Prominent representatives of the American film industry have checked into one of Munich’s most famous hotels. As journalists learned from reliable sources, the streaming service Netflix is currently carrying out the production of a new feature film in the historical premises of the five-star hotel “Bayerischer Hof”.
The cast of the film being shot includes world celebrities of the first magnitude: the lead actor in the cult series “The X-Files” David Duchovny, Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”, “Wicked”, “Jurassic World Rebirth”) who has gained wide popularity in recent years, as well as Oscar winner Laura Dern (“Jurassic Park”, “Marriage Story”).
The Production Process at the Hotel “Bayerischer Hof”
Attentive passers-by and residents of Munich can already notice clear signs of ongoing work near the building of the famous hotel. Specialized trucks with technical and lighting equipment have been parked in front of the main entrance for several days, while inside the building under conditions of strict confidentiality, key scenes of the future picture are being filmed.
The creative team has also occupied Wittelsbacherplatz, where auxiliary transport, mobile technical stations, and a mobile cafeteria for the servicing staff have temporarily set up. The choice of Munich as the main filming location is not accidental: the Bavarian Film Support Fund (FFF Bayern) allocated a targeted subsidy in the amount of 500 thousand euros for the implementation of this ambitious project. According to the strict conditions of the fund, the motion picture must be produced directly in Bavaria, and the largest part of it must be shot here, which stimulates the involvement of local specialists and the regional economy. Representatives of the Netflix company and German producer Philipp Schulz-Deyle refused to disclose details when official press inquiries were directed, citing commercial secrecy.
The plot of the cinematic picture, the working title of which is not yet disclosed in the interest of the marketing campaign, is based on real historical events. According to data from the Bavarian Film Support Fund, the project represents a deep political and social courtroom drama dedicated to the protracted international confrontation surrounding the chemical substance glyphosate.
In the year two thousand eighteen, a historic court trial took place in the US against the American agrochemical concern Monsanto. An American court of first instance then established that school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson fell ill with cancer of the lymphatic system largely due to the regular use of the herbicide RoundUp, which contains glyphosate and was produced by the specified company over the course of many years without proper informing of consumers about the risks.
The plaintiff’s side, represented by a team of lawyers, managed to achieve unprecedented success and won this lengthy, legally complex court process. By the initial decision of the court, the American company was obliged to pay the victim compensation in the amount of 253 million euros in equivalent. This precedent-setting decision was followed by many thousands of similar class-action and individual lawsuits around the world, which over the subsequent years cost the Monsanto company and its new German owner, the Leverkusen chemical-pharmaceutical concern Bayer, billions of euros in the form of legal costs, fines, and direct compensation payments.
Hollywood Filmmakers in Bavaria: The Director’s Name Is Known Worldwide
The main roles in the new drama, according to information from Netflix representatives, are performed by Jonathan Bailey and the constant muse of director David Lynch, Laura Dern (“Wild at Heart”). Bailey embodies on the screen the image of a young, inexperienced but ambitious lawyer, Brent Wisner, who enters into an uncompromising confrontation with the transnational giant Monsanto for the sake of establishing justice.
Dern plays Melinda Rogers, the leading corporate toxicologist of the concern, who until the last asserts in court that glyphosate is completely safe for human health when properly applied.
The director and author of the screenplay is the recognized master of Hollywood cinema John Lee Hancock. It is known that actress Sandra Bullock in the year two thousand ten received an Oscar award for the main role in his famous picture “The Blind Side”.
The direct production is handled by the firm KrautPack Entertainment from Grünwald jointly with the company Onda Entertainment from Los Angeles, with Netflix acting as the global distributor and international partner.
High interest in the project from the film community is driven both by the strong cast and the relevance of the raised social and legal themes. The exact date of the world premiere on the streaming service platform has not yet been officially determined, however, according to reports from specialized American publications, the active filming period on the territory of Bavaria will completely finish before August of the current year.
