Production of the latest ‘The Fast and the Furious’ movie, ‘Fast X’ got underway in Los Angeles on Friday (August 26) as angry protestors nearby demanded an end to filming in their neighborhood.
The franchise, starring Vin Diesel, Jason Statham and Michelle Rodriguez, has made billions of dollars in its 21-year run, but residents of Angelino Heights near Downtown LA where some of the iconic scenes are shot say they’ve had enough of movie fans performing dangerous stunts and trying to recreate their own versions of the movie on public roads.
“We can't even have our kids sitting in front of the house because they're scared.. because we're scared that if something gets spun out of control, it's going to come flying in your property or towards, your children. So you can't have that. You can't cross the streets because you're not.. Your kids aren't safe to do that”, local resident Bella said, adding “At night time, you're woken up quite a few times and then your kids are crying and screaming because they're in terror. Like, what the heck is going on? It's become a big problem for us. And I think enough is enough.’
Dozens of protesters marched outside the closed set, as camera rigs were set up and a vehicle used in the movie was transported behind privacy screens, guarded heavily by security.
Demonstrators chanted “street racing kills, race on a track, film in a studio”, even stopping to argue with passing motorists who told them to move out of the way.
One driver, who would only identify himself as Abraham from the nearby Echo Park neighborhood, shouted “People die from many things, bro. It’s a movie, bro. It’s Hollywood. Get used to it. I gotta go wash my car so I can do some donuts. I’ll see you later” as he passed.
Campaigner Lori Argumedo held up a picture of her niece who was killed by a street racer, told the crowd, “Bethany was 23 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her. She had a little girl that was six years old. I had to identify my niece's body on Mother's Day. I had to tell her six year old daughter that her mommy is never coming home. She still doesn't understand that mommy is never coming home. This is the reality of street racing. People's lives are lost. I did her makeup for her funeral instead of her wedding.”
Outside Bob’s Market, known to movie fans as ‘Toretto’s Market & Cafe” sitting on a wide residential intersection, evidence of the stunts is clear: the road is black with tire marks, showing the impact of donuts being performed at high speed, day and night:
“The production companies should speak up and say.. Have their idol actors speaking up and voicing how this is not okay. Speak up for the people that get to suffer accidents like this and say this is not what we promote the movie for” said Bella, holding up a picture showing the wreckage of a car hit by a street racer.
Los Angeles Police Department says 300 people died in traffic collisions overall last year - a 21 percent jump on the year before. There were 30 percent more injuries based on the same period.
Although that number is not solely related to street racing, authorities say there has been a big jump in the number of dangerous illegal street takeovers - where crowds, sometimes in the thousands, take over a busy road or intersection to block it off for races and stunts, hampering police attempts to get through the crowds quickly and make arrests. Many of them are filmed for social media.
LAPD says there have been reports of 667 takeovers since the start of 2022 with more than 2,000 citations issued and 439 vehicles impounded. Other police data suggests there have been around 600 arrests this year alone.
For Damian Kevitt, founder of Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) which organised Friday’s protest, it’s a personal issue. He lost part of a leg after being hit by a vehicle.
“This community has been requesting for years to handle the fact that it's become a tourist destination for street racing ever since the first Fast and Furious film. And to have it.. The films be filmed again in this neighborhood.. The community is concerned that it's only going to get worse”, he said, before calling on the film’s maker to do more: “We want NBC Universal to live up to their social impact statement. We want them to care about the communities in real life, not just on a website, on words. And to mitigate the impacts and to do effective actions to stem this rising problem. They are helping to glorify it.”
NBC Universal did not respond to a request by the news agency for an interview.

........................................................................................

Follow Us: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVraSltSET7CHmEulDTqMXA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newzeepk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/newzeepk

Watch "Princess Leonor, Spain's future queen, delivers her first speech with ENG SUBs"
https://youtu.be/OuCclSJLIxI

Must Share Your Thought in Comments!