A Hollywood producer apologized profusely Monday after a film crew shooting in Vallejo painted over a beloved mural earlier this week.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, one of the producers behind Transformers Universe: Bumblebee told the Vallejo Times-Herald that a miscommunication led to a crew painting over the Vallejo Rising mural, which memorialized several local residents.
“I’m sorry about this,” di Bonaventura told the Times-Herald, adding that Paramount Pictures, the company making the film, would do what it could to replace the mural. “Our guys didn’t realize the importance of the mural.”
Painted in 2012 by local teacher Alvaro Garcia, the mural included depictions of locals tragically killed, such as 12-year-old Joey Tafoya who died after being hit by a garbage truck; and Dewey Tucker, the 24-year-old bassist for Lauryn Hill, Bobby Brown and The Coup, who was murdered while driving on I-80 by a gang member who thought Tucker was a rival.
Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan spoke with representatives from Paramount Monday afternoon and said they were working to rectify the situation.