Who played Paul Walker in Fast and Furious 7. Seven actors "resurrected" using special effects
Films from the Fast and the Furious series have always been distinguished by high-quality images: these are cool cars, crazy races, crazy stunts, as well as beautiful and diverse places. The heroes of the franchise for all seven films, wherever they visited. The story began in Los Angeles, then Miami, Tokyo, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Rio de Janeiro, London, Abu Dhabi and other interesting places were watched by viewers on the screen. But in fact, where were Furious 7 and the rest of the franchise filmed?
Instead of a preface
The seventh part of the epic racing saga "Fast and the Furious" after its official release took fourth place in the rating in the history of cinema. The film grossed more than one and a half billion dollars at the box office. The Universal film company spent about $250 million on the production of the film; expenses increased from the initial $190 million after the death of one of the main actors, Paul Walker. The lion's share of the budget was spent on high-quality special effects in order to adequately complete the film with the image of Walker. But the costs for high-class stunts, stunning cars and filming abroad are also considerable.
Where was Fast & Furious 7 filmed and why? Actually, very often the film’s budget does not allow filming in exactly the places where the action takes place according to the script. Therefore, in most cases, filming takes place either in special pavilions or in some cities in America, the type of terrain similar to the necessary scenery.
Geography according to the scenario
The action at the beginning of the seventh film takes place in the city of angels, as in the first part. Jason Statham's anti-hero, Deckard Shaw, infiltrates the Los Angeles Police Department and, having received the information he needs, after a fight with Agent Hobbs, disappears in an unknown direction. It turns out that he went to Tokyo to take revenge on the first of his targets - Han. Thus, it turns out that the prequel to Fast and Furious 7 was not only the sixth part of the franchise, but also the third - Tokyo Drift.
Some time later, Toretto's house explodes - Dominic, Brian and Mia receive a message from Shaw and learn about Khan's death. Dominic heads to Tokyo to retrieve the body of his comrade, where he meets Han's local friend - Sean Boswell was not re-shot, they were taken from the third film). Next, the plot again returns the audience to Los Angeles for Khan's funeral, after which Dominic meets "Mr. Nobody", who promises to help in the search for Deckard if Dominic and his friends obtain the "Eye of God" - a new generation super tracking device. After him, the guys go on an incredibly risky mission to the Caucasus Mountains, where they rescue his creator, Ramsay. She reveals the secret of the location of the Eye of God - this is Abu Dhabi, where Dominic, Brian and the rest of the team are heading. Having obtained the device, they return back to Los Angeles.
“Where was Furious 7 actually filmed? Before...
Two film crews worked in parallel in different locations, in Colorado and in Arizona, on one of the most difficult and incredible stunts in the history of “Fast and the Furious” - a thrilling race along a rocky road, lost somewhere in the depths of Azerbaijan. Some of the most epic footage was filmed in Pikes Peak (Pike National Forest), Colorado. The so-called Caucasus Mountains were found in this area because it turned out to be quite expensive to film in Azerbaijan, as indicated in the script.
There they filmed mid-air scenes in which cars were thrown out of a cargo plane. These were truly natural stunts, not computer graphics. However, due to bad weather and large amounts of precipitation, filming was canceled and moved to another location. Despite everything, the mind-blowing race through the mountainous terrain was a great success for the filmmakers. The main location where Furious 7 was filmed was the city. It was there that most of the film's material was shot at the time of Paul's death.
...and after the tragedy
It is known that Paul Walker himself was also filming in Atlanta. But after his death, in 2014, the actors and the rest of the crew went to Abu Dhabi, where they filmed Furious 7 further, at least many of the panoramic shots. After all, it was impossible to reproduce such a colorful landscape and specific architecture in the United States. In the film itself, during the moments in Abu Dhabi, Brian was repeatedly shown in close-up, his interaction with other actors was dynamic, so it is likely that most of the dialogue and important scenes were filmed in advance in the States before the death of Paul Walker.
The last place where Furious 7 was filmed was one of A huge number of fans of the franchise are grateful to the filmmakers for the fact that they still found a way out of such a difficult situation and did not kill the hero Paul Walker, but made a worthy end to his story.
Somehow we missed this topic... The film has already been released in cinemas and many still do not understand what happened after the death of actor Paul Walker, who seemed to have died without filming many scenes, but in the film he is there from beginning to end the very end... What's the catch? The fact is that this photo is not Paul Walker, although he looks very similar.
