The Saturday death of “Fast and Furious 7” star Paul Walker has left the actor’s loved ones bereft and could delay production of the movie, which has been filming in Atlanta for months.
Walker, 40, died in a fiery car crash north of Los Angeles. In a statement posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages late Saturday, Walker’s representatives said that he had just attended a charity event and was a passenger in the car that crashed.
“Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time,” it said.
Walker and his “Fast and Furious” colleagues had been on a Thanksgiving break when the crash occurred, and filming was to resume this week. According to The Hollywood Reporter, studio executives met via conference call Sunday morning to discuss how to proceed. An industry source familiar with the shooting schedule, but who is not authorized to publicly discuss details, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the movie had about a month’s worth of filming yet to be completed in Atlanta and that Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, factored into some of the scenes yet to be shot.
Universal Pictures released a statement offering stunned condolences, and director James Wan said simply, via Twitter, “I am so beyond heartbroken right now. I can’t process anything.”
The “Fast and Furious” crew is a tight-knit bunch and the movie’s official Twitter page posted an image of them gathered around a table, hands joined, as a happy Thanksgiving message.
Atlanta rapper-actor Ludacris has appeared in a number of the past “Fast and Furious” movies, including No. 5, which also was filmed in Atlanta, and is back for “Fast & Furious 7.” He reposted the Thanksgiving image late Saturday with a poetic message in memory of his friend and colleague:
“Your humble spirit was felt from the start; wherever you blessed your presence you always left a mark,” he wrote.
The project also stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tony Jaa and Tyrese Gibson, many of whom have posted their own messages of sorrow and support.
“My heart is hurting so bad,” Gibson posted with a photo of the two of them together. “Prayer warriors please pray real hard for his only child, his daughter and family.”
Walker is survived by daughter Meadow, 15.
The movie, which had been slated for a July 2014 release date, has been shooting here since mid-September, at numerous sites throughout metro Atlanta, including the Fort Gillem site south of Atlanta, an in-town elementary school and at Reeves Parkway and Rum Creek Parkway, off Rock Quarry Road, in Stockbridge.
Eerily enough, the filming schedule also has included a multi-night shoot in downtown Atlanta during which Walker’s character responds to a car crash and an early scene filmed at a graveside at historic Oakland Cemetery.
