'Fast and Furious 7' races towards Dubai

[Al Bhatti]

May 25, 2013

‘Fast & Furious 7' to be shot in UAE?

Action franchise star Vin Diesel said producers were scouting for locations in the Middle East

Fasten your seatbelts. Hollywood actor Vin Diesel and his Fast & Furious crew may be heading to this part of the world to film the seventh instalment of the franchise. The sixth film in the series that has raked in over $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) at the box office so far releases in the UAE on Thursday.

In an interview with Digital Spy last week, Diesel revealed that the makers of the franchise were looking at the Middle East and Tokyo as potential shooting destinations for the next film in the car-based action series — sparking rumours that Dubai is on their radar.

Speaking to tabloid! on Thursday, Jamal Al Sharif, chairman of the Dubai Film and TV Commission and managing director of Dubai Studio City, didn’t rule out the possibility.

“I cannot reveal names of Hollywood films to be shot here. But there’s a group who is coming to scout for locations. When anybody thinks of the Middle East, Dubai and Abu Dhabi comes up as a natural platform,” said Al Sharif, who had just returned from attending the Cannes Film Festival as part of the UAE delegation.

“We will soon be making three major announcements regarding Hollywood film shoots in the UAE. It’s going to be big,” added Al Sharif.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dubai is on the radar for the Fast & Furious team — the city is filled with supercars, with even Dubai Police boasting an impressive fleet of patrol cars, including an Aston Martin, Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari.

And if the makers are looking for a cameo, teen pop idol Justin Bieber should fit the bill: He’s familiar with Dubai’s roads after racking up a number of speeding fines on Shaikh Zayed Road in a Lamborghini Aventador earlier this month.

It won’t be the first time that Dubai is featured in a hit Hollywood franchise. In 2011, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol team spent over 20 days filming in Dubai. The result? The world was treated to the superstar dangling from the iconic Burj Khalifa.

http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news...id/fast-furious-7-to-be-shot-in-uae-1.1188074

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July 15, 2013

Full speed ahead as 'Fast and Furious 7' races towards Dubai

Local talent may get chance to star with Vin Diesel, Jason Statham; movie set for a July 11, 2014 release

If there was ever any doubt, the casting call has confirmed what fans in Dubai had been hoping for, ever since ‘Fast and Furious’ star Vin Diesel confirmed the seventh instalment of the franchise will be headed to the Middle East.

Diesel, Paul Walker and Jason Statham are on a collision course for Dubai.

The Los Angeles casting call for the film confirmed the detail, with the announcement stating: ‘FF7 Productions in association with One Race Films and Original Film are now in pre-production on the action crime thriller feature film ‘Fast and Furious 7’, and casting calls will be going out in Los Angeles for starring, co-starring, and supporting roles.

‘Shooting will also take place in Tokyo and Dubai’.

And that’s not all it seems.

Some local talent from this city will also make it into the final cut, if the rest of the casting information is anything to go by.

The announcement continued: ‘Extras will be cast near the locations where filming will take place. Principal photography commences September 2013’.

The seventh film in the ridiculously popular and adrenaline charged franchise would bring back street racer and fugitive Dominic Toretto (Diesel, who is also co-producing this time), along with former FBI agent turned criminal Brian O’Conner (Walker) and Diplomatic Security Service agent, played by Dwayne Johnson.

‘Fast & Furious 6’, which released earlier this year, saw Dominic and his crew take down former British Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw.

In a post-credits scene one of Dominic’s crew, Han Seoul-Oh, is killed in a car chase.

The driver of the other car walks away and places a phone call to Dominic and says, “You don’t know me, but you’re about to.”

In ‘Fast and Furious 7’ the voice from the call is introduced as Owen Shaw’s brother Ian, played by Statham, who is out for revenge.

Additional casting for smaller speaking roles will take place in the shooting locations of Georgia and Louisiana in the US.

Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker James Wan has been brought on board to direct from an original screenplay written by Chris Morgan based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson.

Wan will be the 5th director in a film series that has grossed over $2.27 billion worldwide at the box office.

Dubai would prove to be a fitting location for ‘Fast and Furious’ as Mahi Golchin-Depala, Managing Director of Ematterz, told Emirates 24|7 earlier, ahead of hosting a live event of the same name for car enthusiasts in the UAE.

She said: “ ‘Fast and Furious’ is one of the biggest money spinning franchises in the UAE; if you count in terms of box office receipts, then it would probably be in third place after ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Spider-Man’.”

Golchin-Depala added that it would go a long way in setting the premise for the film franchise’s seventh instalment here.

After Tom Cruise, Diesel could very well be chasing bad guys down the Meydan track.

Could Dubai Police’s fleet of supercars be in on the on-camera chase sequence? Let’s just wait and watch.

Full speed ahead as 'Fast and Furious 7' races towards Dubai - Emirates 24/7

 

[Kompromat]

Its getting boring as hell.

