Written by on Mar 12, 2014. Posted in Production News

Need for Speed films on location across the US with Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul

New action movie Need for Speed filmed on location across the US with city shoots focussing on Atlanta and Detroit. Based on a popular videogame, the movie follows Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul as an ex-con who competes in a cross-country road race.

The production team spent around half a year in prep, often adapting the existing script to suit the specific locations they found. Filming took place in locations as diverse as Utah and California, but Atlanta and Detroit became the principal cities.

“Georgia doubled for much of New York and the East Coast where the characters are from and where the race starts,” explains Supervising Location Manager Patrick Mignano: “We spent many months negotiating road and bridge closures for racing scenes and stunt work, which was a challenge because in some cases we needed to close roads for three days at a time.”

While New York is one of the top production hubs in the US, Georgia is increasingly popular and has been put firmly on the map by the stunning success of TV zombie drama The Walking Dead.

We spent many months negotiating road and bridge closures for racing scenes and stunt work, which was a challenge because in some cases we needed to close roads for three days at a time.

Patrick Mignano, Supervising Location Manager

There are local state-of-the-art filming facilities in Atlanta and Pinewood Studios is establishing a presence in the city, but the Need for Speed team instead used a variety of warehouse spaces and green screens for selected stunt work sequences.

Detroit was a suitable location to offer a change in urban scenery that also marked a halfway point in Need for Speed’s cross-country race, although the scripted city of choice was originally Chicago.

“We couldn’t quite make Chicago work for the sequences that we needed to shoot,” Mignano explains: “Detroit looked great and it offered the filming incentive as well.”

Michigan’s most populous city may have its broader economic problems – in 2013 it became the largest US city ever to declare bankruptcy – but its appeal as a filming location endures, partly because of its filming incentive programme that’s worth up to 32% of local spend. Michael Bay built a Hong Kong set in the centre of the city last year for Transformers: Age of Extinction and upcoming superhero movie Batman Vs Superman will film on location at Michigan Motion Picture Studios in the coming months.

Aaron Paul will also be seen later this year in Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus, which has been doubling Spain’s Almeria Desert for ancient Egypt.

(Images: DreamWorks)