The producers had a limited choice: either close the film, or try to come up with something. They came up with the idea of involving the brothers of the deceased actor, who closely resemble him, in the filming, and then “finishing” the face using computer graphics.
Here is Paul Walker's brother - Cody. Looks great, but the faces are different. However, this problem was later solved on the computer. Do you see the black dots on the guy's face left by the marker? This is to make it easier for the computer to aim and replace some facial features with others.
Moreover, it turned out so great that the producers decided to part with Brian O'Connor's character gracefully, rather than kill him.
It should be noted that work of this level has not yet been carried out in world cinema. Using stunt doubles, body doubles (the studio hired four stunt doubles) and computer graphics, a huge number of scenes were created, interspersed with scenes where Paul Walker himself plays. And no one noticed anything.
What does it mean? That thanks to the latest technologies it is possible to “revive” any actor or actress. Moreover, in the future, instead of inviting superstars with a fee of tens of millions, it is possible to quietly use such technologies and rivet films with fake Brad Pitt, significantly saving on the budget. Well, or replace the president of the country on TV if something happened to him...
It will probably be difficult to find among fans of the Fast and the Furious movie saga those who do not know about the tragic death of Paul Walker. This news shocked and shocked everyone, especially considering that the fateful event occurred in the midst of filming the seventh part of the franchise. In this regard, many people around the world are asking the question: “Who played Brian in Furious 7?”
Resounding success
The first Fast and the Furious film, released back in 2001, catapulted Paul Walker to the pinnacle of fame. The action film with breathtaking chases and cool cars gained popularity all over the world, and received a sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Then there was “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” - the only film in the series where Paul Walker did not star. But the plot of the film itself is not chronologically connected with the other parts. The interest of the audience did not fade, the films were box office successes, so the fourth, fifth and sixth parts were released one after another. What is the secret of such popular love? Against the backdrop of desperate racing, excellent special effects and crazy fights, the result is a story about family, love and true friendship. And now the seventh part of the adventure was about to be released, the main characters of which are Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Connor. The Fast and the Furious franchise filled cinemas all over the world. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and other actors became incredibly popular.
The story of a good bad guy
Brian from Fast and Furious is one of the main characters in the film. In the first part, he was an undercover cop whose task was to infiltrate a gang of street racers to prove the guilt of its leader, Dominic Toretto. While completing the task, he managed to become friends with Dominic and fall in love with his sister, Mia. He ultimately failed the mission and let Toretto go.
In 2 Fast 2 Furious, Brian, along with his friend Roman Pearce, whom he broke out of prison, assists an undercover FBI agent in exposing a drug dealer named Carter Verone. Mia eventually forgives Brian for his deception and their rocky relationship begins to blossom.
"Tokyo Drift" is the only film where Brian O'Connor does not appear. "Fast and Furious 4" again brought all the heroes of the first part together, Dominic and Brian had to join forces, and also call on their friends for help.
In the fifth part, Toretto and the now former cop O'Connor and Mia, hiding from the police, flee to Rio De Janeiro, where they manage to cross the path of a local man. At the same time, the best special agent Hobbs is on their trail.
The sixth part begins with Hobbs asking for help from Dominic and his friends in capturing very dangerous criminals - professional racers. In exchange, he promises the team and the opportunity to live in the States. As a result, Giselle, an important member of Toretto's team, dies, but the special agent keeps his promise. Brian also learns that he will soon become a father.
The seventh "Fast and Furious" is a logical continuation of the third, the same one in which O'Connor was not there, and the action took place in Tokyo. Deckard, the brother of Owen Shaw, who at the end of the last film they sent to a hospital bed, begins to take revenge on Dominic's family. Brian together and Dom decides to take part in the case for the last time, because soon another addition awaits his family.
Handsome and talented
It's worth taking a closer look at who played Brian in The Fast and the Furious. Paul Walker was born in 1973 in Glendale, California, USA. In addition to Paul, the family of the businessman and model had four more children: Cody, Caleb, Ashley and Amy.
The blue-eyed actor began his career at a very young age with an advertisement for baby diapers. Then there were other commercials and television programs, several series. At the age of thirteen, Paul starred in his first film, the horror-comedy film Monster in the Closet. And although he went to college after high school to study marine biology, Walker eventually returned to his acting career. He gained fame after “Pleasantville” with Reese Witherspoon and the youth romantic comedy “She’s All That” with Freddie Prinze Jr. I dreamed of playing Anakin Skywalker, as I was a big fan of Star Wars, but I wasn’t the right age. As mentioned above, success came to him in 2001 with the film “The Fast and the Furious.” After that, many began to recognize him and call him nothing more than “Brian from Fast and Furious.”
