Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron In Town Filming "Baywatch"
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DEERFIELD BEACH (CBSMiami) – People lined Ocean Way in Deerfield Beach Tuesday to try and get a glimpse of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Zac Efron and other stars of the upcoming movie "Baywatch."
Movie crews turned part of the beach into Emerald Bay – complete with their own lifeguard stand. The Sun Sentinel captured video of the first day of filming.
The movie, which will also star Alexandra Daddario as "Summer" and Kelly Rohrbach as "C.J. Parker," a role made famous by Pamela Anderson, is scheduled to hit theaters next summer.
Tourist Ann Johnston desperately wanted to see The Rock.
"Why?" she asked. "Cause he's gorgeous."
But she missed him.
"Very bummed out," she said, vowing to return on Wednesday to try again.
She had to settle for pictures posted online by the actors showing the first day of filming and the table read of the script.
There was also a picture from Efron showing an autographed pic of David Hasselhoff in his "Baywatch" days.
Or this one from Monday of Johnson and Efron, which The Rock put on his instagram account.
When the movie comes out, locals will probably recognize the surf-themed "Deerfield Beach" sign that was installed less than a year ago. While the city's name will be covered up rest of the sign won't.
Movies, TV and commercials are big business in Broward.
Tourism officials said in 2015 the industry brought in $400 million for the county.
Island Water Sports knows what filming can mean for business.
Employee Max Pechonis said the "Baywatch" people bought a long surfboard at the shop on Tuesday and other items.
"It's kind of a big deal around Deerfield," Pechonis said.
It's a big deal for hopeful actors, too.
Peggy Livingston is hoping to get some extra work on the movie and the chance to watch Johnson and Efron up close.
"It's fun," Livingston said. "It's exciting to be around the actors and action. And you get to see yourself in the movie, which is pretty cool."
The city of Deerfield Beach said Ocean Way is one of the streets that will be shut down on Wednesday when filming resumes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be lots of traffic all over this area on Deerfield Beach near the pier and parking is limited.
