Zendaya, John David Washington, and Euphoria's Sam Levinson secretly made a movie in quarantine
While Hollywood has been grappling with the limitations of producing in the middle of a pandemic, some creatives aren’t waiting around for the industry-wide green light to head back to work. In fact, one filmmaker in particular managed to produce an entire feature film starring A-list talent without so much as a whisper of their proceedings leaking to the press. How are we supposed to properly, anxiously wring our hands at the thought of such audacity without at least one leaked photo? The nerve!
Per Deadline, Euphoria creator Sam Levinson quietly shot Malcolm & Marie with stars Zendaya and John David Washington. It’s considered the first feature production to successfully wrap in quarantine and was filmed very recently, from June 17 to July 2. Production hasn’t made an official synopsis available just yet, but some close to the project have compared it to the Oscar-nominated Marriage Story, which followed the turbulent early stages of a divorce. Levinson penned the film shortly after coronavirus concerns halted production for season 2 of Euphoria.
While we would obviously prefer that everyone adhere to active social distancing protocols to better our chances of eventually seeing the end of the waking nightmare, the filming process for Malcolm & Marie was both environmentally conscious, heavily monitored, and very safe. Per Deadline, the limited cast and crew were all compliant with WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA-approved COVID-19 safety protocols. Levinson and company were tested prior to filming and took many precautions which including wearing masks, rehearsing in open-air spaces, social distancing in separate pods, eating in designated areas with a similarly quarantined on-site chef, and remaining sequestered on the property at all times. No more than 12 people were allowed on set at a time and as of now, nobody has reported any symptoms or a positive coronavirus diagnosis. Should this prove successful, this could serve as a blueprint for major productions going forward.
As of now, there is no release date for Malcolm & Marie.