Caffeinated Clint
Much to my surprise – if Latino Review‘s peeps are correct on this (which they likely are) – “Fast and the Furious” and “xXx” director Rob Cohen hasn’t been short-listed to replace Justin Lin on “Fast & Furious 7”. I’m sorry, but this just surprises me.
Instead, Uni Studios are going the more affordable and available route checking out the availability of point-and-shoot capability of names like ‘Harald Zwart’, ‘Jeff Wadlow’ and ‘Brad Furman’.
While the threesome know their way around a can of Kodak, I just can’t believe Cohen’s not on that list – as far as I know he’s available, and his connection to the “Fast and the Furious” one is a big one… he helmed that first flick (plus then cast Vin Diesel in “xX”. The man, some might say, might be responsible for the birth of the Diesel-powered action hero). Maybe he’s already passed? Maybe he’s gone into hiding after “Alex Cross”? Dunno. Just surprised his name isn’t mentioned.
As you’ll have read last week, Justin Lin was set to direct “Fast & Furious 7” right up until… he realized he had overdosed on the franchise and needed a nice break from that world for a while. He has, after all, just directed three “Fast” films in a row, and as a consequence has had to abandon other projects he wanted to do – like a fifth “Terminator” movie.
So, Lin’s decided not to do “Fast 7”. Instead, Uni have a couple of weeks to find a replacement. Any one of those guys could do the job – Wadlow, you’d assume, would be their number one choice, having a name most established with the action genre, not to mention a big sequel title under his belt in “Kick-Ass 2”. Zwart’s probably best known as the director of “The Pink Panther 2”, “Agent Cody Banks”, “The Karate Kid” and the upcoming “Mortal Instruments” movie – nothing in there screams ‘action blockbuster go-to man’! (but you never know). Furman’s probably the one with the most credibility of the trio, having helmed the classy legal flick “The Lincoln Lawyer” a couple of years back; but would his talent be wasted on a film that doesn’t really require anything in the way of performance!?
“Fast & Furious 7”, which will apparently pick-up where next month’s “Fast & Furious 6” leaves off, reunites the cast of the last 394 “Fast” films. Production’s said to begin in the Summer.
