All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S03E06.Blast.Off.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
The Fast and the Furious'
seventh film wasn't just a hit.

It was Universal Studios'
biggest hit to date...

Making more than
the first three films combined.

It's extremely entertaining.

7,you know,
cracked the one billion mark.

It's one of the biggest films
ever made.

NARRATOR:
But the financial success
ofFurious 7 was bittersweet.

DEREK: Paul passes away
in November 2013,

when they were filming
Furious 7.

It was just so stupid.
An accident.

I was flabbergasted
and broken-hearted.
'cause he's such a sweetheart.

Vin and Tyrese
and a lot of others

went over to the crash site
to mourn him.

I love Paul Walker.
I miss him every day.

NARRATOR: Universal was
in a tough spot,
because for many,

continuing without Paul Walker
was unfathomable.

But also escalating
was the feud between
the Rock and Vin Diesel,

which was beginning to
boil over.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

I had heard rumors
that there would be more,

but I didn't know
because of Paul
not being there.

They didn't know
if they should do it.

You know,
at a certain point, obviously,
it becomes a business thing.

The rule that seem to see
is that

if the last film made money,
we're going to do it again.

NARRATOR: Finally,
Vin Diesel put an end to
the rumors and speculation.

More Fast and Furious
comin' at ya.

Franchise producer and star
Vin Diesel, with a big reveal
on Instagram.

Diesel giving dates
for three more movies

from 2017 to 2021.

NARRATOR: That's right.
Fast and the Furious
was coming back

for not one, not two,
but three films.

They thought,
look at how much money
we're still making.

Yes, it might have been
a little inflated because of
the circumstances of that one,

but it doesn't mean
the next one's not going to make
a boatload of money.

NARRATOR: Reaction ranged from
excitement to total shock.

TYRESE: The hell is going on
in here?

I mean, if I had a dollar
for the number of times
that people ask me,

"What are you working on?"
I'm like, "Oh, I'm working on
Fast and..."

"They're making another one?"

NARRATOR: But Universal's
marketing team needed a spin

to bring in
loyal Paul Walker fans.

They felt like they were
still doing it for Paul,

and hopefully not, you know,
disrespecting that memory.

NARRATOR:
Which meant one thing.

JACK: Nobody's gonna be able to
replace him.

Everybody kind of agreed
with that.

You're not gonna come in
and bring a character

and call him Brian,
all of a sudden
it's going to be Brian.

NARRATOR: So Universal
doubled down on the one star
they had left. Vin Diesel.

A lot of times you're like,
okay, how would you, you know,

sell this movie in like,
you know, one sentence?

NARRATOR: Luckily,
screenwriter Chris Morgan
had a great sentence.

Dom goes bad.
Dom turning his back
on the family.

So, your team is about to
go up against the only thing
they can't handle.

And what's that?

You.

NARRATOR: It was exactly
the big idea

thatFast and Furious needed
to shake things up.

And Universal gave producers
the budget to make it happen.

$250 million budget,

which was by far
the biggest budget they had had.

NARRATOR: Casting for Fast 8
was well underway.

And there were
some heavy hitters
coming on board,

including the return
of Kurt Russell.

Wow.

Such a great cast.
You add Charlize Theron.

A pair for every occasion.

So that was a big deal,
as was Helen Mirren.

Who would have thought?
Helen Mirren.

She is world class.

I cannot believe that
she is in these movies,

'cause she's just
elegance and class.

NARRATOR: Mirren would be
playing the badass mother
of Deckard Shaw...

once again played by
Jason Statham.

Jesus, Mother.
You're supposed to avoid
the nerves.

Oh, shut up.
Don't be such a baby.

NARRATOR:
InFate of the Furious,
Shaw actually joins the team.

I'm bringing in
an extra pair of hands.

NARRATOR: This would require
some justification gymnastics

from screenwriter Chris Morgan.

They find a way to
make it conveniently that

he's one of the only people
who could possibly help
this team.

Like it or not,
you two are gonna work together.

NARRATOR: Fate of the Furious
had leveled up on the cast,

but even with big stars,
Universal had a problem.

Their director was leaving
after just one movie.

James Wan obviously pulls off
a borderline miracle

making Furious 7
the success it is.

Given the circumstances under,
you'd think he would come back
for another,

but he was not brought back.

At the same time,
he was working on
Insidious 2,

so going back to
those horror roots.

And in his place, they bring in

F. Gary Gray,
and they give him
the keys to the car.

NARRATOR: F. Gary Gray
burst onto the scene
with the smash hit, Friday...

BOTH: Damn!

...and went on to receive
critical acclaim

for the N.W.A. biopic,
Straight Outta Compton.

Nothing is more uncomfortable
than following
the box office success

of $1.7 billion.