 

[Al Bhatti]

July 15, 2013

Fast & Furious 7 casting call in Dubai

LA announcement released on Monday mentions filming and casting in the UAE

Things are picking up speed on the likelihood of Fast & Furious 7 being partly shot in Dubai, following the release of a casting call in the US which mentions the UAE.

As reported by tabloid! in May this year — just ahead of the release of Fast & Furious 6 — the film’s lead actor Vin Diesel got movie and car fans in the Emirates revved up when he revealed that the makers of the franchise were looking at the Middle East and Tokyo as potential shooting destinations for the next film in the car-based action series — sparking rumours that Dubai is on their radar.

Monday’s announcement, on an auditioning website from Los Angeles, Acting-Auditions.org, says, “casting calls will be going out in Los Angeles for starring, co-starring, and supporting roles... Shooting will also take place in Tokyo and Dubai. The extras will be cast near the locations where filming will take place. Principal photography commences September, 2013.”

No comment was available on Monday morning from Jamal Al Sharif, chairman of the Dubai Film and TV Commission and managing director of Dubai Studio City, but in an interview in May, he didn’t rule out the possibility.

“I cannot reveal names of Hollywood films to be shot here. But there’s a group who is coming to scout for locations. When anybody thinks of the Middle East, Dubai and Abu Dhabi comes up as a natural platform,” said Al Sharif, whose commission is in charge of locations approvals for films to be shot in Dubai, and arranged, among other things, Tom Cruise’s Burj Khalifa stunts for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.

“We will soon be making three major announcements regarding Hollywood film shoots in the UAE. It’s going to be big,” added Al Sharif at the time.

The seventh installement in the billion-dollar franchise will be directed by Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker James Wan, with Diesel returning as Dominic Torretto. The sixth film also introduced a new nemesis for Diesel’s character, to be played by British action star Jason Statham. Returning stars include Paul Walker, Michelle Rodrigue and Dwayne Johnson.

Stay tuned for details as they emerge.

Fast & Furious 7 casting call in Dubai | GulfNews.com

 

[indian_foxhound]

will be waiting...

 

[Al Bhatti]

Fast & Furious 7 Car chase Filming in Abu Dhabi

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

Can't wait for this... My favorite series.

 

[Al Bhatti]

Imagine a scene shot in Pakistan with the police chasing in Toyotas or Hondas at the best.

 

[Al Bhatti]

May 19, 2014

Paul Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody seen in the picture with 'Fast & Furious 7' actor Vin Diesel (back to the camera)


'Splitting images' of Paul Walker help wrap up Fast & Furious 7 shoot in Abu Dhabi

The late Paul Walker has had an enormous presence during the shoot of “Fast and Furious 7,” which just wrapped up in Abu Dhabi.

His brothers, who bear an uncanny resemblance to the late star, helped wrap up the shooting, which was ongoing when the star died in a car crash last November.

Now, almost six months after the untimely death of Paul Walker, the movie has been completed, according to Abu Dhabi government entities, who helped complete this feat in the UAE capital.

Cody Walker and Caleb Walker, Paul’s brothers, are a “spitting image” of the late star, and they were spotted at all iconic locations in Abu Dhabi where Fast & Furious 7 was filmed, including Emirates Palace, Al Ain city and Jumeirah Etihad Towers.

The landlord of Etihad Towers, Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, visited the production while it was filming at his property, illustrating the private sector’s support for global productions and the emirate’s emergence as a media production hub.

The UAE continues to emerge as a leading hub for regional and global television and film with the successful filming of Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious 7.

In a media statement, twofour54 , the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi, said the production of the next chapter in the highly anticipated action-thriller series was made possible by cooperation between Abu Dhabi government entities and twofour54 intaj, the television and film services provider of twofour54 .

“We are delighted that the filming of Fast & Furious 7 was successfully completed. It is wonderful to see how popular foreign productions can benefit from Abu Dhabi’s unique locations, world-class production and post-production facilities, locally based media professionals and generous film rebate,” said Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of twofour54 .

Filming of Fast & Furious 7 in the UAE caused a social media frenzy, with fans thrilled by the presence of international stars. The cast and crew also expressed their delight with the location and local hospitality online.

The producers of Fast & Furious 7 also benefited from a 30 per cent rebate on all qualifying spend in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi offered by Abu Dhabi Film Commission. In an example of how the government machinery assisted in the filming of the movie, the UAE’s Ministry of the Interior, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Abu Dhabi Department of Transport provided on-the-ground support by providing permits and managing traffic.

Filming of the anticipated installment of the action series began in Abu Dhabi in November 2013, when a visual effects crew captured helicopter shots, stunt footage and visual effects scenes at iconic Abu Dhabi landmarks with twofour54 intaj providing the production services.

Abu Dhabi Film Commission has attracted various international film productions, including the soon-to-be released Hollywood thriller from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Deliver us from Evil, Syrian production company Clacket’s The Brothers and the BBC’s Top Gear.

'Splitting images' of Paul Walker help wrap up Fast & Furious 7 shoot in Abu Dhabi - Emirates 24/7