A handful of high-profile TV series have faced production delays in recent months due to dangerous incidents occurring on and around the sets where filming takes place. Natalie Portman’s upcoming Apple TV+ original drama Lady in the Lake was the latest show to face such setbacks, after everything was halted over a disgruntled street vendor allegedly threatening crew members with a gun. Thankfully, the potentially violent confrontation concluded without tragedy, and the suspect was later arrested. Now, the production company Endeavor Content has provided an update on the situation.
In the aftermath of the hectic ordeal that took place in Baltimore, Maryland, where Lady in the Lake is being filmed, a spokesperson for Endeavor Content offered the following statement to CNN:
The safety and security of our crew, cast and all who work across our productions is our highest priority, and we are thankful no one was injured. Production will resume with increased security measures going forward.
It’s excellent to hear that not only did everyone in the cast and crew make it through intact and unharmed, but that more attention will be given to keeping the set secure as everyone gets back into gear for filming to continue. Even if this Lady of the Lake crime wasn’t as lethal as the murder that took place near the Law & Order: Organized Crime set, or as destructive as the gunfight-involved cars that plowed into the Justified: City Primeval set, it wouldn’t have taken much for things to quickly turn more dour.
While it’s not entirely clear how many people were in the direct line of danger, 43-year-old local Keith L. Brown is said to have pulled a gun on multiple members of Lady of the Lake’s crew, per Baltimore Police. Brown reportedly insisted they pay him $50,000 so that filming could continue uninterrupted, but the extortion attempt apparently went unsuccessfully.
Brown was arrested on Monday, August 29, on narcotics-related charges, and told police at the time that he’d talked to a crew member and security manager about paperwork “to receive compensation for lost business” on Friday, August 26. Detectives came to grasp that Brown wasn’t able to run his clothing business in its regular location while Lady in the Lake was filming, with the gun-brandishing threats serving as his reaction to missing out on lost wages.
Based on the novel by Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake takes place in the 1960s, where Natalie Portman's Maddie Schwartz gets invested in a whole host of Baltimore residents' dark secrets after helping the police solve a murder. She lands a job at the local newspaper that puts her in the middle of another deadly crime that changes her life.
While waiting to hear more about Lady in the Lake, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows will be popping up soon.
