(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The filming of an Apple TV series in Baltimore, Maryland, has had to be stopped due to extortion and shooting threats by local gangsters in a case deemed indicative of the worsening crime situation in US cities.
The Apple TV production affected by the criminal harassment in Baltimore is the “Lady in the Lake” series starring Natalie Portman, who happens to be a big supporter of the leftist “defund the police” policies, Breitbart News reported citing Variety.
The filming was halted at the end of last week because two thugs, one of them flashing a gun, came to the film crew, demanded a “protection fee” of $50,000, and threatened to shoot crew members unless they paid.
The report said producers decided to shut down the filming preferring to “err on the side of caution” rather than expose the crew to potential violence.
The compromised filming location for the “Lady in the Lake” was in downtown Baltimore, on the Park Avenue boulevard.
According to the Baltimore Police Department, the filming of the Natalie Portman series was stopped temporarily, and a search for a new location is ongoing.
“Friday afternoon, on the Baltimore set of our production ‘Lady in the Lake,’… 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, the company producing the Apple TV series, said in a statement.
“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. Production will resume with increased security measures going forward,” the company added.
“It has been a privilege filming ‘Lady in the Lake’ in Baltimore, working with its vibrant community across many areas,” the statement said further, as it thanked the heads of the local authorities and the police for “their incredible support” in the “great City of Baltimore.”
The “Lady in the Lake” series is based on a 2019 book of the same name by criminal fiction writer Laura Lippman. It follows Natalie Portman’s character, which leaves a “posh life” to become a reporter investigating an unresolved murder and “advocating for the city’s minority population.”
The filming in Baltimore started in April and is supposed to wrap in October.
The city has been experiencing a crime spike. It registered 337 homicides last year and more than 200 in the first seven months of this year.
Baltimore drug dealers target ‘Lady in the Lake’ crew for extortion attempthttps://t.co/zIhysastLC pic.twitter.com/uNuYW0vjRK
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) August 29, 2022
