Vin Diesel: It Has Been 'Awkward And Uncomfortable' Adjusting To Paul Walker Visual Effects In 'Fast & Furious 7'

Kirsten AcunaJun 20, 2014, 00:42 IST

Vin Diesel/FacebookVin Diesel shares a photo of himself and the late Paul Walker on set of one of the "Fast and Furious" films.

After Paul Walker's death last November, Universal made the decision to retire his character, Brian O'Connor, in the next installment. Since many of the film's big scenes were yet to be filmed, Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody will help complete unfinished scenes. However, a number of groundbreaking facial-replacement visual effects will also be used to preserve his likeness. The process hasn't been an easy one for the incredibly close cast and crew. Recent rumors from The Hollywood Reporter have claimed star Vin Diesel has been difficult on set, with the actor spending a lot of time in his trailer. Subsequently, Diesel, who often shares updates on current projects with his fans on Facebook, posted a lengthy note Tuesday explaining the difficulties of working on set with the VFX team. "The whole crew has had to adjust to this awkward and uncomfortable process of pixels over people. Aside from the obvious strains it places on the director, the challenge is not to allow it to compromise what makes the character so special." According to Diesel, Walker was very involved in decision making on the franchise saying, "there wasn't a scene in the saga he didn't want to discuss, improve... even with just a changing of a line or adding a specific nuance to enrich a moment." The actor makes it clear he wants to ensure Walker's character O'Connor is portrayed correctly on screen in the sequel. "Fast and Furious 7" will be released April 10, 2015. Read Diesel's full note below: "There wasn't a scene in the saga he didn't want to discuss, improve... even with just a changing of a line or adding a specific nuance to enrich a moment. He did it with the pride of knowing, that over a decade of portraying Brian, through four directors, multiple writers and new producers he was able to maintain the inner core of the character he created. Those work ethics and drive to be both truthful, and in his own way, evolve the decade spanning character is what made his character as iconic as it has become. He always knew I would fight for him… whether it was to protect his deal or to protect his integrity… and he knew that if it made for a better film, I was going to do whatever it took… it is why together, we won best duo... twice, 12 years apart. With our new ambitious vfx team, the whole crew has had to adjust to this awkward and uncomfortable process of pixels over people. Aside from the obvious strains it places on the director, the challenge is not to allow it to compromise what makes the character so special. Happy Toretto Tuesday..."

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Vin Diesel: It Has Been 'Awkward And Uncomfortable' Adjusting To Paul Walker Visual Effects In 'Fast & Furious 7'