Career. Girls. Hobbies
The first Fast and the Furious clearly gave Paul a good boost to his career. He tried himself not only in action. It is worth noting the science fiction film “Trapped in Time” (2003) and the adventure drama “White Captivity” (2006), where Walker has the main roles. But still, action films make up the majority of his filmography. In addition to the very successful sequels to “Fast and the Furious,” successful projects were: “Run Without Looking Back,” “The Setup,” “Boy Raiders” and a remake of the French film “District 13: Brick Mansions,” which was released after the actor’s death.
Paul was never married and had affairs with his film partners (for example, Denise Richards). But he has a daughter named Meadow Rain (born 1998) with him named Rebecca.
He was involved in surfing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (even received a brown belt). His greatest hobbies were sports and racing. He also paid great attention to charity.
Great tragedy
It was to a charity event from the Rich Out Worldwide organization that Paul Walker was traveling on November 30, 2013 with his friend, racer Roger Rodas. The actor occupied the passenger seat, and Rodas was driving the car, who for some unknown reason lost control, the car turned sharply and crashed into a tree at full speed, as a result of which it instantly ignited. The actor and his friend had no chance of salvation. Both received numerous injuries and died instantly on the spot, and the fire changed their bodies beyond recognition. According to experts, the car's speed was more than 160 km/h, despite the fact that the maximum permitted speed on that street was 60 km/h. This terrible accident was a really big shock not only for the actor’s fans, but also for everyone who cares. Paul Walker loved speed not only on screen, like Brian from The Fast and the Furious, but in life he could not live without adrenaline, as one could understand from the list of his hobbies.
And yet there is life after death
When Paul Walker's life was tragically cut short, filming on Furious 7 was in full swing, with more than half of the footage filmed. The announcement of the film was planned for the summer of 2014. After the death of the actor, the creators of the franchise froze the filming process and thought deeply about it. And millions of fans around the world were in the dark. Paul was the one who played Brian in Furious 7, but he passed away, what will happen to the film now? How will the writers solve this problem: will they take another actor or will Brian from “Fast and the Furious” also die? Fortunately for all fans of the saga, filming of the seventh part of the film resumed in April 2014. Universal Studios delighted viewers with the announcement that Paul Walker's character will not be killed in the film's plot; he will, so to speak, be "retired." This meant that the script had clearly been rewritten. How did the creators get out of the situation and how did they film the rest of the film without its main star?
And yet, who played Brian in Furious 7?
According to the film's producers, by the time of his death, Paul had managed to star in most of the main stunt and dramatic scenes. In order to adequately end the story of Brian O'Connor, they recreated his image thanks to computer effects and the actor's younger brothers, Caleb and Cody, who joined the Fast and the Furious crew.
The members of the film crew and actors themselves call themselves nothing more than “family.” According to them, with the presence of the Walker brothers on the set, it seemed as if Paul was still alive. Both brothers also work in the film industry: Caleb is an actor and Cody is a stuntman. Apart from some scenes with Jordana Brewster (Mia), there is no exact information about which parts of the film were filmed with Paul Walker's brothers, but they were the ones who played Brian in Furious 7 after the actor's death.
Best film in the franchise
The seventh Fast and the Furious premiered in the United States on March 16, 2015, eight months later than originally planned. The film was dedicated to the memory of Paul. This film was highly anticipated by all fans of the saga around the world. The film exceeded all expectations. The crazy hype around the film was, naturally, a consequence of Walker's tragic death. Everyone wanted to know how their favorite character, Brian Oconer, ended his story. “Fast and Furious 7” became the fourth highest-grossing film in cinema history. Only The Avengers (2012), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009) collected more, respectively. In addition to Paul Walker, "Furious 7" starred such A-list stars as Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham and others. After the film's release, Vin Diesel officially announced that Fast and Furious 8 will be released in 2017.
Excellent soundtrack
This is what is distinctive about the seventh, and indeed all films in the franchise. The lion's share of the soundtracks were written by composer Brian Tyler. Fast and Furious 7 isn't the only part he's worked on. He also contributed his creative hand to the third, fourth and fifth parts. March 17, 2015 is the official release date for the soundtrack to “Fast and Furious 7,” which includes songs already loved by music lovers, such as Sevyn Streete - How Bad Do You Want It, T.I. & Young Thug -Off-Set, Kid Ink - Ride Out, Tyga, Wale, YG & Rich Homie Quan.
