Los Angeles neighborhood is speaking out against the filming of ‘Fast and Dangerous’

The Los Angeles neighborhood that served as the backdrop for the ‘Fast and Furious’ films sparked protests on Friday against the filming of the next installment of the motoring saga, arguing that its streets have since suffered an epidemic of illegal urban gangs. ..

Residents expressed their outrage ahead of this weekend’s filming in Angelino Heights, a historic district near downtown Los Angeles. The place is the fictional residence of Dominic Toretto, the character played by actor Vin Diesel in the saga.

It’s all about illegal racing, “street takeovers,” where car enthusiasts rev their engines at high speeds through city streets, usually at night.

For local resident and SAFE founder Damien Kewitt, who spoke out against the practice, “Fast and Dangerous” glorifies illegal activity that turns Angelino Heights into a “tourist destination for illegal street racing.”

“Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings three, four, five, six cars will come here for “burnouts” and “doughnuts,” stunts that make drivers rip their tires,” Damian Kewitt promises.

“There were no street races in the neighborhood before ‘Fast and Dangerous’ was filmed there,” he said.

Another resident, Bella, who declined to give her last name, said her children were traumatized by the sound of cars outside their house in the middle of the night.

They’re now too scared to go outside to play because “they’ve seen cars go out of control and run over pedestrians on the corner,” she said.

For Bella, Universal Studios had to relocate the filming location, but asked the city to install safe speed bumps and institute zero tolerance for street racing.

The association asked Universal to add a reference to “fast and dangerous” encouraging people not to participate in such races.

Universal did not immediately respond to requests from AFP.

The first ‘Fast and Furious’ film was released in 2001 and the franchise grossed $6.6 billion over its 10-film run, making it the eighth highest-grossing film series in box office history.

“Fast and Dangerous 10”, the 11th installment of the saga, will be released next May.