Must have been
very nerve-racking.

NARRATOR: Luckily for him,
he already had relationships

with many of the actors
in the cast.

You know, directed Charlize
and Jason Statham,
both in Italian Job.

JACOB: Vin Diesel, who he had
a great relationship with

from working on A Man Apart.

NARRATOR: He had even directed
the Rock in Be Cool.

Hey, come on,
give me that eyebrow thing.

It was practically
a family reunion.

[CHUCKLES]

But like so many times before,

the on-camera story
ofFast and the Furious

would be dictated by
off-camera drama.

Vin Diesel saw himself as,
you know, not only
the main character now,

which he had kind of taken from
Paul Walker's character.

They kind of switched
whose point of view it was.

It was his movie.

He's the A-lister.

NARRATOR: But he wasn't
the only A-lister.

It's no longer just Vin Diesel
as this A-list star,

and the Rock as
an up and coming big star.

Oh, my God.

NARRATOR: The Rock had
just starred in San Andreas,

which made over $470 million.

And that quickly elevated
his status to
the level of superstar.

JACOB: So he is
as big a star as anyone.

He knows his formula works.

It's gotten him
huge, huge success.

We eventually learned that
the Rock only agreed to
do this movie

if he had to film zero scenes
with Vin Diesel in person.

That's right.

So, yeah, there were tensions.

Yeah, without a doubt.

NARRATOR: Now that they had
the cast locked in,

it was time
to go back to work.

And for
the Fast and Furious franchise,
that means one thing.

Epic stunts.

You want to try
and build the action
in each of the acts.

What are you doing?

And you get it
so exponentially bigger

that you have
a slam dunk at the end,

where everybody wants to
jump up in the air and clap
and go crazy.

NARRATOR: Up until now,
they've taken down
every vehicle imaginable...

[YELLING] Oh!

...including planes...

trains...

leaving only...

Submarines popping out of ice
and explosions.

You know,
so all of those things
are larger than life.

NARRATOR: It was
a mind-bending set piece,

but not even Universal Studios
could commandeer a submarine
of that size.

We'll need a bigger truck.

NARRATOR: So how are they gonna
pull this one off?

Of course, being Fast,

we're really going to
go shoot this on ice.

NARRATOR:
Well, that should be easy.

All they had to do
was find a frozen lake.

The tricky part about
the sequence we did
was because of the ice melting,

we shot it
before the movie started.

NARRATORS: That is to say,
before the writers had even
scripted the scene.

The script wasn't done yet,
so what do you do?

NARRATOR: Well, usually,
you'd wait for the script,

but the ice was melting
faster than writers could type.

Time was running out.

We had one week.

NARRATOR: So the crew
went looking for a frozen lake

in the very home of ice.
Iceland.

We scouted
many different locations.

We really found a place
we could shoot on
a frozen lake.

NARRATOR: And even though
there was no script,

they had actors.

I said, "Okay, why don't you
have Tyrese come down to Iceland
and you shoot him?"

NARRATOR: Well, one actor.

And unfortunately,
he only liked ice
in his drinks.

I don't like the cold.

He hates the cold.

Iceland.

NARRATOR: Luckily,
Tyrese agreed to take one
for the team,

or rather 15 for the team,

as in 15 degrees below.

It was 10-15 below there,

and winds blowing 60 knots.

It was cold as hell
out there, man.

And I was
the only one from the cast
who went there.

Sending love from Iceland.
Let's go.

Everybody else filmed
in front of a blue screen
in Atlanta.

No CG for me.

Ridiculous.

NARRATOR: The filmmakers had
just two days, only one actor

and just one shot
at capturing the magic.

Who needs a script?

SPIRO: They had him there
for two days and he goes,

"If you can get me out
in one day,

"just whatever it takes,
you know, let me know.

"Anything you want, I will do.

"Just try to get me out
in one day."

I said, "All right.
As long as you're there."

NARRATOR: Tyrese was so cold,
he was willing to run hot,

if it meant getting home
even one day sooner.

He was amazing.

Anything I asked, he was there.

He stood on the set,
did every shot I wanted,

did some of his own stunts.

It was awesome.

NARRATOR: Somehow,
after just 24 freezing hours...

I go, "I got it.
Thank you, brother."

Hugged him, you know.
"You're done."

NARRATOR: And Tyrese breathed
a sigh of relief,

which he can no doubt
see in front of him.

But all this was the easy part.

Because, while you can
direct actors,

you can't direct melting ice.

And the crew was
inadvertently destroying
the set.

First mistake was we put spikes
that were about 2 inches long.

They gouge big trenches
in the ice

and your vehicles
start dropping through the ice
and disappearing.

NARRATOR: Vehicles that
happened to contain people.

