Richard Gere and Michelle Rodriguez’s Left Seat Starts Shooting — richard gere Joins Munich Production
richard gere and Michelle Rodriguez have officially begun work on Left Seat, a contained plane survival thriller that started production at Bavaria Studios in Munich, Germany, almost one year after the casting was announced. The film centers on Rodriguez as a pharmaceutical representative who must fly a small charter plane after the pilot falls unconscious and must rely on a stranger over the radio for guidance. The project is directed by Ben Younger with a screenplay by David M. Crabtree and is produced under Jason Michael Berman’s A/Vantage Pictures banner.
Production moves to Bavaria Studios; aerial exteriors already filmed
Filming has shifted to a Volume stage at Bavaria Studios in Munich for the main production run. The creative team has already captured aerial exteriors in the Andes, filmed on location in South America, and is now building the confined, high-stakes environment that will define the movie’s dramatic core. James Weber Brown joins the cast in a small role, and production partners include Mandalay and augenschein Filmproduktion, with additional support from Juniper Productions and StoneCastle Pictures. Financial support listed in the production plan comes from FFF Bayern and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), while Anton is handling international sales and WME Independent is managing North American sales.
Richard Gere’s role: a lifeline over the radio
The narrative places Michelle Rodriguez’s character in the cockpit, forced to navigate a storm and dwindling fuel while she follows instructions from a stranger guiding her by radio. The stranger’s voice role is filled by Richard Gere, who provides the remote guidance that becomes the lifeline for Rodriguez’s character. Ben Younger, who directs and has real-life experience as a pilot, collaborated with screenwriter David M. Crabtree on the script, with Crabtree first drafting the screenplay in 2017 and bringing it into development alongside producer Jason Michael Berman.
Voices from the production team
Jason Michael Berman, longtime Mandalay president and producer working under his A/Vantage Pictures banner, said: “I am thrilled to be bringing David M. Crabtree’s brilliant screenplay to life, which is a visceral cinematic experience that explores important themes of the human experience with emotional depth. ” Berman emphasized the production’s aim for authenticity, noting the presence of a real-life pilot at the helm and praising the cast as “two extraordinarily talented actors” who elevate the material. Ben Younger is serving both as director and a creative consultant on aviation realism, shaping sequences that hinge on audio direction and confined-set tension.
The collaboration marks the first time Michelle Rodriguez and Richard Gere have worked together on a feature, and the film has been positioned as a showcase in which Rodriguez largely carries the on-screen action while Gere’s performance is concentrated in voice and radio direction. Left Seat is described by its creators as a contained, actor-driven thriller in the tradition of tense single-location dramas.
What’s next: production continues at Bavaria Studios in Munich with Volume-stage work underway, and the team will integrate the previously shot Andean aerial plates into the film’s sequence planning as it moves toward completion. As the shoot progresses, audiences can expect updates on casting, production milestones, and international sales activity while richard gere’s involvement anchors the project’s star billing.
