Natalie Portman’s ‘Lady in the Lake’ Halted Baltimore Production After Threats to Producers

Stars Portman and Moses Ingram were not present during the incident

Baltimore
WMAR-2 News

UPDATED (Aug. 29): Following publication of this article a statement from Endeavor Content was added. Endeavor Content also confirmed that Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram were not present during the incident.

Natalie Portman’s “Lady in the Lake” halted production in Baltimore Friday afternoon after threats to producers, Baltimore’s Fox 5 News reported Saturday.

According to Baltimore police, several people threatened producers of the Apple TV+ series and tried to extort them for money.

Chakia Fennoy, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Police Department, told Fox 5 News that the crew was filming on the 200 block of Park Avenue downtown around 4 p.m. when several people approached producers on set and threatened to return and shoot someone if the production did not stop filming.

Police said the group noted that no violence would occur if the group was paid, although it was not revealed if a sum of money was discussed. The investigation is still ongoing.

“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,” Endeavor Content said in a statement emailed to TheWrap. “We are working with the Baltimore Police Department as the investigation is ongoing.”

“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,” the statement continued. “Production will resume with increased security measures going forward.”

Filming stopped following the incident and the production reportedly scouted for another location. Endeavor Content confirmed that neither Portman nor Moses Ingram, who also stars in the series, were present during the incident.

The Baltimore Police and a representative for Portman did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

An adaptation of Laura Lippman’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, “Lady in the Lake” centers on housewife Maddie Schwartz (Portman), who is pushed to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist following an unsolved murder in 1960s Baltimore.

Moses Ingram, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” star and Baltimore native, recently joined the project after Lupita Nyong’o dropped out of the show. Ingram plays Cleo Sherwood, a dedicated mother juggling several jobs, who crosses paths with Maddie.

Alma Har’el and Portman serve as executive producers and the series is produced by Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America.

“It has been a privilege filming ‘Lady in the Lake’ in Baltimore, working with its vibrant community across many areas. Our thanks and appreciation to the City of Baltimore, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Baltimore Film Office, Maryland Film Office and the Baltimore Police Department for their incredible support as we continue production in the great City of Baltimore and surrounding communities,” the statement concluded.

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