VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — With the 2024 tourist season in full swing, the Virginia Beach Oceanfront is ready for its closeup. A movie production on the early life of international superstar Pharell Williams, who grew up in Virginia Beach, is underway on the boardwalk pier.
No movie on the life of the superstar would be accurate without jet noise. While crews were building a 1970s-era set, the sound of freedom — as locals call it — put conversations on pause.
“Oh, I love that noise,” said crewmember Chris Damon. “[That’s] no problem for the production at all. Yeah, they’re [producers] going to want that. They had that in 1978, you know.
Damon should know. The Virginia native travels around the mid-Atlantic region to assist with the construction of movie sets. It’s a click-your-heels moment for the 40-year-old, who grew up during the early Pharrell era.
Those formative years are the subject of a movie musical with the name Atlantis as the working title. The name Atlantis has made headlines in the past. It’s the apartment community where Pharrell grew up, and it is often referred to as low-income housing. Damon is proud to be part of the production.
“It’s very exciting,” Damon said. “The weather is cooperating this time, which is really wonderful. I’m enjoying the breeze because it’s been really hot this past couple of days, but it’s been wonderful seeing some of the sights I saw as a kid.”
On Tuesday, the boardwalk and parts of the beach were closed from 14th to 16th streets Also, on-street parking in the 200 block of 14th and 15th remained inaccessible.
A children’s playground near the pier was also to close, but plans were for the bike path to remain open. The detours are not a problem, Pharrell fans say, because they’re happy.
One visitor said they were looking forward to seeing Pharrell.
“It’s actually really cool,” said another visitor. “You don’t get to see it too often here. You know, we got the movies coming, the movie and stuff today. They put all the props out and stuff. They give you a little a little hint of what’s going to go on, but we don’t really know. But it’s pretty cool. You know, we don’t get that too often out here.”
Folks are up all night trying to figure out who will play the role of young Pharrell and, potentially producer Chad Hugo and music superstar Missy Ellliott.
The Atlantis community has had some challenges over the years, but it’s where Pharrell learned to love music. His passion has been Legoed in the movie: Piece by Piece. This is Pharrell’s first-person narrative that includes a scene, in which he describes how the young drummer fell in love with making music.
“I would see beautiful lights cascading and thought that’s what all Black kids did — stare in the speaker light,” Pharrell said in Piece by Piece. The Lego production is due to be released in October.
The Atlantis production team members say they are under non-disclosure agreements and they cannot share a word about actors who may appear in Virginia Beach for the production. The International Movie Database says Broadway’s Halle Bailey, who starred in the musical The Little Mermaid has a role in Pharrell’s movie musical. Janelle Monae, who starred in Pharrell’s production, Hidden Figures, is also part of the cast and Portsmouth’s own international superstar Elliott, according to IMDB, is a cast member in Atlantis.
Atlantis is directed by Michel Condry; Matthew Hirsch is the executive producer, and Pharrell Williams is a producer.
