Movies

There were no ‘injured or injured’ animals (exclusive)

January 13, 2023

Filmmaker Michael Bay is facing charges in Italy related to the murder of a pigeon on the set of 2018 Netflix blockbuster ‘6 Underground’, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

Bay, who has made several attempts to clear up the matter with Italian authorities – to no avail – flatly denied the allegations on Thursday.

“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay said in a statement to TheWrap. “No animals involved in the production were harmed or harmed. Or on any other production I have worked on
over the past 30 years.

Italian authorities say a carrier pigeon was killed during ‘6 Underground’ production in Rome.

Pigeons are a protected species in Italy. Italy has a national law that prohibits harming, killing or capturing any wild bird, including pigeons. Pigeons are also protected in the EU under the Birds Directive.

According to an insider with knowledge of the production, a carrier pigeon was killed by a cart in the middle of a take in Rome. An anonymous individual who was on set apparently witnessed the incident, took a photo and reported it to Italian authorities, the insider added.

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“We have clear video evidence,” Bay said, “a multitude of witnesses and security personnel who exonerate us from these allegations. And refutes their only paparazzi photo – which gives a false story.

Other details of the case were unclear Thursday.

“There’s a court case going on so I can’t go into specifics, but I’m confident we’ll prevail when I have my day in court,” Bay said.

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Bay and his legal team have made three different attempts over the past year to get the case thrown out in court. Because Bay was the director of the film during production, he is held responsible. Italian authorities gave Bay the option of settling and paying a small fine, which he refused.

“The Italian authorities offered me a chance to settle this case by paying a small fine, but I refused to do so because I would not plead guilty to harming an animal,” Bay added.

Netflix, which released “6 Underground” on the streamer, declined to comment for this story. Skydance, which funded the project, also declined to comment.

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The main production of “6 Underground” started on July 30, 2018 in Italy. The film was shot in Rome, Florence, Siena and Taranto. Principal photography completed on December 5, 2018.

Ryan Reynolds starred in “6 Underground” as “One,” a billionaire who leads a team of six people who fake their deaths and form a vigilante squad to take down extremely mean guys. “6 Underground” was based on an original idea and written by executive producers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, best known for their work on “Deadpool” and “Deadpool 2.”

The film also starred Corey Hawkins as “Five”, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as “Three”, Dave Franco as “Two”, Adria Arjona as “Four”, and Ben Hardy as “Six”. Lior Raz, Mélanie Laurent and Payman Maadi complete the main cast.