilling,’ but I didn’t ask her what she thought of the jump,” Pugh tells Variety in Los Angeles a few days later. “She’s also crazy, like she’s someone that does some pretty mad stuff, so maybe she just thought that was a walk in the park.”

With the once-in-a-lifetime stunt, Pugh adds “Guinness World Record holder” to her already impressive resume,...

Oz is officially coming to Las Vegas later this summer.

Sphere Entertainment, the company behind the Las Vegas Sphere, says that it will launch a “fully immersive” version of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz beginning in August.

The company says it worked with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google and Magnopus to develop a version of The Wizard of Oz that “will maintain the integrity of the original while pushing the boundaries of Sphere’s experiential medium.”

And the company’s Sphere Studios division also says that it is developing a new documentary project called From the Edge, directed by Free Solo Academy Award winners E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. From the Edge will follow five extreme athletes: free diver Alenka Artnik, skier Markus Eder, rock climber Alex Honnold, Base jumper Katie Hansen Lajeunesse and surfer Kai Lenny, using proprietary camera technology.

From the Edge will debut in 2026.

Both The Wizard of Oz...

“The Wizard of Oz” is taking the Yellow Brick Road to the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Sphere Entertainment Co. has announced two new projects — “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” and “From the Edge” — currently in production from Sphere Studios. Both productions are part of Sphere’s slate of original immersive content called The Sphere Experience.

“Our goal for The Sphere Experience is a diverse slate that leverages Sphere’s power as an experiential medium. ‘The Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ and ‘From the Edge’ will push that vision forward in different ways,” said Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment.

The 1939 original “Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland as the iconic character Dorothy, will be presented as a fully immersive experience for Sphere, in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google and Magnopus. The Sphere will use “cutting edge technologies to enhance the film” and the production “will...