Zendaya and John David Washington Shot a Secret Movie During The Pandemic with EUPHORIA Creator Sam Levinson
The creator of the HBO series Euphoria, Sam Levinson, quietly shot a secret film during the coronavirus lockdown with Zendaya (Spider-Man, Euphoria) and John David Washington (Tenet). The movie is titled, Malcolm & Marie and it’s already finished with production. It’s said to be the first film shot and completed during the pandemic.
The film was shot between June 17th and July 2nd at the Caterpillar House, which is an environmentally conscious glass architectural home located in Carmel, CA. Apparently, the shoot was all compliant with WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA approvals and COVID-19 safety protocols.
Malcolm & Marie found an ideal location in Feldman Architecture’s Caterpillar House. Not only was it legal to shoot on private property in Monterey County, but the Caterpillar House, on 33 acres of land, I hear, accentuated the emotion and choreography of Levinson’s screenplay while providing privacy for the production and distance from anyone outside the quarantine group.
All we know about the plot of the film is that it has “some echoes of Netflix’s Marriage Story, while resonating a number of social themes that the world is experiencing right now.”
According to the report, the movie came about after production on Euphoria’s Season 2 had to shut down. Not long after, Zendaya called Levinson “and asked if he could write and direct a movie during quarantine. Within six days, Levinson had cracked Malcolm & Marie.”
The film was funded by Levinson, his wife and production partner Ashley Levinson, longtime producer Kevin Turen, Washington, and Zendaya. It was also explained that before shooting began, Levinson was writing a script for New Regency “when Yariv Milchan and Michael Schafer said they wanted to support the financing of Malcolm & Marie and donate their proceeds to charity. Both are EPs on the movie along with Aaron L. Gilbert, Will Greenfield, Washington, Zendaya and Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) the latter of whom is also an investor in Malcolm & Marie. Co-EPs are Katia Washington, Harrison Kreiss, Stuart Manashil and Kenneth Yu.”
It’s interesting to hear that a movie was actually shot during the pandemic. Michael Bay has been trying to get his Songbird movie into production during these lockdown days, but has been running into some issues with that.
Source: Deadline