With filming of the eighth installment of the “Fast & Furious” action film franchise already ongoing in the island country of Cuba in Central America, the production needed some fast cars.
However, those beautiful modern-day fast sports cars were not available for the filming so the production team simply opted with Cuba’s storied collection of American cars.
“Fast & Furious 8” officially becomes the first American studio film to shoot in Cuba since the US placed an embargo in Fidel Castro’s homeland back in the 60s.
The “Fast & Furious” franchise is famous for featuring and also destroying some of the world’s fastest and most exotic cars. In the case of their current filming in Havana, Cuba’s capital, the film has decided to immortalize some of the oldest Detroit iron found in the country, notes The Hollywood Reporter.
Filming in Cuba reportedly include the country’s 1950s vintage Chevrolets, Cadillacs, and other classic American cars.
When Universal Pictures released a behind-the-scenes video of the ongoing filming for “Fast & Furious 8,” it featured Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic ‘Dom’ Toretto, and Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Letty Ortiz, surveying the streets of Havana onboard a 1955 Chevrolet. A video clip of the street races also featured vintage jalopies.
No hassle in filming
Although “Fast & Furious 8” is the first American film to shoot in Cuba after the 1960s embargo has been lifted a few years ago, Cuba actually has a robust filmmaking community.
However, the country lacks the technical infrastructure required by an elaborate production for a big movie like “Fast & Furious 8.” But the production team appears to be having no problem with filming in the country since starting last month.
Sometime last month, to mark the important milestone in American film history, Director F. Gary Gray started filming in style with a welcome greeting from the locals to the “Fast & Furious 8” cast members and extended family.
The movie, to be shown on April 14, 2017, is the follow-up to “Fast & Furious 7,” the most successful and the highest-grossing film of the franchise when it was released to global theaters in April of last year.
It was also the franchise’s hearty sendoff to the late Paul Walker and his character, Brian O’Connor.
Universal Pictures already confirmed that “Fast & Furious 8” will be the first of the final trilogy with the 10th and final film expected to commemorate the franchise’s 20th anniversary in 2021.
Moving to Cleveland
After the filming in Cuba, much of the members of the production team shall be moving next to Cleveland where “Fast & Furious 8” shall reportedly film in the city’s downtown.
The filming schedule of the movie shall close some roads and bring about changes to the Greater Cleveland RTA.
Filming in Cleveland will be done from May 18 to June 8 and the production crews will be around Public Square, including East Ninth Street, Chester Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Ontario Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Superior Avenue, and Vincent Avenue, details Fox 8 Cleveland.
The Greater Cleveland Film Commission has said recently that the movie is expected to create nearly 380 jobs in the Cleveland area.
“Fast & Furious 8” will be international in scope because other than Cuba, the film is also scheduled to shoot in Iceland and at least two key cities in the US including New York and Cleveland.
Director Gray has already proven his mettle at combining relatively intimate character drama with action/thrills, with his work on movies like “The Negotiator,” “Straight Outta Compton,” and “The Italian Job.”
His work on “The Italian Job” will be most useful in the production of “Fast & Furious 8” given the resemblance of the two films including car racing sequences in urban locations, heist genre elements, character ensembles, among others.
Gray is also very much like previous franchise directors in Justin Lin and James Wan but the producers are confident that he may have something new to bring to the table, which would delight its fans all the more.