By Ryan Pearson, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Nearly five years after Paul Walker's death, his brothers say they're open to playing his character again in the "Fast and Furious" franchise.
Producers asked Caleb and Cody Walker to fill in for their brother and help complete "Furious 7" after he died in a fiery off-set car crash in November 2013.
His face was digitally superimposed onto his brothers' performances for scenes that Walker had not yet shot and in a modified ending in which his character Brian O'Conner drives off into the sunset.
The character remains alive in the fictional "Fast" universe and is mentioned twice in 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."
"I just hope we get to — I don't know — have a little cameo and bring Paul back to save the day and I get to help create that again," Caleb Walker, 40, said in an interview last week. "That's my dream and I hope we get to do that in one of the future movies."
"I think there could potentially be a way to do it. But it would take a lot of thought and it'd have to be tasteful. It would have to be tasteful," Cody Walker, 30, said in the interview. "He was the real deal, the real car guy. And in his absence, I — you know — I think it's lost its way in a big way."
Caleb and Cody Walker were promoting "I Am Paul Walker," a new one-hour documentary about the actor's childhood, family and career directed by Adrian Buitenhuis. It premiered last weekend on the Paramount Network.
Both Walker brothers became fathers for the first time last year and live in Southern California. They have not re-watched the full "Furious 7" film since attending the premiere in April 2015.
"It's kind of creepy sometimes when you're like, 'Oh, that's me.' It doesn't feel right," Caleb Walker said. "I think one day, when our kids are little older and we are able to share that experience with them and be like, 'Hey look, this is your uncle Paul. He was the greatest guy in the world and here we are being able to portray him and finish up this movie for him.' That's when I think it will really hit that I think it was really worth it and special and all that. But in the meantime, it's still a little conflicted."
Walker was 40 years old when the Porsche Carrera GT he was riding in spun out of control, struck three trees and burst into flames on a street in Santa Clarita, California.
The next scheduled film in the "Fast" franchise is a spin-off featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. It's set for release next year.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More