The Moscow fires have spread to Hollywood. Production on The Darkest Hour, an alien-invasion thriller shooting in the Russian capital, has been shut down due to thick smoke engulfing the area. The shutdown of the Summit Entertainment/New Regency production, which stars Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch and is being directed by Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door), is planned for two weeks. More inside.
Cast and crew were told Thursday night that filming would be suspended due to the raging forest fires that have killed more than 50 people. Smoke from the fires makes shooting outside impossible (the production was in the middle of lensing exterior scenes).
“On any production the health and safety of the actors and crew is of primary concern,” Summit tells THR in a statement. “The potential health issues and spread of fire has forced the production to be put on hold for two weeks in order to allow things to stabilize in the area.”
Force majeure clauses in contracts were invoked, although cast and crew were assured that the film, produced by Tom Jacobson and Timur Bekmambetov, would be completed as scheduled.
“We do not foresee this temporary stoppage of filming effecting the film’s wrap date as we always build contingencies into a production schedule to account for unforeseen situations,” Summit said.