Giving way to fast and furious

Pelagic vessels Venus and Víkingur are now in port in Reykjavík after having been tied up at Akranes since the end of the capelin season. The reason for the change of scenery was that the harbour at Akranes and the cement factory there form part of the backdrop for the American action film the Fast and the Furious 8 which is being filmed there over the next few days.

According to Karl Sigurjónsson, HB Grandi’s marine superintendent in Akranes, he has been in contact since December with representatives of film company True North, who are preparing for filming in Iceland.

‘Before True North contacted HB Grandi about the ships, they had been in touch with the Akranes mayor’s office about filming in the cement factory building. There will also be scenes filmed at the harbour area that start on the 14th of April and take two days. Then there are two days scheduled for filming in Hvalfjördur,’ he said and added that Venus and Víkingur were simply too big for the harbour scenes and had to go, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to the company.

‘They talked about Lundey, which is also there, also having to go, but that request was withdrawn. Bjarni Ólafsson is also in port there, but doesn’t seem to be in the film crew’s way,’ Karl Sigurjónsson said.

Around 300 people are involved in filming Fast and Furious 8 in Akranes and the town can expect to change dramatically for a few days next week.