Guy Ritchie’s upcominggangster series for Paramount+,The Associate, sounds fantastic, and has an equally wonderfulcast led by Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren. Unfortunately, the London production of the TV series hasn’t been so fantastic. There have been many awkward moments (and downright crimes) on the set ofThe Associate, the most recent of which hadTom Hardyopening his wallet and offering to pay the entire set crew after their company shut down.50 freelance builders were left stiffed just ahead of the Christmas holiday, being told by the construction company Helix 3D that they wouldn’t be paid this year, as the company was going into liquidation.
Last week, the workers were sent a message from Helix 3D’s chief executive, Brian Dowling, telling them that their more than $315,000 of unpaid wages (roughly £250,000) wouldn’t be dispersed in 2024. Considering the Christmas holidays were right around the corner, this was a particularly devastating blow for 50 skilled builders.Getting wind of the situation, Tom Hardy quickly stepped up and offered to pay everybody their wages. Likely fearing the PR fallout from such an event, Paramount intervened and sorted the payment out, so Christmas will thankfully be merry for some hard workers. It will also be merry for some thieves who robbed the production in broad daylight. More about that below.
The security guards started going bananas because they’d basically been robbed in broad daylight. It was pretty embarrassing and a costly mistake. The kit on those films isn’t cheap.
To their credit, Paramount was outspoken about the situation and protective of any worker on their production.The Daily Mailreports, “A Paramount source said they were ‘outraged’ at the situationand plans were in place to ensure the workers were paid. In a letter seen by the publication, organizing official for the broadcasting union Bectu, Chris Hudson, said:
“‘Our members deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and compensated on time for their work.It is wholly unacceptable that they are facing significant financial precarity, particularly ahead of Christmas. This close to Christmas, our members are rightly very distressed, with many fearing they will be unable to cover necessities.'”
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Thieves Stole More Than $1.2 Million of Equipment from ‘The Associate’ Production
Ironically, the production set for this series about gangsters and criminals has been robbed — twice within one week — with more than £1 million of camera equipment being stolen. Worst of all, the thieves did it using a Toyota Prius. As a crew member toldThe Sun:
“Guy had shut roads for the shoot and the production was teeming with security and crew. Out of nowhere, two blokes arrived in a Prius and started asking for directions. Their questions distracted people and at that moment, the other bloke jumped out and grabbed a bag of camera equipment that was on the side of the road. He jumped back in the car and they sped off.The security guards started going bananas because they’d basically been robbed in broad daylight. It was pretty embarrassing and a costly mistake. The kit on those films isn’t cheap.”
New Guy Ritchie Series with Tom Hardy Gets a Major Update
Their new global organized crime series centers around two warring families and the loyal fixer charged with protecting one of them at any cost.
The plot synopsis forThe Associatereads as follows: “An electrifying, new global crime series centered around two warring families based in London whose enterprises stretch all corners of the globe, and the fiercely loyal ‘fixer’ charged with protecting one of them at all costs […]Hardy will play Harry Da Souza, a professional conciliator on behalf of the Harrigan family, while Brosnan will play Conrad Harrigan, the head of a very successful Irish crime family based out of London for whom Harry works. Mirren will play Maeve Harrigan, Conrad’s wife and the Harrigan family matriarch.”
If the massive success of Guy Ritchie’s recent TV seriesThe Gentlemenis any indication, then The Associate will be a huge hit for Paramount, and they’ll undoubtedly recoup that stolen million. Watch this space for more updates about the series.
