For some people, witnessing the filming of a Hollywood blockbuster is a great moment. However, it seems that action-packed shoots for the upcoming Fast X, the penultimate installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, has caused a number of complaints from the residents of Los Angeles Angelino Heights who are planning to protest against the use of the location for its dangerous car stunts. According to Variety, residents of the area were notified that filming will be taking place at the end of the week and will including “simulated emergency services activity, aerial photography, wetting down of the street and atmospheric smoke.”

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The cause for concern from residents seems to center on their belief that the filming on the movie will lead to a number of car enthusiasts coming to the area to perform their own street races in the locations used in the movie. According to an email cited by the report, one resident wrote to Los Angeles City Council saying:

“If this film shoot is allowed to go forward in Angelino Heights, or any part of it from F10 Productions (Universal) … we will stage a huge protest and will invite many reporters and news cameras to film us protesting this film shoot all day and night. We will hold this protest to honor the 178 people who have been killed by street racers in Los Angeles, and to shame Universal for their callous disregard for this deadly epidemic of street racing their films started and continue to promote. The fact that these people can find the actual spot and then just go torment the people living there is irresponsible. Of course [Universal] didn’t know when they made the movie that it would be such a cultural phenomenon.”

The Fast and Furious Franchise Is Nearing Its End

     Universal Pictures

Like any action movie franchise, the Fast and Furious saga is a piece of fiction, but in the same way movie buffs will flock to the “Rocky” steps in Philadelphia to imitate Sylvester Stallone’s iconic boxer, there are some who have taken to performing dangerous car races inspired by the driving of Vin Diesel and co in the Fast movies. Whether this means that the movies shouldn’t be able to use real-life locations on the off-chance some people who cannot tell fact from fiction decide to replicate them is a debate that has gone on for decades in relation to horror movie inspired killings.

Regardless how a small number of residents feel about their area being used by Universal, there is little doubt that filming will go ahead as planned on Friday, and with the Fast and Furious franchise heading towards a conclusion across its next two movies the filming is likely to be a one off event that will be watched and enjoyed by many of those who are close enough to see it. Many other automobile-based spectacles have been filmed in real locations around the world without any long-term problems being caused, and it is likely that the filming of Fast X will go the same way.