10 Movies That Were Shot In Secret

Sam Levinson's drama Malcolm & Marie has the distinction of being the first Hollywood feature to be written, shot, edited, and released during the pandemic.

In July 2020, it was announced that Levinson had already completed shooting the film in secret, with Netflix ultimately acquiring distribution rights and releasing it in February 2021.

After the pandemic caused production of TV show Euphoria to be shut down, Levinson invited star Zendaya to work with him on a romantic drama film which could be shot with just two actors and a small skeleton crew.

John David Washington was ultimately brought aboard as her co-star, with shooting taking place over just two weeks while adhering to local COVID-19 protocols, meaning that only 12 people could ever be on the set at one time, and everyone had to quarantine for two weeks before and after filming.

As a result of the limited personnel, Zendaya and Washington had to do their own makeup and pick out their own clothes for the film. 

The result is a movie that, while divisive as usual for Levinson, boasted an impressive level of polish for a project produced in just a few short months.