A report from Baltimore this weekend claims that production of a new Apple TV+ show starring Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram had to be halted and moved after locals threatened to shoot someone on the set unless it found another location.
Apple's Lady in the Lake series is an adaptation of a Laura Lippman novel about a white housewife turned investigative reporter in the 1960s who looks into an unsolved murder.
According to the report, filming has been ongoing since April and was set to continue until October, however locals described by the report as "drug dealers" appear to have interrupted proceedings this weekend.
Extortion
The Baltimore Banner reports that "drug dealers urging the cast and crew to clear the set on the west side of downtown threatened to shoot someone" according to a Baltimore Police Department spokesperson.
Production leaders "decided to err on the side of caution and reschedule the shoot after they found another location" according to James Moses. The report says that the group "also attempted to extort $50,000 from the crew to stand down." The site of the incident was reportedly the 200 block of Park Avenue near Lexington Market.
In a statement to Deadline Endeavor Content confirmed the events stating "Friday afternoon, on the Baltimore set of our production Lady in the Lake, prior to the arrival of the cast and crew, per their call time, a driver on our production crew was confronted by two men, one of whom brandished a gun directed at our driver, and then they fled the location."
Natalie Portman was announced as cast and also an executive producer on the Apple TV+ show last year, alongside Lupita Nyong'o who has since dropped out.
Apple continues to invest in its slate of original content on its streaming platform, which is available on all of Apple's best iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the best TVs for Apple TV.
