locked down harrods© HBO

Anne Hathaway explains how new heist film was filmed inside this prestige London location

The film is one of the first lockdown themed movies of the year

TV & Film Writer
Updated: March 16, 2021

Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor are set to star opposite each other in HBO Max's new quarantine heist film, Locked Down which sees an ordinary couple attempt to pull off the heist of a lifetime at London department store Harrods. But like us, you're probably wondering how exactly did the filmmakers get the iconic shop to agree to part of the movie?

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Well, now Anne has shed some light on how the film - and it's climactic finale at the iconic London store - came to life.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actress, 38, told Jimmy about the new film which sees her and co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor, 43, play a couple living together in London who break up while in lockdown.

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"The day after we have our can't-take-it-back, end-it-all, rager of a fight, my character gets a call that one of my co-workers is experiencing symptoms and we are now to be locked down with each other for 14 days in quarantine," she said, adding: "We sort of lose our minds, find each other, and then somehow decide to steal a three million pound diamond from a mass murderer."

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The star said that director Doug Liman and British screenwriter Steven Knight approached Harrods with their 40-page script, explaining that the film would not work without the store's agreement.

She said the duo told the department store, "We've got 40 pages and an idea but if you don't say yes to our needing to shoot the finale of the movie in your store, there's no point in us making it so, can we get a yes or no?"

© HBO

Anne was appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

"And you would expect them to be like, 'We have to call our lawyers, we have to run it through this, we have to do market research'," Anne continued. "But [because] it was 2020, they were like, 'You know what, why not?'"

The official synopsis for the film, which lands on HBO Max on January 14, reads: "Just as they decide to separate, Linda and Paxton find life has other plans when they are stuck at home in a mandatory lockdown.

© Photo: Getty Images

The film's finale takes place inside the iconic London store

"Co-habitation is proving to be a challenge, but fueled by poetry and copious amounts of wine, it will bring them closer together in the most surprising way."

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