Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Furious 7 make first cut for visual effects Oscar

Space travelers, spies, and superheroes are well represented among the 20 films vying for best visual effects honors at the next Oscars ceremony.

                                                                                     The preliminary shortlist of contenders announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday includes Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,Spectre, Ant-Man, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, to name a few.

The initial selection of 20 films (increased from 15 this year in a rules tweak) was made by the executive committee of the academy’s visual effects branch and will be narrowed to 10 later this month. The five finalists will be named when Oscar nominees are announced Jan. 14.

The 88th Oscars will be held Feb. 28, with Chris Rock hosting.

The 20 films up for the VFX award are:

• Ant-Man
• Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Bridge of Spies
• Chappie
• Everest
• Ex Machina
• Furious 7
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — 2
• In the Heart of the Sea
• Jupiter Ascending
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
• The Revenant
• Spectre
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Terminator Genisys
• Tomorrowland
• The Walk

‘Fast and Furious 8’ to Cast Paul Walker’s Brother as New Racer?

“Fast and Furious” trilogy is rumored to have Paul Walker’s brother join the cast .

In “Fast and Furious 7,” Walker’s brother, Cody Walker, was his body double after the actor died in a tragic car crash in 2013.

Since fans are clamoring to see Paul again on big screen, his brother may be cast in the upcoming sequel. Cody may likely play as a new car racer or Brian O’Connor younger brother.

Movie Pilot noted that in “Fast and Furious” franchise, Paul’s character has a younger brother but he never talk about him because he thought his brother died in the war.

Movie News Guide reported that speculations about Brian’s return began when cast member Jordana Brewster, who played Mia Toretto, was rumored to be returning to “Fast and Furious 8.”

Jordana was earlier asked if she will be coming back in the upcoming sequel.

“I don’t know [if I’d do another film], but it’s always dependent on the fans. If they want one and if there’s an appetite for it. We never want to jump the shark!” the actress said.

However, there were also reports that Cody will not be returning in “Fast and Furious 8.”

This speculation was further proven after IMDB removed Cody’s name from the official cast list of “Fast and Furious 8,” Your Health magazine pointed out.

PopSugar said the confirmed cast members of “Furious 8” so far include Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.

It also pointed out that while other veteran cast members have yet to confirm their return in the eight installment, it’s likely that the entire crew will return in the first installment of the final trilogy.

It was previously reported that “Fast and Furious 8” will be a tribute to Walker. Paul’s character was last seen in “Furious 7” bidding his goodbye to the world of fast cars to start his own family with Mia.

Diesel also confirmed that F. Gary Gray has been tapped to direct the eighth installment of the franchise.

“Fast and Furious 8” will premiere on April 14, 2017.

 TAGS:Cody WalkerFast And FuriousFast And Furious 8Paul Walker

Thorpe Park race meeting held in honour of Paul Walker shut down by police

A race meeting held in honour of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker was shut down by police after 1,700 drivers showed up.

The event at Thorpe Park saw twice the expected number of motorists show up in a bid to raise money for the late actor’s Reach Out Worldwide charity.

But local residents soon became enraged with ‘boy racers’ revving their engines and causing ‘chaos’- before police took the decision to end the event.

The gates to the popular theme park were shut at 8.30pm – after causing huge tailbacks.

The event, organised by Secret Cruises, aimed to raise money for Walker’s charity and charities affiliated to the theme park on the second anniversary of his death.

Walker was killed at the age of 40 in November 2013 when he was a passenger in a Porsche that burst into flames after crashing into a pole.

Defending the event, Secret Cruises director Andre Michaels-Carter said: ‘At the end of the day this whole event was in memory of Paul Walker and it raised a lot of money for our charities, £2,270.

‘It raised a heck of a lot and the last thing we want is negative feedback.

‘The only reason the gates got shut was, unfortunately, we had some cars come down from different clubs.

‘Obviously because we had all the clubs arrive at one time we had tailbacks. We, as a club, didn’t want to have traffic down the road and disturb all the people close by.’

He added: ‘We had an extremely big team of marshals who were keeping the cars under control.

‘The noise control was a lot better than we thought it might be.’

In a statement, a spokesman for Thorpe Park said: ‘Thorpe Park would like to apologise unreservedly to anyone who was inconvenienced by the event.

‘We were assured that the organisers were aware and able to handle the logistics of such an event.’

Surrey Police also said they agreed with event organisers to turn vehicles away after 8.30pm due to public safety reasons.