http://www.parkerpioneer.net/articles/2011/04/13/news/doc4da5e2244f...

Although the Parker area isn’t as exotic as Rio de Janeiro or Puerto Rico, our hot desert was the home for two months to the Universal Studios “Fast Five” production crew May through July 2010.

Parker area residents will get a kick out seeing the desert film sequence in the upcoming “Fast Five,” opening April 29. The fifth film in the Fast and Furious franchise was filmed near Rice, Calif., about 38 miles west of Parker.

The 100+ people in the Second Unit Production lived in motels and hotels of the area. And when rooms were no longer available crew members rented homes on the Parker Strip.

Parker Area Chamber Director Randy Hartless and Parker Area Tourism Director Mary Hamilton estimated at $500,000 economic impact on the area.

This includes $200,000 for Arizona & California Railway. Hartless noted the crew spent $30,000 on water and ice.

The estimated cost to the studio was $2.2 million for filming in the area for two months, according to Hartless.

A location scout for Universal Pictures, Justin Besemer, roamed La Paz County and the California area for three weeks, looking for the right scenery.

The Parker Area Chamber of Commerce was initially contacted by a studio representative April 7, 2010, who said a film crew would be in the area approximately two months.

Besemer met with the La Paz County Board of Superiors May 3, 2010, in a special meeting.

County Community Resource Director Dan Barbara had been showing Besemer potential locations.

Besemer said the locations would be for the Second Unit Production of the film. He noted action shots would be filmed. A location scout’s job is to find property, take photos and send them back to the studio.

“We are looking at railroad land, and rail cars are being brought in from around the nation. There will be filming near the California towns of Rice, Vidal Junction and Vidal,” Besemer told the supervisors.

Filming on relatively untouched land is a goal.

He noted he also would talk to the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

The production crew worked on the scenes in California and didn’t use county or tribal property.

The principal stars of “Fast Five” are Vin Diesel and Paul Walker who teamed together in the first movie of the franchise The Fast and the Furious in 2001. They later appeared together in the Fast & Furious the fourth installment.

The testosterone-laden movie has street races, car crashes, gunplay, explosions and fights.

According to a Universal Studios synopsis, “former cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities.

Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he's not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can't separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey... before someone else runs them down first.”

On a side note, NASCAR racer Robby Gordon’s Dodge sponsor has teamed up with Universal Pictures promoting “Fast Five” on his vehicle. Gordon has family in the Parker area and comes to the area occasionally to off-road and enjoy the river.

Gordon’s car is painted flat black �” the No. 7 Fast Five Dodge Charger R/T will race throughout the month at Talladega and Richmond raceways.