Crowe movie brings out anonymous warning on Malta production

Russell Crowe’s return to Malta on the set of a new movie has surely excited fans of the 57-year-old Australian movie star.

But for film production workers in Malta who are at times at odds with the big international productions, news of Crowe in Malta was met with a warning for Maltese film crew workers called to the set of ‘Prizefighter’.

The warning comes from the anonymous contributions posted to Maltacrewstories on Instagram, which collects stories from crew members reporting from film sets in Malta.

Hours before news broke of Russell Crowe’s return to Malta to film for a new days in between other commitments, Maltacrewstories had raised the alert on the latest production to hit the Maltese islands.

“Hello all. There is [a] production called ‘Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher’ (a period boxing film) which plans to shoot pick-ups/completion scenes this autumn, partly in Malta, partly in the UK.

“This production is to be avoided. It owes crew money and is very badly run. Spread the world. Don’t do it if you are offerred it and if you hear of anyone else considering it, discourage them.”

Paul Parker Films, the local service provider for ‘Prizefighter’, has however disputed the anonymous claims.

“We’ve had no issues regarding payments on the production currently shooting in Malta,” Paul Parker told MaltaToday. “All commitments have been honoured, from crew, to extras and other services. We have a full crew of around 75 people working on the film, some of whom have been already working on the building of three huge period sets. Unfortunately this unfounded story will only help to hurt the industry.”

The Instagram page features reports of errant producers and unnamed “key players in the local industry”, low budgets, lack of safety protocols for live action guns, lack of prop masters, and other horror stories from the world of non-unionised film production workers.

“Maltese locations teams are some of the hardest working and under appreciated departments. Aren’t they people too? I’ve seen someone do a 14-hour day on set, then continue to drive a Luton on wrap-running errands. Who knows how many times they came close to hurting themselves or others.

“We wish we had a union. We wish we had rights. Our passion for our craft is used against us. We don’t have TOC, we don’t have proper overtime rules,” another post in the Instagram page says.

Crowe was the star of Ridley Scott’s Roman-era epic, Gladiator, filmed partly in Malta in 1999 with a lavish set at Fort Rinella where the island was used as a set for ancient Rome.

Prizefighter is a forthcoming movie about the 19th-century pugilist Jem Belcher, starring Matt Hookings, Ray Winstone, Jodhi May and Steven Berkoff. Crowe’s name is not listed however in IMDB cast listings for the film.

Crowe was recently filming in Thailand just two weeks ago, with Hollywood star Zac Efron. The pair are appearing in a movie based on the book ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’, about the story of Marine Corps veteran John ‘Chick’ Donohue.