The AppleTV+ series producers said production was threatened with extortion, pushing them to source for a new shoot location.
Locals in Baltimore were not happy to find that AppleTV+'s upcoming series featuring Natalie Portman called "Lady in the Lake" was shooting in their town. The production was forced to shut down temporarily when they received threats of violence.
Variety reported that producers of AppleTV+'s "Lady in the Lake" have decided to "err on the side of caution" after Baltimore locals issued extortion threats. According to the Baltimore police department, a group of locals announced threats of violence to the producers working on a shoot on Park Avenue in the city's downtown area at around 4 p.m. on Friday.
The Baltimore locals said they would return in the evening and shoot somebody if producers failed to pay them $50,000 in return for permission to shoot in the area. Producers then decided to hit pause on production and instead look for another shoot location after being issued threats of violence from those who were described as "drug dealers" by The Baltimore Banner, as reported by Deadline.
'Lady in the Lake' to Resume Filming Elsewhere
Filming for the upcoming AppleTV+ series "Lady in the Lake" began in April and was scheduled throughout the fall season. Based on Laura Lippman's 2019 novel of the same name, the AppleTV+ show features Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram, as well as Y'Lan Noel, Mikey Madison, and Brett Gelman.
"Lady in the Lake" is set in Baltimore in 1966, thus the filming location. David Simon, who created the Baltimore-set series "The Wire" and husband to Lippman, released a statement about the recent production stall to applaud the way local authorities handled the threats of violence.
Simon took to Twitter to share that over the last 20 years, he and his production had shot more than 200 hours of television and had received their fair share of backlash from "a few loudmouths" who were dealt with by security and Baltimore police officers who were "trained to firmly but respectfully respond. He concluded, "Baltimore is good people."
The Story of 'Lady in the Lake'
The upcoming AppleTV+ series follows the story of a housewife and mother named Maddie Schwartz, played by Portman. Schwartz is forced to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist after an unsolved murder of a young mother and progressive activist Cleo Sherwood rocks the town. Thus begins her journey as a hard-working woman who tries her best to be a good mother while maintaining her work and her "passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore's Black progressive agenda."
AppleTV+'s "Lady in the Lake" is created by Alma Har'el, who also serves as a director and executive producer alongside Christopher Legget. Portman will also serve as executive producer along with her producing partner, Sophie Mas.
Interestingly, Lupita Nyong'o was originally set to play Cleo in AppleTV+'s "Lady in the Lake," however news came in May that the actress had exited the show for reasons unknown, ScreenRant reported. Nyong'o was then replaced with Ingram, an Emmy-nominated actress who is best known for playing Jolene in Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit" and Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi."
