The first installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise came out in 2001? Can you even believe it? It will be able to legally drive soon! They grow up so fast these days, don't they. Sure all the Fast and Furious movies have entertained audiences and car lovers for years now, but what are the behind the scenes facts and Hemi-powered, souped up Fast and the Furious trivia that you might not know? Take a look at the on-set secrets and little known facts about one of the most successful film franchises of all time.
Remember the huge cultural influence the first Fast and the Furious film had? Everyone and their brother had neons on their cars, carbon fiber hoods, body kits, custom suspensions, racing seats, after market head and tail lights, and NOS (or at least had stickers that said NOS). Everyone wanted to be as cool as Paul Walker and Vin Diesel and the movies were the epitome of badass.
The Fast and the Furious single-handedly brought street racing to the forefront and the mainstream, and it did it in no time at all. In fact, the effects are still felt today. Super Street and Import Tuner became the teen/young adult bible and every time you see a modified car or a custom painted import there's still that little voice in your head that says "that guy must be fast AND furious."
So lets take a look back from today, all the way back to the first time we lived our lives a quarter mile at a time and learn some behind the scenes Fast and Furious facts you may not know about the franchise. Vote up the most interesting, most furious, and certainly fastest facts below!
http://www.ranker.com/list/fast-and-furious-trivia-facts/coy-jandreau,
The Iconic Jetta in the First Film Was Bought by a Very Famous Child Star
The Volkswagen Jetta Jesse drives in the movie was later purchased by Frankie Muniz. Muniz is now a professional driver and street racing enthusiast.
Vin Diesel Leveraged His The Fast and the Furious Character to Get the Rights to Riddick
After poor test screenings of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Universal Pictures asked Vin Diesel to make a cameo appearance to boost its box-office potential. Diesel agreed to appear if Universal would relinquish the rights to the Riddick franchise to him. Diesel was then able to make Riddick independently, and R-rated!
Brian and Letty Only Talk Once in the Whole Franchise
In Fast & Furious 6, when Letty is with Dom, Brian, and the crew towards the end of the film, Brian approaches Letty to apologize to her for getting her involved with Braga. Letty then says to Brian, "I may not remember anything, but I do know one thing. Nobody makes me do anything I don't want."
This is the first (and only) time in the entire The Fast and the Furious series that Brian and Letty talk to each other directly.
The Fast and the Furious Franchise Was Almost Not Referred to as Fast OR Furious
Working titles for the original movie included:
Racer X (The magazine article the first film was based on.)
Redline (Another film took this title.)
Race Wars (To mirror the climactic event in the desert.)
It's Tradition in the Franchise to Have to Get Someone a License
Considering they're hiring people to RACE cars and play insane driving enthusiasts it's crazy that not everyone cast in the films is a stunt driver... or even a driver at all.
During the making of the first film, production had to set time aside to put Michelle Rodriguez AND Jordana Brewster through driver's education classes to get their permits and licenses! During the second film Devon Aoki had absolutely zero driving experience, and no license.
The Drifting in Tokyo Drift Was Practical, Not Computer Animated
The drifting in the movie was not CGI; it was performed by professional drivers. As reported in Sport Compact Car, Rhys Millen, his father Rod, and a handful of other famous rally and drift racers consistently performed amazing drift sequences for the movie.
In fact The Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII, and two of the VW R32s, were converted from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive so they could drift properly.
Toyota also donated 4,000 tires for the movie and roughly 2,000 were used! Rays Engineering donated its 170 Volk Racing wheels as well.
There's a Star Wars Easter Egg in Fast Five
Hobbs and his team are looking at a traffic cam picture of Dom's car. They can't make out the faces of the occupants because they're covered, so Hobbs says to use FRS (Facial Recognition Software). The occupants' photos pop up and show that they are "Dominic Toretto" and "Han Seoul-Oh" (Han Solo).
Vin Diesel Was Too Big for His First Car
Dominic's RX-7 originally had a roll cage in The Fast and the Furious. It had to be removed to accommodate Vin Diesel's physique.
The Chronology Is Back in Order after the Seventh Film
Furious 7 is the first film to take place AFTER The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Now we're in real time with films going in order from this point on (save for flashbacks). This makes the order of events in the films:
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
Fast & Furious
Fast Five
Fast & Furious 6
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Furious 7
All the Other Actors Considered for Brian O'Conner Would Have Made for a Very Different Take on the Character
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Eminem were all considered for the part of Brian O'Conner before Paul Walker was cast.