According to a Yahoo Movies report, the producer of the last installment of the "Fast & Furious" film franchise is currently under negotiations with its insurers to get reimbursed following the death of one of its lead stars. Actor Paul Walker, who played undercover officer Brian O'Conner in almost all of the high-octane films, had died in a car crash last year on a break from filming "Fast & Furious 7," which caused film production to stop and mourn over the actor's loss, and to discuss on how they should carry on with the movie.
It is expected that Walker's character will be present till the end of the film with the help of his brothers as body doubles. Moreover, the film is expected to use a computer-generated version of Walker's face in several close-up scenes, as a source told The Hollywood Reporter that there has not been much changed in the storyline. Also, director James Wan will be using unused footage of Walker in the last "Fast & Furious" films to be able to have material to build on Walker's presence as required in the upcoming film.
"There is a massive amount of gear. Everything they want with Paul gets done three times over. Three [actors] times seven cameras per shot is a clusterf--- of money being spent," the source said.
The demands of the film post-Walker reportedly had made Fireman's Fund, Universal Studios' insurer, very nervous about the claim. According to insurance broker Brian Kingman of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, Fireman's Fund could pay over $50 for a film costing a minimum of $250 million. Although Fireman's Fund have yet to comment about the insurance claim, its entertainment underwriting director Wendy Diaz earlier said in a 2012 discussion of the challenges of insurance in the movie business that delays alone could rack up costs as high as $250,000 a day on a big- budget movie.
When contacted for comment, a spokesman for Universal denied any tensions with Fireman's Fund, and said that its insurer was supportive about the latest "Fast & Furious" film.
