VIRGINIA BEACH Va. (WAVY) — With the mighty Atlantic in the background, all eyes were on the Virginia Beach fishing pier for the production of the Pharrell Williams movie, loosely titled Atlantis.
The coming-of-age movie, set in the late-1970s, is named for the apartment complex where Williams learned to love music.
Pharrell fans zoomed in on a 1970s-style set created within the Virginia Beach landmark. Richard Balke of Virginia Beach saw news coverage about the production and decided to visit the strip to catch a behind-the-scenes look at the production.
“Oh, lots of action,” Balke said. “Looks like they’re doing for real. Williams doing the movie, I’m not sure what it’s about, but this is a place to be to see what’s happening at the beach today.”
Tourists hoping to catch flounder or spot from the pier were turned away. Gary Aguiar’s family was disappointed, but decided to make the best of a visit to the strip.
“They told us it’s closed … and they had their bait and their poles and they got there and they said, you should object, but that’s the way it is,” Aguiar said.
Over the years, only Pharrell could have put Virginia Beach on the map for the world to see with the Something in the Water Music Festival. He followed that with a major commercial development being built on the former Dome site, and now a feature film production is underway in Virginia.
If stars such as Pharrell and Missy Elliot of Portsmouth were on the scene Tuesday, they were not part of the action. Instead, onlookers welcomed the arrival of 1970s-era vehicles. An orange Volkswagen called the Thing has already been used for Atlantis scenes shot in Richmond and Hopewell.
“It’s really cool to be part of a movie. And if I get to see my car in there, it’ll be even better,” said car owner Anthony Dowd.
The International Movie Database said Broadway’s Halle Bailey, who starred in the musical The Little Mermaid, Janelle Monae, who starred in Pharrell’s production, Hidden Figures, and Missy Elliot are all part of the cast.
Road closures associated with the production are scheduled to end at midnight Wednesday.