On-Set ‘Disaster’ Revealed on Anne Hathaway-Produced Film

A Chicago single mother was delighted when she learned she had been booked as a background actor on the upcoming Anne Hathaway-produced film Little Five.

‘At first, I was really excited,’ the actress, who asked not to be identified, told Our News Outlet. ‘I didn’t know about her involvement before signing up, but I was a big fan.’

The job offered more than a chance to work around Hollywood professionals. It also promised extra income to help cover her bills.

She drove her own car more than 100 miles from Chicago to Bloomington, Indiana, where filming took place at Indiana University over a week from late July into August.

The aspiring actress said producers initially appeared to have a handle on managing thousands of extras, but the situation deteriorated as filming continued. ‘It just became messier and messier,’ she said.

Several insiders said cast and crew endured long days in extreme heat, meals they found unappealing and, most seriously, delays in receiving their full pay, with some workers reportedly waiting months.

‘Of all people, [Hathaway] should understand how this works and how it is supposed to go,’ the source told Our News Outlet.

Hathaway, 43, has enjoyed a decades-long acting career in films including The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada and The Odyssey. In 2024, she and her husband, Adam Shulman, launched the production company Somewhere Pictures.

The relatively new company has released fewer than a handful of projects, including Hathaway’s latest box-office success, Verity, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel.

In July, Deadline reported that Somewhere Pictures and Indiana-based Pigasus Pictures were preparing to begin filming Little Five.

Pigasus Pictures CEO Zachary Spicer told Our News Outlet exclusively that the movie was ‘independently financed’ and that his company managed its physical production, apparently distancing Hathaway and Somewhere Pictures from the reported problems.

Inspired by the Little 500 bicycle race, Little Five follows collegiate women who helped reshape the sport. Ariana Greenblatt, known for Barbie, and Rain Spencer, who appeared in The Summer I Turned Pretty, were cast in the leading roles.

For some members of the background cast, however, the production proved far less smooth.

The insider said she was surprised to discover that some background actors were offered free overnight accommodation in campus dormitories while others had to pay for their own lodging.

‘They only offered it to some people,’ she alleged. ‘A lot of people drove all the way there, while others paid for hotels. I thought it was insane because we made so little per day that they were essentially working for free.’

She also said she was told some travel expenses could be reimbursed, but claimed other performers were unaware that assistance was available.

‘You have to ask for it. If you don’t ask, you don’t get it,’ the source said. ‘I had to tell other people, “Make sure you ask,” because they weren’t advertising that it was available to everyone.’

Our News Outlet understands that accommodation and travel arrangements for background performers were generally handled by a third-party casting company rather than the production companies themselves.

Most of the filming took place outdoors during the summer, when temperatures ranged from 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The insider said perspiring production assistants rushed to provide water and umbrellas for shade, but added that ‘they were all going through it.’

‘I honestly felt so bad for the crew,’ she said.

‘We were all getting fried and burned. They had sunscreen and tried to give us breaks, but it was brutal.’

Some sequences were particularly demanding because performers had to cycle on the bike tracks for hours at a time.

‘That’s when things became very messy,’ the source said.

She said the wardrobe added to the difficulty because the movie is set in the fall, meaning performers wore clothing suited to cooler weather.

The actress claimed she saw Greenblatt, 19, and Spencer, 26, pushed to their limits as they were ‘expected to actually cycle themselves.’

‘They tried their best, but they’re not advanced cyclists,’ she said.

‘They did have stunt performers, but they had to film the actual actresses repeatedly because the cameras were zooming in on their facial expressions.’

The source said she never heard the stars complain, although other background actors involved in the cycling scenes were more outspoken. Some reportedly quit because the work was ‘very intense.’

Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Greenblatt and Spencer for comment.

The heat index reportedly rose high enough at one point for several people on set to experience symptoms of heat exhaustion.

‘That was kind of scary,’ the source said. She added that another woman had a skin condition and was ‘breaking out.’

A second source told Our News Outlet that they personally suffered a ‘mild case of heat exhaustion’ later in the week and had to miss work.

‘It was blazing hot,’ the source said.

‘Most of the time I was on set, we were outside in really hot and humid weather. I have asthma, so I had to be especially careful.’

The second source acknowledged that production tried to help, providing Gatorade and electrolyte packets, although they said those supplies were more readily available at the beginning.

‘They made sure that if we started feeling ill or overheated—even in the middle of a scene—they would say, “Please, go sit down. It’ll be fine,”‘ the source said. ‘They gave us breaks.’

In response, Spicer told Our News Outlet that the safety of the cast, crew, background actors and community is ‘always’ Pigasus Pictures’ ‘highest concern.’

‘Production maintained extensive safety measures during outdoor filming, including cooling tents, portable air conditioning, shaded areas, dedicated hydration personnel, medical teams, EMTs and ambulances,’ he said.

‘Cast and crew were encouraged to report health concerns immediately and were instructed to put their personal health and safety ahead of any desired shot or performance outcome.’

Sources confirmed that a medical tent was available on set for anyone requiring assistance.

The first source, however, said there was talk on set that the medic had behaved flirtatiously toward several women and allegedly made them uncomfortable.

‘They thought it was very unprofessional,’ she said. ‘Someone said something, and that’s how I found out about it.’

Although the medic allegedly faced ‘multiple complaints,’ the first source claimed he remained on the production and said she saw him through her final day. ‘I think he just got a talking to,’ she speculated.

Spicer said production had ‘no record of any reports of inappropriate conduct involving its medical personnel.’

