When the makers of Furious 7, the latest film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, came to Abu Dhabi, they called on the expertise of a couple of local firms to provide two of the biggest stars of the film – the cool luxury supercars and the diverse local cast.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are becoming increasingly familiar fixtures on the big screen as filmmakers start to wake up to the benefits of making movies in the UAE, from the beautiful and unique locations and guaranteed good weather to the financial incentives on offer.
And as Hollywood and other international film productions come a-calling, there is a growing demand for local businesses to help and support them.
Most notably, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens filmed in Abu Dhabi last year, as did Furious 7, starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker, who was killed in an off-set road crash during filming. A number of Bollywood movies also filmed in the UAE, including Bang Bang! and Baby in Abu Dhabi, and Happy New Year and Welcome Back in Dubai.
And while these productions bring with them their own casts and crew, they also need specialist local talent to help with the location filming.
We exclusively revealed this month how HeliDubai helicopter pilots Andy Nettleton and Andrew Masterson helped Star Wars director J J Abrams capture stunning aerial footage over the Abu Dhabi desert that will feature in exciting footage of the Millennium Falcon and other space ships in the finished film.
In the case of Furious 7, director James Wan and the producers called on the expertise of two Abu Dhabi-based companies to help provide two of the essential ingredients for a Fast and the Furious film: the cars and a diverse cast.
Miranda Davidson Studios, a casting agency and media training facility, dealt with the local casting, while PP-Performance, a leading performance modification company, provided the supercharged cars for the Abu Dhabi scenes.
The Talent
“With these kinds of opportunities in the UAE, we have a great platform to keep cultivating the local film industry and provide more locally-based job opportunities for cast and crew in the UAE,” says Miranda Davidson, the chief exutive of Miranda Davidson Studios.
“This is not just a one-off opportunity. There were at least five feature films shot in the UAE last year and there are more gearing up this year. Now is a great time for people to get involved in any way they can.”
The MDS casting team hired more than 200 background actors from the UAE, in addition to the casting staff.
"Working on Furious 7 was a dream come true," says Mohammed Yahia, a local Emirati who worked with the casting team on the film. "I couldn't have chosen a more fun and engaged department to be in other than casting. The hours were long and the work was exhausting, but being part of Miranda's casting team on this project was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life."
Samuel Allison recently graduated from Dubai British School. He said: "I never dreamed that I would have a chance to work on films in the UAE. Just being able to get up every day and work in our industry, let alone on a project like Furious 7, is really making a dream into a reality."
The local cast reflected the UAE’s diverse culture, with people of all ages and nationalities, from all walks of life.
“It was such a fun experience to step out of my daily routine, get chance to be on a movie set and meet actors I previously had only seen on screen,” says estate agent Samira Behyari.
“We are not just employing people, we like to call ourselves ‘Dream Makers’,” says Miranda Davidson. “Everyone has a dream and we get to be a part of making some of those peoples’ dreams become a reality. That makes all the long hours worth it.”
The Toys
Of course, with no disrespect to the human cast, the real stars of the Fast and the Furious films are the ones with the wheels – the supercars. When Salah Almoudi, an Emirati and owner of PP-Performance, was asked if his company could provide the calibre of cars required for the film, he simply smiled and took the crew to the Yas Marina Circuit racetrack, and showed them a fleet of super charged, modified luxury cars. They included a Mercedes CC 63, modified with a 900bhp SLS engine that can go from 0-100mph in 2.8 seconds. It Mercedes recently broke a world record for drag racing, completing the quarter mile in 9.7seconds.
The company also supplied a 1200bhp Dodge Viper and a 1001bhp Bugatti Veyron – the world’s fastest super car according the Guinness Book of World Records. “I felt very lucky to be able to drive the PP-Performance modified vehicles,” says professional stunt driver Ben Menzies, who drove the Veyron, the Viper and a Lamborghini Aventador. “These are magnificent road machines that have been tuned to perfection.”
“We all love cars in our family,” says Saif Almoudi, Salah’s older brother. “Our father loved cars and passed that down to us. But Salah, he dreams about cars. One day, when Salah was in his teens I came home from work and I found my car with no engine in it. When I walked into the house, Salah had taken it out and was ‘trying to fix it.’ We always knew he would do something special when it came to cars, and he has. I am proud of him and I support him in all that he does.”
Salah says his involvement with Furious 7 shows "the world that an Emirati company like PP-Performance could support any project, even at a global level".
Furious 7 is due to be released on April 3.
lcairney@thenational.ae