Yes, there were a few people
who went through the ice.

[CHUCKLES]

None drowned. [CHUCKLES]

NARRATOR: Which is why
there were brave stunt people

still willing to
drive supercars

where they were
never designed to go.

We had to have
the Lamborghini go underwater,

so we had cut a hole in the ice,

and Jay Lynch has to
drive this Lamborghini
under the water.

So we put a cable on it
and we drug it under water

at speed from outside.

And that's how you get it
underwater quickly.

NARRATOR:
Speed was critical,

because despite working on
frozen water,

the ice was not moving
at a glacial pace.

And then, as the scene
started to go, the weather
started to get nicer,

the ice started to get thinner,

and we started to
run out of options.

At a certain point,
the top starts to melt.
There was issues with that.

NARRATOR:
The most important stunt
in the movie

might have to be put on ice,

Because it couldn't be put
on ice.

SPIRO: The big, big stunt,

where we're going to
blow the cars and the submarine

is supposed to come
through the lake.

We ran out of time at this lake
because it got too thin.

We were like, "No!"
We were in a panic.

NARRATOR: With the ground
literally melting
underneath them,

there was only one option.

Find another frozen lake.

Meanwhile, Tyrese still wasn't
off the hook,
even back in Atlanta.

Jump in and do this scene.

I got to direct him
when he's in the Lambo
underwater.

We had one crack at it,

because once you get
the inside of that car wet,
it looks wet.

NARRATOR: Tyrese had to
nail it in one,

but at least this time
he was warm.

So with
three cameras rolling, they...

Pulled the plug and flooded
a damn Lamborghini

with Tyrese Gibson in it, man.
It was awesome.

Oh, shit!

NARRATOR: As production
on the ice stunts wrapped,

the script
was finally completed,

and the cast got a glimpse
of their next destination.

In a place where
no American studio movie

has been set before.

JACOB: This movie opens with

Dominic Toretto and Letty
off on their honeymoon
of sorts.

NARRATOR: In a place that
held special meaning
for Dominic Toretto.

JACOB: We had always
never fully known

where is he from,
what ethnicity is he,

what is
his background exactly?

And they made clear
in this one

his character has Cuban roots.

This is the Cuban spirit.

[DOM SPEAKING SPANISH]

NARRATOR:
Making Dominic Cuban was easy,
but shooting in Cuba

was politically
practically impossible.

For starters, they need
a green light
directly from Washington.

The U.S. Government
cannot sanction this operation
in any way.

NARRATOR: At the time,
simply going to Cuba
was a crime.

You don't just get burned.
You go to prison.

NARRATOR: In fact,
Hollywood hadn't been to Cuba

since 1962's trade embargo,

which, for all intents
and purposes,

froze diplomatic relations

and trade
between the two countries.

But just like the frozen lake
in Iceland,

relations between the U.S.
and Cuba were thawing.

Universal saw an opportunity

to make not just a movie,
but history.

It was really an effort
of public relations,

both lobbying in the U.S. side

and in the Cuban side.

NARRATOR: And after
some very delicate diplomacy,

Fast and the Furious
once again did the impossible.

They brought
a little bit of Hollywood
to the streets of Havana.

We're in Cuba,
flying helicopters
over the Capitol.

J.J.: And the Cubans,
when they saw the helicopters

and the Russian arms
and the E-bikes,

they were like,
"Oh, my God,
they're invading us."

I was like, " No, no, no,
no, no. It's not like that."

NARRATOR: Cuba wasn't
just another
Fast and the Furious locale.

It was the beginning of
diplomatic relations.

BILL: That was
a real challenge.

Take a class
from the State Department,

how you work
in a foreign country
under American guidelines

under American guidelines
and rules.

NARRATOR: After an adjustment,
Cuba embraced
the American crew.

It was just a lot of fun,
and getting to know them...

NARRATOR:
But it wouldn't be that easy.

Getting into Cuba
would be one thing.

Actually working
with the Cuban government

would prove to be
an even bigger challenge.

You don't have
such a thing as unions

or production services
companies.

NARRATOR: Getting the gear
to the island
would prove tricky,

as they had to ship everything
over on a barge.

Not only that, but much of it
was considered contraband
in Cuba.

We imported pyrotechnics
which were forbidden in Cuba.

We imported telecommunications
which were forbidden in Cuba.

It was really,
really complicated.

U.S. and Cuban relations
had been on ice
for a half a decade,

and it began to look like
it might take

another half decade
for them to thaw.

So I had to go
and prep the cars,

so they gave me
a stretch of road somewhere,

and there was a police captain
that came.

And I speak a little Spanish.
I knew what he was saying.

He was saying,
"I don't take orders
from this guy."

