There’s some Hollywood magic happening around the Duke City.
Parts of Downtown Albuquerque near Gold Street were blocked off for the filming of the sci-fi film, “Transcendence,” starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman.
Crews spent some time adding new facades to many Albuquerque businesses, as the area was being transformed to looking like Berkeley, Calif. Many of those businesses storefronts have been altered and have new awnings.
“Transcendence” is an original science-fiction thriller that explores the concept of identity and morality in the age of artificial intelligence.
According to the New Mexico Film Office, the production will employ approximately 250 New Mexico crew members and more than 2,400 New Mexico background and principal talent. It is also filming at I-25 Studios through July.
In addition to Depp and Freeman, the film will also Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy and Kate Mara.
It is being directed by Wally Pfister, who is making his directorial debut. Pfister was the cinematographer for “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception.”
