Film fanatics gathered in great numbers on Monday night to watch the filming of Fast and Furious 6 as Hollywood came to Liverpool.
The scenes, featuring car stunts and extras, took place on Dale Street and surrounding areas from around 8pm until the early hours of the morning.
Scenes included a red car and a silver car racing each other and performing spins and stunts.News of the filming soon spread as photographs were posted across Twitter and Facebook.
Although there was a lot of online hype about stars being in the city, none were spotted last night and publicist Carol McConnaughey confirmed this saying: “We will not have any cast in Liverpool we will have some driving action with our secondary film unit.”
As crowds gathered around the scene, cars passing spectators on the Strand and aware of the filming decided to drive past in the style of the films car racing. Many cars waited at traffic lights, revving their engines before speeding off against one another in an attempt to entertain audiences.
The incident raises questions about the influence of the film and the dangers of glamourising fast driving. One young boy whilst watching the scene stated: “I can’t wait to get a fast car.”
The new film is the sixth in the Fast and Furious franchise which has had success worldwide and is due to be released in May next year. The latest edition will see WWE star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Ludacris amongst others cast members in the action film.
In the early hours of this morning ‘The Rock’ tweeted: “4:55am. London. AM cardio starts now. Music: very loud. Hotel guests: complain. Rock: smiles. #MomentOfClarity (Jay Z) 3..2..” confirming that he was not present at the shoot in Liverpool yesterday but that he is in the UK filming.
Rachel Atherton, a spectator, aged 20 said: “It was great watching Hollywood come to Liverpool with fast cars, stunt drivers and big crowd vibes. Even the thought of seeing Vin Diesel was far too exciting!”
Many fans will gather for a second night tonight as it is rumored that the car chase will make its way into the Birkenhead Tunnel complete with explosions and more stunts.