NARRATOR: And what
could have been a roadblock,

quickly evaporated
once they found common ground.

No, not Vin.

He saw the cars
that we had mocked up.

This, you know, Black Ford
that was so fast,

and it was so wild.

And I asked him, I was like,
"Want to go for a ride?

"Put you in the passenger seat."
And he was like, "Okay."

As soon as he came back
from that ride, he was...

We became best friends
after that.

You've earned my respect.

He invited me to his house
for dinner. It was awesome.

NARRATOR:
And speaking of joy rides,

the car team was having
a hard time
finding picture cars

that could properly pay respect
to Cuba's unique car culture.

They wanted to pay homage
to the 50s and the 60s cars.

NARRATOR: Cuba has
an abundance of cars
from the 50s and 60s

'cause that's when
the embargo began.

Cars are so valuable,
they aren't just thought of
as vehicles.

They would consider them
part of the family.

They would be customized
over generations.

They take
great care of their things.

And the engine, whatever.

They'll do what they have to do
to keep it working.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-No way.
-MAN: Yeah.

[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH]

NARRATOR: The tuner team
couldn't wait

to shine a spotlight on Cuba's
incredible car culture.

We ain't racing
a quarter mile here.

We race the Cuban mile.

Done.

NARRATOR: And they would
get their chance

in the film's
opening race scene.

The first thing we wanted to do
was to make it look like

Dominic is in a car
that is never going to win.

Pull the seats, the doors,
the battery.

If it ain't the motor,
take it off.

JACK: He's in a beat up
piece of junk car,

and he uses his ingenuity
as a car aficionado

to make this car faster.

-FERNANDO: What are you doing?
-Poor man's turbo.

Pull the vacuum line
and hold on.

NARRATOR: But naturally,
in dramatic fashion,

Dom's ingenuity led to
a very dangerous situation.

JACK: The problem is that
the faster you go,

the more the fire wants to
get close to the driver.

That's when we said
he has to throw a reverse 180...

[TIRES SCREECHING]

and go backwards.

Now the fire is blowing
away from him.

NARRATOR:
But by solving one problem,
Jack created a new one.

You can't really go very fast
when you have steering
in the back,

'cause any little movement
wants to flip the car around.

NARRATOR: Driving
a flaming car in reverse

would prove a proper challenge
for both Dom

and race director Jack Gill.

We've got to do
80 or 90 miles an hour.

We can't have
the steering in the back.

NARRATOR: It was a problem
that would require

an outside of the box idea,

and a top of the car driver.

Well, I've got another guy
on the roof of the car,

and he's in what we call
a pod.

He's steering
from the top of the car,

and that's how we did that
in reverse.

NARRATOR:
With all the excitement,

the team looked to
showcase Cuba
every step of the way

using some real Cuban cars
in the race.

These four guys,

they had this one beautiful
'56 Chevy.

It was green
and they're just polishing it.

You could tell
it was their baby.

And I'm telling them
I need to get in the car.

They're looking at me,
"A woman getting in my car?

"Forget about it. Never."

NARRATOR:
But when the time came,
stuntwoman Debbie Evans

grabbed the wheel
and showed everyone
how it's done.

DEBBIE: I'm driving
that car through

as Steve Kelso comes
and spins a 180 on fire,

and I'm like,
right next to him.

They had to be [BEEP]
their pants.

You know, that was
the funniest thing ever.

NARRATOR: And while
the reverse 180
went off without a hitch...

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

the same couldn't be said
for the ending.

Dom can't stop his car

'cause it's
an out of control car.

And he spins
the steering wheel sideways

to miss all these people

and jumps out of the car
and rolls.

And now we're getting ready to
launch the car up.

NARRATOR:
With time running out,
they had to get it in one.

You know, we roll camera,
we get ready to go
and the car comes flying in.

NARRATOR: But what was
supposed to be the big finale
ended up a dud.

Car never really
goes anywhere.

NARRATOR:
Fate of the Furious
was off to a rocky start.

Their one and only shot
at this stunt had failed,

and their time on the island
was coming to an end.

We didn't have time
to put another car in
to do it.

We pulled the car
out of the way.

We rolled all the cameras
for all the backgrounds,

and we've shot
what we call a plate.

And then we went back to
the studio,
onto a blue screen,

and we launched a car
up in the air

with all the cameras
in exactly the same spot,

and spiraled it up in the air.

And they cut
all those pieces together
to make it all work.

NARRATOR:
With digital compositing
there to save the day,

the crew bid farewell to Cuba,

and headed back to the States
to film the next big set piece.

The prison breakout.

We filmed at a place called OFS
in Atlanta.

BILL: And we were able to
with all the staircases

to get
all the different levels,

We turned it into
a steel prison
of little boxes.

