Hollywood star rocks up for action film in Gatton

MOVIE magic was in the air at Gatton, as international film crews visited the rural town to shoot scenes for the Hollywood action disaster film, San Andreas.

STAR SPOTTING: The main road from Gatton to Tenthill, Tenthill Creek Rd, was closed for the making of a movie starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson yesterday. Picture: Sarah Harvey

MOVIE magic was in the air at Gatton, as international film crews visited the rural town to shoot scenes for the Hollywood action disaster film, San Andreas.

The $100 million film, which features action star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, was filmed at the Lockyer Valley location from 6.30am to 4.30pm yesterday.

Road blocks were placed along Tenthill-Creek Rd to shoot a driving sequence, which involved the use of left-hand drive vehicles.

The film's location manager Gareth Price said the site was chosen as the perfect environment to double as a Californian rural road.

"We spent months looking for the perfect look and eventually settled on the Lockyer Valley as being the best place to shoot the scenes," he said.

"It had all the elements we were looking for."

The movie is set after a devastating earthquake hits California and centres on a rugged rescue-helicopter pilot making a perilous trip across the state to reach his estranged daughter.

After word of the location shoot spread throughout the community, fans arrived at the scene to try and steal a behind-the-scene's look of the movie being made.

Gatton teen Samantha Litzow said she lived next door to where the film was being shot and was excited to have a bit of Hollywood in her backyard.

"All the film trucks arrived on Sunday at about noon," she said. "Since then I've been hoping to see some of the stars of the film.

"Unfortunately I've had no sightings yet, the film crews are strict in not allowing members of the public to get too close to the set."

Toowoomba dad Jochen Eberhard and his daughter Abigail also visited the location, with binoculars in hand to get a closer look from the road barriers.

"We came out here today just for the fun of it," Mr Eberhard said. "I think it's interesting that they're using Gatton to film scenes set in California."