BUSTED! 120g cocaine seized from Denzel Washington's 'The Equalizer 3' set after head caterer's death
MALORI, ITALY: There are some things that even former DIA agent Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) can’t even contain and what happened at the sets of ‘The Equalizer 3’ is a perfect example of it. In January 2022, it was announced that a third film in ‘The Equalizer’ is officially in development, with Washington returning in the titular role. Later, it was revealed that Dakota Fanning will also be making an appearance in the film and the filming began in October 2022. However, the movie has found itself in a controversy after Italian police found cocaine in the hotel rooms of catering staff hired for the movie.
As per the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, the Italian paramilitary raided the rooms of a resort in Maiori, where the cast and crew of ‘The Equalizer 3’ are currently residing. The paramilitary force recovered 120 grams of cocaine during the raid and swept the entire area of the resort. The media outlet also noted that the authorities raided the resort after they got to know that the head of the film’s catering service suffered a fatal heart attack the previous evening, and after searching, they found some doses of cocaine in his pocket.
RELATED ARTICLES
Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington reunite for 'The Equalizer 3', fans say they 'cannot wait'
After confiscating the 120 grams of cocaine, the police placed two other members of the film’s catering staff under house arrest on alleged drug dealing charges.
The entire situation might have dire effects on production houses choosing Italy as their preferred location. Italy is one of Hollywood's favorite film locations thanks to tax incentives. However, this particular incident might compel the government to reconsider its laws so that people don’t take advantage of such incentives.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, ‘The Equalizer 3’ sees Washington and Fanning returning to the franchise once again. Fans are curious to know the plot of the upcoming movie, but the studio and the director are not letting anything slip away.
The first ‘Equalizer’ was released in 2014 and opened to mixed reviews. However, it turned out to be a box office success and earned $192 million over a production budget of $65-$70 million. Four years later, in 2018, the sequel went on to receive positive reviews from critics as well as audiences and made a similar amount of money globally.
‘The Equalizer 3’ is scheduled to hit theatres on Friday, September 1, 2023.