That color looks good on you.

My movies have
very specific color palettes
to them.

NARRATOR: The art department
used a very simple tool

to help realize
Bill's production design
for the jailhouse.

You know, I break out
my Benjamin Moore fan deck

and go, "Let's do this one."

I like to look at metal.

Dark metals and dark blues
in there.

And I think yellow.

Crazy orange colors.

Vibrant, but yet, you know,

lethal and dangerous, you know?
It's a prison.

It doesn't have to be
just grey concrete.

NARRATOR: With the look
and feel of the prison set,

they began choreographing
and filming
the epic fight scene.

The idea was that
they'd be
in a basement somewhere

and they'd have to
climb their way out.

NARRATOR: But J.J. saw
a flaw in their plan.

If I'm like you,
I ain't gonna be here long.

Well, you bring a shovel,
did ya?

And I merely pointed out
that to climb up something,

it's never really interesting.

But it's easier to
jump down from something.

Gravity would be a problem.

NARRATOR: And for J.J.,
more obstacles equals more fun.

J.J.: You have to
create a problem
for your protagonist,

and then you have to watch
how he solves it.

You kind of look
for everything,

if there's doors
to slam on somebody's hand.

NARRATOR: But as they made
their way through the action,

it became apparent
that their biggest obstacle
was the clock.

The hardest part of that
was the short time frame
we had.

We needed five days,
maybe six.

But we did it in three,
which was gnarly.

I felt like I aged,
like, two months
while we shot that.

NARRATOR: As the schedule
grew tighter,

so did concerns
over reports of
Vin Diesel's behavior,

which did not help relations
with the Rock.

He was doing things
on his own schedule.

If he wasn't ready to shoot,

he wanted to do this
instead of this.

NARRATOR: There were fears
the race to finish the film

just might turn into
a demolition derby.

Fate of the Furious
is where it all started to
fully fall apart.

NARRATOR: And Universal,
unable to fix the situation,

offered the next best thing.

A distraction.

I think we crashed 360 cars.

NARRATOR: And nowhere
was that more apparent
than in this scene.

Which was surprisingly hard
to find a location for.

No one would let us drop cars
out of a parking structure.

NARRATOR: Justifiably so.

They know that
the cars will probably
penetrate the roads.

They could destroy power cables.

Sewer lines.

Water lines, gas lines.

-Or anything.
-[WOMAN SHRIEKS]

Most big cities
were very reluctant to let us
drop cars from 40 feet.

NARRATOR: That was until
they called
the city of Cleveland.

They actually let us
send cars out of
a parking structure.

I mean, I couldn't believe it.

We found a great street
that had

a very, sort of,
New York vibe.

And then it was just
a lot of rigging.

We put Xs on the ground

to say this is where
they're gonna hit.

We'd launch them out

and then a bunch of stunt guys
in other cars

would come in
and crash into the bunch,

until we got 48 cars
in an entire group.

I was in a taxi cab.

I was in a police car.

And sometimes, you're going
underneath a car

that hasn't fallen yet.

So it's very, very dangerous.

Oh, and I was even a seat.

When all the cars
were coming around,

we put ourselves
in a seat cushion

to make us look like
nobody's driving it.

It was one of those where
a lot of great people

and a lot of timing
and it paid off.

NARRATOR: And as the symphony
of smashing sedans
rained from above...

I was like,
"Spiro is making it rain cars.

"What a gangster."

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
the film's
most surprising moment

would have to go
to another gangster.

One that was retconned
into a nice guy.

Luke Hobbs behind bars.
Would you look at that?

Turns out, Deckard Shaw
is not a bad guy.

He was framed
for all the bad things
he had done.

Just like you Brits,
rewriting history, huh?

All I know is it wasn't me
that was thrown out of
a four-story window.

We found out that
he was a great guy.

He was, you know, a hero.

"Captain Deckard Shaw
distinguished himself
by acts of gallantry

"at the risk of his life
above and beyond
the call of duty."

NARRATOR: Making the man
who killed Han a hero

would prove to be
a divisive choice.

Don't think we've forgotten
everything you've done.

We are not teaming up
with this guy.

NARRATOR: And one way
to hopefully win over audiences

was to have him rescue
Dom's baby

from the enemy's clutches.

It's gonna get noisy.

Chris Morgan wrote this scene

and he got
a lot of pushback for it.

NARRATOR: While most films
would have their star
fight to get to the baby,

Chris flipped the trope

and had Jason
fight alongside the baby
to get out.

People said,
"It won't go over well,

"endangering the baby."
I was like, "No, no.

"He's got it right for sure."

NARRATOR: Because,
in addition to showcasing
Jason's amazing stunt work,

the scene let him flex
his comedy chops.

What's that smile?
There it is.

