‘Euphoria’ Creator Sam Levinson Filmed Secret ‘Malcolm & Marie’ in Quarantine with Zendaya and John David Washington
It was revealed earlier today that Euphoria creator Sam Levinson secretly shot a movie called Malcolm & Marie with stars Zendaya and John David Washington. Practically all productions have been shut down with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as too many elements don’t adhere to social distancing. But Levinson found a safe way to do so.
While no real synopsis is available yet, the movie is said to have: “some echoes of Netflix’s Marriage Story, while resonating [with] a number of social themes which the world is experiencing right now.”
Apparently approved by WGA, DGA, and SAG-AFTRA guilds, the movie was shot from June 17 to July 2 with a two-week quarantine right after the cast and crew arrived and before they all went home. The necessarily meticulous production was funded by Sam and Ashley Levinson, John David Washington, Zendaya, and producer Kevin Turen. It was all kept to one location at the Caterpillar House in Carmel, California, forbidding anybody to leave or enter the location while filming. It’s unclear just how large the cast and crew was, but it’s been confirmed that they only met up in open spaces where they can appropriately social distance and wear masks. For a better understanding of how they stayed safe, be sure to see Deadline’s list of all the precautions they took.
Keeping it in the family, Malcolm & Marie also borrows the talent of Euphoria cinematographer Marcell Rév and production designer Michael Grasley. This is most likely in part due to Euphoria’s season 2 getting cut short this March. Deadline also reported that right after it was shut down, Zendaya asked Levinson if he could write and shoot a movie during quarantine. He could and he did.
Currently, there is no release date for Malcolm & Marie.
