Humboldt County is getting a taste of Hollywood while Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan film scenes for the upcoming film ‘After Earth’ in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
Filming started April 23 and is expected to wrap up on May 5. Parts of Humboldt Redwoods State Park will be closed, but Eel River Sector Supervising Ranger John O’Rourke said the rest of the park will be open to the public.
According to various news reports, “After Earth” casts Will Smith and his 13-year-old son, Jaden, as an estranged father and son whose spaceship crash-lands on Earth 1,000 years after it has become uninhabitable. Jaden Smith’s character then reportedly has to traverse the post-apocalyptic planet in order to save his father.
Humboldt County is no stranger to the big screen: a number of major movies have been filmed on the North Coast, including “Return of the Jedi,” “Outbreak” and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” In 2001, the Victiorian village of Ferndale set the scene for “The Majestic” starring funnyman Jim Carrey.
“After Earth” also stars “The Hunger Games’” Isabelle Fuhrman.
The film has been slated for release in the summer of 2013.