I always think Jason is the best
when there's
a little bit of comedy involved.

Is that you or him?

NARRATOR: J.J. knew
the bigger the stakes,
the bigger the laughs.

You're creating
this huge problem.

He's got his friend's son
that he has to protect.

[MAN GRUNTING]

And on a plane at,
you know, 15,000 feet.
This was awesome.

NARRATOR: Jason Statham's
big stunt was a wrap,

but the film's biggest stunt
still needed to be completed.

So it was back to Iceland.

We actually blew
four or five military vehicles
up in the air,

NARRATOR: And while
the submarine would be
digitally inserted later,

the explosion
was very, very real.

The special effects team
put huge pyrotechnic charges
under the ice,

and then they pulled in
real vehicles,

and they had to simulate
the submarine penetrating ice.

We blew up the ice.

We did
the biggest explosion
they'd ever had,

so that was fun. [CHUCKLES]

NARRATOR: As cars were
blowing up in Iceland,

back in the States, the actors
were also going off.

The Rock-Vin Diesel drama
continues.

Rock took to Instagram.

[READING]

JACOB: It was very clear
he's speaking about

one person in particular,
and that is Vin Diesel.

There was back and forth.
Each made comments
at different times.

The only thing I can say is,
I wish it didn't happen.

I feel sad
because, you know,

the two of them together
is dynamite, you know?

Not the way that it became,

but dynamite
in the strength of
what they can do together.

NARRATOR: It appeared
the Rock might have
one foot out the door,

but even more concerning
were the rumors

that he might not be
the only one eyeing an exit.

8,I think left a lot of fans
kind of like,

"Oh, I don't know.
Are we hitting a point where
it's time to wrap things up?"

NARRATOR: Universal was
set to release their first
Fast and the Furious films

since Tokyo Drift
without Paul Walker.

And while the initial reaction
wasn't ideal,

"They're making another one?"

Universal believed in Fast,
and that faith was rewarded.

JACOB: $1.2 billion made.
Huge, huge success proved,

while fans may miss
Paul Walker's character,

that they were
certainly ready to come out
in droves

for the Fast and the Furious.

NARRATOR:
But just because
fans saw the film,

it didn't mean they liked it.

And Shaw's redemption story

proved to be
a retcon gone wrong.

It's almost like
he was given a pass
for having killed

one of the heroes
of the franchise.

NARRATOR: It wasn't
the reaction
the studio wanted.

Within days,
a hashtag began to emerge.

The #JusticeforHan movement.

NARRATOR: As the movement
was gaining traction
on social media,

another actor has stepped back
into the spotlight

as the Rock
made his departure official.

Hobbs will not be

in any of the main
Fastmovies anymore.

And that's too bad.

I'll get out my way.

That's okay.

They can do greatness separately
instead of together.

There's a dynamic
that the Rock brings

that his absence, I think,
is felt.

NARRATOR:
With so many problems,

the franchise's
check engine light
was going into overtime.

Universal needed someone
that can get under
their franchise's hood

and fix things fast.

It was like, who can we get

that really knows this franchise
better than anybody?

And that's when
they went back to Justin.

NARRATOR:
But it had been years since
Justin left the franchise.

He thought he was done
with Fastmovies.

He hadn't even seen 7 or 8.

NARRATOR:
But in a supernatural twist,

Justin had received a vision
for the Fast and the Furious.

A vision
that would become prophecy.

And he said
he kind of woke up one day

with this idea
for Dominic Toretto
to have a brother.

TYRESE: You got a brother?

And that's kind of really what

got his mind going about
returning for F9.

NARRATOR: It was official.

Justin Lin was back.

Super, super excited.

Had a great ride
with the other directors,

but it's like, you know,
home sweet home.

NARRATOR: After a round of
hugs and handshakes,
it was time to get to work.

The hook of this one is
Dom has a brother.

Who also happens to be
some kinda super spy

with his own private army?

Who drives literally like
a bat out of hell?

NARRATOR: But not everyone
was on board.

All this time we had no clue

that Dom,
the ultimate family man,

has this long-lost brother?

NARRATOR: That was until
they found out
who'd be playing the brother.

The brother
you're looking for...
is from an old life.

NARRATOR: And his name
is John Cena.

When they bring in John Cena
as his brother,

you're like, "Okay,
that's kinda strange,

but maybe,
I guess they could."

I know the Torettos have
quite the mixed bloodlines,

but I never detected
a Nordic strain.

NARRATOR:
So one wrestling star
was replaced by another.

John Cena, massive star
in the world of
professional wrestling,

pursuing the acting gig.

He had found some success,

but was not yet
a massive star in that world.

Very similar to
what happened with the Rock.

NARRATOR: Jakob's storyline
would take the series
full circle...

