'Fast& Furious 7' soon will roll

Source: The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.文件倉Sept. 07--SALIDA -- It won't be a star-studded affair, but stunt drivers will rev their engines and cameras will roll as "Fast & Furious 7" filming takes to Monarch Pass this month.Although the films stars like Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham won't be present, the filming will be a boon to Chaffee County, said Greg Ralph, Monarch Mountain director of marketing. Set up for filming started Thursday."It's going to be filming of action scenes in the forest and its not much to see -- a lot of standing around and setting up shots and the whole area is secured," Ralph said. "It is a pretty good economic boon with (film crews using) 150 hotel rooms, so it's going to put some money in Salida coffers -- a little bit of action at a slow time of year."U.S. Forest Service director Ben Lara said the forest service has issued a permit for commercial filming on Old Monarch Pass and within the Monarch Mountain ski area boundaries. The permit requires a "nominal" fee, he said."My staff will monitor the process and the impacts will be nominal and minimal. It is amazing what they can do with special effects and computer generation," Lara said.Lara and Ralph said staging for the film crew will take place at the paved parking lot at Monarch Mountain where all the equipment trucks and meals will be stationed."They will be shooting stuff on Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs and at Monarch depending on where the weather isfrom page 5A ________________________________________________ more suitable. They will be in the state for abou存倉 a month," Ralph said.Heart of the Rockies Chamber Executive Director Lori Roberts said she was told about 275 people will be involved in the filming."It will be an obvious boost -- a plus for the hotels, the restaurants and the gas stations," Roberts said. "I think the hotels are going to be filled, which is unexpected this time of year."Chaffee County Visitors Bureau Director April Prout-Ralph said the boost to the economy is welcome even as the county is coming off a good summer with a 6 percent increase in lodging tax revenue."It is exciting to get this kind of business as it slows down and anything to help put us on the map is welcome," Prout-Ralph said. "It will be fun to be part of the Hollywood scene for a few weeks."Colorado Film Commission Chair Donald Zuckerman said the state Economic Development Commission voted to give the Fast and Furious franchise $700,000 worth of incentives to film in Colorado. In turn the movie producers will drop quite a bit of cash in Southern Colorado."We are talking over $5 million in direct expenditures in Colorado," Zuckerman said. They intend to use 4,000 hotel room nights each in Salida and Colorado Springs over the month.""They also have pledged to give us footage, at the appropriate time, which we could use to promote Colorado," Zuckerman said.The film is scheduled for a July 11 release, according to the IMDb website. tharmon@chieftain.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colo.) Visit The Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colo.) at .chieftain.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