EXPLORE MORE: Critics Call for NGO Audit Over €11bn in Annual Public Funding

The first source also alleged that a second man, hired as a background actor, displayed unusual behavior.

The unnamed man reportedly traveled to Bloomington by Greyhound bus and slept overnight in a tent on campus rather than staying in one of the dorms.

‘He fought with wardrobe. It was a disaster, and this happened during one of my first days there,’ the first source alleged. She also claimed he flirted with women and physically picked one of them up.

‘He was saying “I love you” to some of the women and things like, “Oh, that’s my wife,”‘ she said.

According to the source, the man was eventually dismissed, although she said ‘it took them a while.’

Spicer confirmed that an incident involving the unnamed man occurred. He told Our News Outlet that ‘production was made aware of a concern involving a background performer and responded immediately.’

‘The individual was removed from the premises, and additional security measures were implemented,’ he added.

Those who worked through the lengthy shooting days were served meals on set. The first source said the menu consisted largely of chicken and rice.

‘It was kind of like prison, to be honest—chicken and rice every day,’ she said. ‘It seemed people weren’t eating the food because it just wasn’t that great.’

The background actress said she is not strictly vegetarian but does not eat chicken, leaving her to eat ‘just rice all week.’

On one day, some workers received pizza, but a Reddit thread posted in late July included complaints about that meal as well.

‘Last night when we got back inside at 2:30, the pizza was cold. Keep in mind they said we’d break halfway through—not an hour and a half before we were supposed to finish,’ one user wrote.

Another commenter said: ‘No, literally. We were there until 4 AM, and they hadn’t even approved people’s costumes the day before. They didn’t send a real style guide until Wednesday afternoon—the last day of filming!’

The second source, who was a paid actor, described the food as buffets and said it was ‘better’ than meals provided on other productions.

Spicer also rejected the suggestion that the production failed to offer a range of food.

‘Meals were provided daily for all cast, crew and background performers, with a variety of protein, starch and vegetable options available,’ he told Our News Outlet.

The first source described morale as a ‘mixed bag,’ although she said the ‘low morale’ appeared to improve toward the end of the week.

‘A lot of people were leaving,’ she claimed. ‘We were contracted for eight hours. If you stayed longer, you received time and a half, but staying was not mandatory.’

According to the first source, production staff had ‘sweat just piling in buckets down their faces’ and did not directly address the complaints, although they thanked everyone for showing up.

Neither source said they actually saw Hathaway on set, but cast and crew began whispering near the end of filming that the star may have visited.

‘We think she may have stopped by. There was much more security on set, with private security present several times that day. It was also when we filmed the big race,’ the second source said.

‘I know the main stars who were there all disappeared at one point, and we think that’s when they went to take a picture with her.’

The first source said background actors were shown a video of Hathaway thanking them that day, which she described as ‘very sweet.’

After filming ended, the background performers expected to be paid within two to three weeks, the usual industry timeline, according to the sources.

The single mother said she had been relying on the full $1,025 she earned that week, but received only part of the money a month later, in September.

‘I expected that working for the week meant they would send me the full amount, but they didn’t. The checks just trickled in,’ she said.

‘As a single mom, that was very difficult. It was brutal when the money came in gradually because I needed the full amount.’

She said the final installment did not arrive until October.

Although she eventually received the money, she said she was grateful because ‘some people have not gotten paid at all.’

The second source said they had received a partial payment but were still waiting for a paycheck worth approximately $200 when interviewed.

That actor said they contacted Pigasus Pictures executives for assistance. Although the early replies appeared encouraging, communications eventually stopped.

‘It’s insulting because we weren’t making much money to begin with. We’re earning Indiana minimum wage,’ the first source said.

‘As a single mom, I needed that extra check. I missed a day of work, had to arrange child care while I was away, and it set me back. It was a lot.’

The accounts from the sources resemble complaints posted by other cast and crew members on Reddit and Instagram. Our News Outlet contacted several others, but some declined to speak after receiving their money, while others did not want to risk damaging professional relationships.

Our News Outlet also obtained three complaints filed by Little Five staff with the Illinois Department of Labor over unpaid wages. The claims sought $2,950, $4,015.12 and $1,369.80 in missing compensation.

In September, Spicer acknowledged to a local Indiana news outlet that the production had experienced a payroll problem, though he did not explain its cause.

‘The payroll issue has been resolved, and we apologize to those who contributed their time and talent to the film and were affected by the issue,’ he told Fox 59.

Spicer later told Our News Outlet that he reviewed the production’s records and maintained that all cast, crew and background performers ‘have been fully paid’ and that the production remains in good standing with its unions.

He said the production included more than 10,000 background participants, meaning that ‘processing and verifying paperwork and daily records for that number of people, particularly those who returned for additional filming days, required additional time.’

Hathaway has not publicly addressed the reported problems surrounding the production.

‘I think she should look into it and find out what happened,’ the second source said. ‘Even if the mistake was not made by her company, her name will be connected to it regardless.’

‘I’m hoping Anne Hathaway had as little involvement in this as possible, but you never know,’ the first source added.

‘I hope that in the future she will at least make things right and issue a statement, because people want to know what happened.’

Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Hathaway and Somewhere Pictures for comment but has not received a response.

Spicer told Our News Outlet that he accepts full responsibility.

He said: ‘I am responsible for the production’s financial administration, payroll, staffing and day-to-day operations on set. Any attempt to associate these issues or concerns with anyone other than myself would be untrue, unjust and unkind.’