That's my dad.

...back to the roots
of the first film.

Coming up in the Pro Stock
car circuit.

NARRATOR:
Like theGodfather II,

F9 would
simultaneously tell
the story of

two generations
of the Toretto family.

DOM: I watched my dad
burn to death.

To do these
two concurrent storylines

from a narrative standpoint,
that's a big challenge.

NARRATOR:
Justin's next challenge
would prove a personal one.

It was time
to get justice for Han.

Justin wasn't really satisfied
with what happened,

you know, in the aftermath
of Han's death.

NARRATOR:
And so, once again...

Nice clubhouse.

...Han rose from the dead.

LUCAS: The fans want to see
Han's character,

so to bring him back
and make it work,

uh, you know,
it was brilliant.

NARRATOR: But he wouldn't be
the only familiar face
fromTokyo Drift

to be returning.

They sent me the script
and I read it

and I was happy to be
a part of it.

And so, Justin Lin,
we had that conversation

of how my character
was going to fit,
you know, into the puzzle.

All right? It's all good.

That tweak
just saved us 0.4 seconds.

So he told me that
basically, Sean Boswell

was off
building this rocket car.

Say hello to the two-second car.

[SEAN HOOTING]

NARRATOR: Even though
the franchise had been
raking in record profits,

the glue
holding it all together
was starting to crack.

DEREK: Michelle Rodriguez
made a social media post

where she essentially said,
if they don't do better
for the female characters,

then this is
probably it for me.

Like, I'm going to
walk away.

Now you got a problem?

Michelle kind of
pointed out that

she's been working for 20 years
with Jordana Brewster.

How many lines
had they exchanged?

She could count it on one hand.

NARRATOR: Thanks to Michelle,

Letty and Mia
finally had their moment.

It's a change of pace, huh?

She pushed them
to kind of do better.

NARRATOR: So when production
kicked off on Fast 9,

they made sure to
let Mia and Letty
in on the action.

Letty, Mia. Down, now!

...shoot Fast.
You know what these are?

They're guns. Let's shoot.

It was a lot of fun.

Again using the environment...

put a guy's head through a TV.

When they built the apartment,
I went there and said,

"Can we change this
and put this?"

Because his head
would be perfect
to smack into that.

A lot of times we have to
pad things in spaces

so that actors can
hit up against it and it's soft.

This is made of foam.
Neoprene.

It's all built that way

so we can create
lots of havoc and impact.

NARRATOR:
The women's liberation of F9

continued with Ramsey's
thrill ride through Edinburgh.

That was not my fault.

We did get to wreck about
13 or 14 cars

and tear up Edinburgh.

NARRATOR: Crashing cars
like in demolition derby

was par for the course
on aFast and the Furious film.

But as filming continued,

it was obvious that
something out of the ordinary
was brewing.

When you walk in
Justin's office,

he's got
toy cars laid out, helicopters.

He's got cars that are
hanging from a thread.

And I kept watching him
smack this thing around a pole.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out
how to get this bridge
that's out thing."

I was like, "Interesting."

NARRATOR: Which resulted in
this gravity-defying scene.

The denial of physics
in the films

has taken me a little while
to get behind.

And now I'm
100% drinking the Kool-Aid.

NARRATOR: But Justin was
just getting warmed up,

as the audience's ability
to suspend belief

was about to be
put to the test.

Justin Lin has yet to
direct aFast movie

that didn't raise the bar
for action,

building some incredible,
if not improbable, scenarios.

But inFast 9,
Justin took a new approach.

Instead of having
the cars navigate
in an impossible situation...

what if the cars themselves
were the impossible situation?

One of the, you know,
major of many major set pieces
in Fast 9

revolves around
a magnetized car

flinging cars across streets.

We were looking for a place
to shoot this.

Where are they going to let us
go down a main street?

A lot of times people say,

"We'll let you do this,"
and then,

they give you restrictions.
So you have to be careful.

NARRATOR: Ever cautious,
Spiro got word that

Tbilisi, the capital of
the Republic of Georgia,

might, in fact,
be the real deal.

They seemed sincere.
"We'll give you
the key to the city."

Their Rodeo Drive,
their main downtown street.

NARRATOR: It was
a once in a lifetime
opportunity

that had
Spiro's wheels spinning.

SPIRO: And I thought to myself,

"Wouldn't it be cool
if there was
a washer and dryer store

"and that magnetic car goes by

"and all that stuff
gets sucked out of the store?"

How would it look like
if I was in that store?

So remember
I told Justin about it,

and he goes,
"They wouldn't have
stores like that in Tbilisi."

I go, "Justin, the audience
is not going to go and look up,
you know..."

'Cause he's so perfectionist.

