![The Virginia Film Office tells 13News Now this is part of the "Untitled Pharrell Williams and [director] Michel Gondry Project".](https://media.13newsnow.com/assets/WVEC/images/ed161c76-97e0-4247-bb75-814708f973e7/20240625T221803/ed161c76-97e0-4247-bb75-814708f973e7_1920x1080.jpg)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Production crews finished the latest round of work Tuesday for the musical film inspired by Grammy Award-winning artist Pharrell Williams' childhood in Virginia Beach.
A Virginia Beach city spokesperson confirmed the intermittent work between 14th and 16th streets along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront was for the filming of the "Untitled Pharrell Williams and [director] Michel Gondry Project."
Hundreds of production crew members wheeled in cameras, lights and other film equipment to the outskirts of the recently re-opened Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, which is where the main filming took place Tuesday afternoon.
For protection of the film's integrity, the Virginia Film Office requested that footage and visuals of the scenes themselves were not recorded during filming on the set.
The buzz surrounding the project itself though could not be denied.
“I think it’s a beautiful thing, because Pharrell, I think he’s a big inspiration to the people here. You know because he does great things for the City of Virginia Beach," pedestrian and longtime Hampton Roads resident Terry Orgburn said.
According to previous reporting from entertainment news website Deadline, the movie will be a coming-of-age musical set in 1977 Virginia Beach and "draws inspiration from Williams’ childhood growing up in the city’s Atlantis Apartments." Gondry, whose past works include "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", is set to direct and actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. has been tapped to star in the lead role.
On Tuesday, extras lined up outside the pier sporting vintage apparel, and a handful of vintage car owners transported their classic cars to the area as well.
“Opening up a lot of things that’s been happening," Orgburn said. "And to give back to the community, I think he’s a blessing.”
RELATED: Musical film inspired by Pharrell's childhood to be set in 70s-era Virginia Beach, Deadline reports
It's the latest of Pharrell's large-scale ventures in the Virginia Beach community, with the film production coinciding with the building of the surf park project on Atlantic Avenue and the resurrection of the Something in the Water music festival.
"We’re thrilled that the project is here, spending millions, hiring our Virginia workers, and that the musical itself is going to put such a large spotlight on Virginia Beach, Pharrell’s treasured hometown," a spokesperson for the Virginia Film Office said in an email to 13News Now.
RELATED: Trailer released for Pharrell Williams' LEGO-style autobiography with nods to Virginia Beach
