If you weren't completely convinced that Zendaya can do anything before, this basically proves it. According to Deadline, the actress teamed up with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson to make what may be the first quarantine-made feature film, Malcolm & Marie.
After finding out that production for Euphoria season 2 was going to be delayed in March due to COVID-19, Zendaya apparently approached Levinson and asked if he could write a movie that they could film during quarantine, and he delivered within a week. Levinsion brought BlacKkKlansman and Tenet star John David Washington on board to play opposite Zendaya in a story that is described as having "echoes of Netflix’s Marriage Story, while resonating a number of social themes that the world is experiencing right now."
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Malcolm & Marie was filmed in just under a month, between June 17 and July 2, in a remote and COVID-19 safety compliant glass home called the Caterpillar House in Carmel, CA. The big, airy home is first LEED Platinum Custom Home on California’s Central Coast, and on 33 acres of land, so the location, paired with extremely detailed safety protocols, helped ensure the health of the cast and crew on set.
Some of these protocols included quarantining in Monterey two weeks before filming started, having no more than one person in a room at all times, using masks and other protective gear, eating individually-wrapped food provided by a chef on-site, no touching, enforcing temperature checks at the beginning and end of each day, having actors be in charge of handling their own costumes and mic-ing themselves, and much, much more.
Zendaya posted an intimate black and white still from the film on her Instagram, in which she caresses Washington, with the caption "Malcolm & Marie."
The production process of the film also varied from the traditional process. Levinson, his production partner and wife Ashley, producer Kevin Turen, producer Yariv Milchan, producer Michael Schaferas, and some of the actors financed the film themselves. Milchan and Schaferas reportedly also pledged to donate their proceeds from the film to charity. Musician and actor Kid Cudi also appears as a producer on the project.
While we may know all the hard work and care that was put into the production of this film, other details about Malcolm & Marie itself, like a potential release date or more about the plot are still under wraps. But by the look and sounds of it, we're in for something pretty special.