Abu Dhabi is buzzing with Fast & Furious 7 filming rumours
Residents were said to be thrilled at the sight of a helicopter buzzing around the buildings at Etihad Towers while filming some thrilling special effects scenes for the latest Fast & Furious movie, which is being filmed in Abu Dhabi.
Details of the filming are under wraps, but the sight of the stars and film crews around town has created a buzz in the capital.
The star Vin Diesel is rumoured to be in town. Last week he was said to have been spotted on set at Emirates Palace. Another star, the actor and rapper Ludacris, was in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago performing at Beats on the Beach, part of the Formula One parties.
Etihad Towers residents have reported windows missing in Towers Two, Three and Four; and three windows have been removed in Tower Five. A helicopter has been buzzing around the area for the past three days.
Fiona Kellaway, a school nurse who lives in Tower Five, said: In Tower Two there was a window missing and on the window next to it they had a cross on. You can see the missing windows when you go down 34th Street. Some of the windows have been missing for a couple of weeks now.
Helicopters have been hovering about near Jumeirah Etihad Towers Hotel, around the observation deck on the 74th floor.
Tower Four had three windows out. My dads visiting us at the moment hes a marine engineer and he was wondering how on earth they got the windows out that high up. And they must have got them out quite quickly.
My dads got his binoculars with him because he likes looking out to sea, so weve been using those to see whats going on. On Tower Two, you can see the track where the camera was it looks like a train track.
I went for an early morning walk yesterday and there was a track with a camera on at the front on the grassy area, opposite Emirates Palace. And we noticed helicopters with cameras on the front. I thought they were making a promotional video for the hotel, for tourists.
When I saw the missing windows, I started thinking: What are they doing? Has the whole building cracked? Because nobody at Etihad Towers had told us about this. It would have been nice to know this activity was going on here. The car park has been a lot fuller, so now we know why.
I live at Etihad Towers and they have been flying around non-stop, said another resident. Its actually been rather disruptive for the past few days! On the plus side, its good to support film production in the region. I did see them filming in front of the building the other day but its mainly been helicopter action.
Another resident said: The constant helicopter noise was irritating but I am excited to be part of the movie. Its thrilling for our home to be in a film.
A spokesperson for Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) said: The filmmakers are wrapping up the current round of filming now. I would hope they will be putting all the windows back! We are keeping our fingers crossed that when the all the stars come in January for the next round of filming, it wont be a closed set.
t:
