Ryan Reynolds turned an unexpected production crisis into a phone call only a movie star could make. The Mayday actor contacted Budapest’s mayor after the city pulled a crucial filming location.
The setback threatened a massive Soviet-era parade sequence built to resemble Moscow’s Red Square. The directors had already assembled thousands of people, period costumes, military vehicles, and a custom nuclear launch vehicle.
Ryan Reynolds called Budapest’s mayor when a massive ‘Mayday’ shoot hit a production problem
Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein told The Hollywood Reporter about the bizarre rescue. They had prepared 1,000 extras and 1,000 crew members for the enormous 2024 shoot. Costume designer Debra McGuire had created 1,000 historically inspired military uniforms. The production also had 12 Soviet tanks ready for filming.
Then Budapest officials withdrew permission to use Heroes’ Square. The location had served as the production’s stand-in for Moscow’s Red Square. Reynolds responded by calling the Budapest mayor himself. Goldstein explained, “It’s like the 500-pound elephant when we need him. Everyone takes his call.”
Reynolds admitted that fame helped him reach people ordinary filmmakers could not. “I can take advantage of that, as long as I’m fighting for the side of good,” he said. The call worked, and the massive sequence moved forward.
Mayday followed Reynolds as an American pilot stranded in Russia during the Cold War. Kenneth Branagh played an ex-KGB operative who helped him get home. Daley and Goldstein developed the project while finishing Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Reynolds had known Daley since they worked together on 2005’s Waiting.
The actor also gave the directors unusual freedom. He said they had “crafted a complete tale” while he focused on shooting Deadpool & Wolverine. Branagh embraced the physical demands, performing numerous stunts himself. He even tested a scene requiring his arm to catch fire. Insurance ultimately forced the production to replace that stunt with visual effects.
The shoot lasted 48 days, following aerial filming in southern France. Mayday later earned an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Daley and Goldstein then shifted toward their next challenge. They began developing Paramount’s revamped Star Trek movie.
Their darker pitch explored corruption without abandoning Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful vision. For now, the longtime partners returned to writing together over Zoom.
