Filming has wrapped on family adventure Miss Willoughby And The Haunted Bookshop, starring Nathalie Cox and Kelsey Grammer, which shot in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The film began shooting four weeks ago in York and observed health guidelines to ensure the safety of cast and crew during the ongoing virus crisis. A Covid-19 supervisor was on set to ensure government-sanctioned guidelines were met.
It marks one of the first independent features to shoot in the UK following a total shutdown of production in mid-March as a result of the pandemic.
Directed by Brad Watson, the mystery-suspense feature is produced by Philippe Martinez of UK-based MSR Media and Alan Latham of Highfield Grange Studios. US-based sales arm MSR Media International is handling worldwide distribution rights.
The story centres on Elizabeth Willoughby (Cox), who inherited her family’s estate after being orphaned at a young age and was raised by a retired US Marine (Grammer). Now a history professor and detective, she receives a call from family friends to investigate a series of hauntings at their antique bookshop.
Written by Kate Wood, Chad Law and Josh Ridgway, the cast also includes Caroline Quentin, Steven Elder and Tara Fitzgerald. The film’s executive producers are Lee Beasley and Karinne Behr from MSR Media and Kirsty Bell from Goldfinch Entertainment.
Grammer said of the shoot: “Although Covid presented a new set of challenges, we were able to work very effectively through new standards of film production. I would urge my family of actors at SAG-AFTRA to take a page out of the British playbook; we can responsibly get back to work.”
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