How Bradley Cooper and Paul Thomas Anderson Are Safely Filming Their New Movie Amid the Covid Pandemic
Steven Ferdman/Getty Images, Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Paul Thomas Anderson has started production on a new movie starring Bradley Cooper amid the coronavirus pandemic. The project, which is being shot on location in Los Angeles, marks one of the few Hollywood productions not being filmed on a secluded studio soundstage. Still, serious safety measures are being taken to ensure that the cast and crew remain healthy while filming.
On Monday, photos emerged of Cooper shooting a scene at a gas station in Encino while decked out in ‘70s attire. He was snapped chatting with Anderson in between takes, but the Boogie Nights director was donning a face mask, as were the other members of the behind-the-scenes crew. The upcoming movie doesn’t have an official title, but it’s shooting under the codename Soggy Bottom. Sources involved in the production tell us face masks and shields are being worn on set by everyone behind the camera, while weekly testing is in place for the entire cast and crew.
Few plot details are known about the film, but it’s being described as a coming-of-age ensemble drama set in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. The film reportedly involves multiple storylines revolving around a high school student who’s also a famous child star. It’s unclear what role Cooper plays in the film and no other cast members have been announced at this time. Anderson is no stranger to big ensembles set in Los Angeles. Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Inherent Vice are among his other character-driven films that take place in the region.
Bradley Cooper on the set of Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film, tentatively titled, ‘Soggy Bottom’. pic.twitter.com/qkGkcR1q82
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The secretive project was initially gearing up for a spring start date prior to the Covid-19 shutdown. A late-summer shoot doesn’t mark much of a delay, but the same can’t be said for Nightmare Alley, the Guillermo del Toro thriller that Cooper had been shooting in Canada before production was delayed indefinitely.
Del Toro revealed during a Comic Con at Home panel last month that Nightmare Alley will resume shooting once they can accommodate everyone’s schedule. It seems Anderson’s movie is taking precedent for now. Del Toro also addressed the challenges of safely filming his new movie, in which Cooper plays a con man working at a carnival. “You have to be sterile,” del Toro said about on-set protocol once production is back underway. “You have to have everybody in conditions that are almost clinical, but you have to re-enact the carnival with the extras and everything… There’s dozens and dozens of pages of caution that we had to really consider.”
Many Hollywood productions still remain shuttered despite some restrictions on shooting being lifted. In June, several Hollywood unions — including the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild – published a 36-page document titled “The Safe Way Forward,” which provided guidelines for resuming production as cautiously as possible. Some of the safety measures being implemented include frequent testing, clean sets, personal protective equipment for crew members and enforcing social distancing whenever feasible.
