Caffeinated Clint
Negotiations have commenced; Justin Lin to direct
The saying ‘you’re too young to know better’ makes for a nice opener here.
A few years back Vin Diesel was offered the chance to reprise his role from the surprise hit ‘’Fast and the Furious’’ (2001) in a sequel – the film that became ‘’2 Fast 2 Furious’’ (2003) – but as he was about as in-demand as a newspaper offering a free DVD at the time, the big guy nixed the idea and instead went on to star in his own solo effort, “XXX”.
According to Paul Walker, Diesel’s co-star in “Furious” and the star of “2 Fast”, Diesel didn’t want to do it because it’d mean he’d have to share the poster with someone else again. “Vin doesn’t want to do two-handers, he wants to go and be ‘Vin’”, Walker said in a 2003 with Moviehole.
How things change.
Today, The Hollywood Reporter says that both Diesel and Walker are in negotiations to star in a “Fast and the Furious 4” together.
I’m not at all surprised. Diesel’s commodity has been heavily cheapened over the past couple of years. He hasn’t had a hit to his name since “The Pacifier” – and that’s definitely not the type of film he should be doing; maybe after a couple of big action hits, but not straight out of the gate – and those big projects he’s wanted to do, like the biopic on Hannibal the Conqueror that he’s been tooting for years, can’t get financing. Quite simply, he isn’t the big star he – or his agent – thought he was. So seems Diesel has taken a wise step back. I think the first tip-off of that was when I saw an ad in a local streetpress indicating Diesel would be making an appearance at a local nightclub.
I shit you not. Diesel is going to make an appearance at a nightclub here in Australia in a few weeks.
There’s no way the Vin Diesel of 2003 would’ve made a nightclub appearance – so something has definitely changed.
Even in 2005, Diesel was asked to co-star with Walker and Tyrese in a third “Fast and the Furious” film – “Tokyo Drift” would end up starring Lucas Black – but gave the birdie to the idea believing he’d have better offers on the table (he did do a cameo in it though). Those better offers did come (well, one did – the upcoming “Babylon A.D”) but the career still isn’t as on fire as much as he thought it would be by now. Hence, “Fast and the Furious 4”.
Even still, I thought of a “Fast and the Furious 4” happened with Vin, it’d happen only with Vin. I didn’t see Vin agreeing to share the screen with Paul Walker again. But there you go.
The bargaining chip may have been Vin negotiating his way into a producer’s position on the film. His company, One Race Films, are apparently going to steer the film alongside the original films producer, Neal Moritz.
The story line is being kept under wraps, but fast cars are involved. A spring start is anticipated with shooting in Los Angeles, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Justin Lin, who directed “Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift”, is returning to direct the new film. Chris Morgan, who penned the latter, will write.
Interesting indeed. The next thing you now Harrison Ford will be agreeing to star in a “Han Solo” spin-off, and Alec Baldwin will be back as Jack Ryan for “Cardinal of the Kremlin”.
