Natalie Portman series forced to stop production due to extortion, shooting threats – newsdubai

The filming of the Apple TV+ limited series Lady in the lake was suspended Friday afternoon after a group of Baltimore locals threatened the production, the Baltimore Banner first reported over the weekend.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, individuals confronted producers during filming on Park Avenue downtown around 4 p.m. Friday. Locals would “allow production to continue” if the producers paid them $50,000, police said in a statement to Los Angeles Times, although the producers refused to pay the amount. The group then threatened to “come back later tonight [and] shoot someone” if the shooting continued.

“Production managers decided to err on the side of caution and reschedule the shoot after finding another location,” a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department said. James Moses said in a statement to the Banner. (Vanity Fair has reached out to the Baltimore Police Department for further comment.)

Endeavor Content, the studio behind the series, told Deadline in a statement Sunday that “prior to the arrival of the cast and crew … a driver of our production crew was confronted by two men, one of whom brandished a gun at our driver, and then they fled the scene. We are working with the Baltimore Police Department as the investigation is ongoing.” The statement continued: “The safety and security of our crew, cast and everyone working across our productions is our highest priority and we are grateful that no one was injured. Production will resume with increased security measures going forward.”

Lady in the lake, which is adapted from long-term residents of Baltimore Laura Lipman‘s novel and created by Dear boy‘s Alma Har’el, takes place in 1960s Baltimore. It has an Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Emmy-nominated Moses Ingram, as well as mike madison, Y’Lan Noel, and Brett Gelman. Filming for the project began in April and is expected to continue through October.