French movie director Luc Besson is canceling the filming of scenes in downtown Taipei for his new movie Lucy because of media intrusion into the filming process, according to local reports yesterday.
Besson’s cast and crew have been hounded by TV camera crews, which has upset the director, the reports said.
The latest incident involved a TV crew that managed to shoot footage of Besson, actress Scarlett Johansson and crew members working through various scenes, the reports said.
As a result, Besson is thinking about cutting short the shoot in Taipei, which would have included a scene about burning incense at Lungshan Temple to pray for good luck, the reports said.
The reports came two days after an incident in which vehicles driven by Besson’s crew were almost hit by a vehicle carrying local media during filming.
The incident occurred because the media group did not follow a pre-arranged reporting plan, which led to the “dangerous action,” Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said at a press conference.
The near crash affected the progress of the shoot and upset the director, Hau said, urging the media to exercise self-restraint.
Taiwanese director and Golden Bell Award winner Qu You-ning (瞿友寧) said it is normal for the media to try to take pictures of the filming process.
Film crews can ensure a successful shoot by negotiating with the media beforehand, Qu said.
Another director, Gavin Lin (林孝謙), said Taiwanese journalists behave “much better” than those in other countries in trying to get information about the filmmaking process.
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