Film gunshots rattle
WHEN gunshots rang out across
tara last weekend some people ducked for cover – they posted warnings on social media, called police and sheltered in their homes.
And given the recent spate of gang-related shootings that has rocked the south Auckland suburb, they had good reason to be frightened.
But while what they heard were actually gunshots, the shots were part of the production of Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, which has been filming at a warehouse in East Tamaki.
Producers had tipped off police about the intended filming –
including staged gunshots and explosions –in an industrial area of
tara but the word had not got out to everyone in the community.
As a result, police received ‘‘a handful of reports’’ from the wider
tara area where residents heard the sounds of gunshots, a police spokesperson said.
Call centre operators passed on the information about filming to the worried callers.
But in some cases police headed out to the area to speak to residents to provide them with reassurance, the spokesperson said.
The series stars Hollywood heart-throb John Cho, who is also
known for his roles in the Star Trek reboot film series, although he was injured filming a stunt in October and flew home to recuperate.
There were 400 people working on the Auckland-based production. Cho had the lead role in the live-action remake of the popular anime series.
Between November 20 and 21 there were five shooting incidents in tara as¯ Othe Killer Beez and Tribesmen tried to intimidate each other. No-one was hurt but the violence had a big effect on the community.