And so, he didn't
go for it at first.

NARRATOR: Spiro didn't quit.

If I think the audience
will like something,

haven't seen it before,
I push for that.

NARRATOR: Thanks to
Spiro's irresistible pleas,

the team set off to Tbilisi.

So then we went scouting
for the first time
with him there.

And we're scouting down
these streets...

NARRATOR: And boom!
What should appear?

It was like the Holy Grail
behind Justin.

I said, "Justin, freeze.
Don't move."

He goes, "Why?"
I said, "Stand there,"
and got my camera.

I go, "Smile."

Then he smiled and I took
a picture of him.

Then he looked behind him
and he's like,

"Ah!" You know?

So he said, "Okay,
we'll do that sequence."

NARRATOR: Spiro was
so proud of the scene,

that he commemorated it
with a cameo.

Well, not his cameo.
His dog.

I got to put Coco in the movie,

when Vin saves Coco
from being shot by the bad guys.

You can see that my wife
pulls Coco into her arms,

and the bullets
just missed Coco
because Dom saves them.

NARRATOR: We asked Coco
to comment.

Unfortunately, her NDA
was ironclad.

SPIRO: Treats.
All right, come on, treats.

NARRATOR:
As fast as you can say
"The next big thing,"

the magnetic truck
was overshadowed

by a nine-year-old.

Justin told me about
his son giving him an idea.

And I'm going, "Okay,
this I gotta hear."

NARRATOR: Turns out,
the only thing cooler
than a magnetic truck

is a magnetic plane.

Plane flying over...

and grabbing John Cena's car.

And I thought
that was super cool.

That was Oqwe's idea.

Justin's son.

NARRATOR: And just when
it looked like there were
no more boundaries to push,

the team found
one last place they could go.

It had become a running gag

that okay, the only place left
for the franchise to go

is to go to space.

ROMAN: We are headed
to outer space.

Going into space?

That's exactly what
we're gonna do.

In a Fiero?

-Press it.
-No, we can't!

Pontiac Fiero kind of looks like
a space ship, I guess.

They did it.
They went to space.

You know nobody's
gonna believe us, right?

Right.

Well, at first you're thinking,
you know, this is crazy.

Are they gambling on something
they might lose on?

Somehow, Justin was able to
kind of walk this fine line of

acknowledging, "Look, yes.

"Of course the notion of
sending a car into space
is nuts."

This is crazy, bro.

GREG: There's
a certain chemistry
between Roman and Tej.

Justin found
the sweet spot for this.

TEJ: How much candy did you eat?

Well, I eat candy
when I get nervous.

Hats off to Tej and Roman
for selling it.

You can
send those guys anywhere.

Send them in the sewer,
bury 'em alive,
send them to space,

they're gonna entertain us.
[CHUCKLES]

NARRATOR: Finally,
on June 25th, 2021,

F9 was released into theatres
across America.

JACOB: It making
in the high 700 millions

was certainly a steep drop off
from $1.2 and $1.5 billion.

NARRATOR: It was a drop
that made us wonder...

Is the franchise falling off?

Has the fatigue finally set in?

Is going to space
a little bit too much?

NARRATOR: The number
needed context.

COVID had crippled
movie theaters.

And while F9 could be
considered disappointing

compared to
the other Fast films,

F9 was a godsend
to struggling theaters.

One of the first ones that
really truly "revived"
the box office.

NARRATOR: But just as
the franchise was set to hit
double figures,

Vin Diesel would see
another key member
of the Fast family abdicate.

Six days into production
onFast 10,

longtime director Justin Lin
stepped down.

It was a massive blow.

But ifFast could launch
submarines through ice,

and cars into space,

surely Universal can
find a replacement

for the director of
a quarter billion dollar movie,
right?

Well, whatever happens
withFast 10,

it is hard to imagine
a world without

any more
Fast and the Furious movies.

Because this
petrol-powered juggernaut

can't seem to be stopped.

It's in the top shelf.

It's up there with Star Wars,
Marvel,

Jurassic Park, all the others.

NARRATOR: And as Vin
and his pals,

or not pals,

contemplate the next chapter...

This is the end of
this mythology.

Will theFast and Furious
universe disappear?

No.

It'll be
more formidable than ever.

NARRATOR:
It's worth remembering
the humble beginnings

and the man and his Honda.

KENNETH:
Because of that car,

it led me into
the whole world of
street racing.

NARRATOR: And an article
that changed lives
and made lots of money

for many, many people.

I don't know
if anyone envisioned

that it would be
the tent pole moneymaker
that it is.

They've done ten, man.

I mean, what other movie
has done ten?

That's a long ride. [LAUGHS]

Little that I know [CHUCKLES]

at that time,
it was going to become
a cultural phenomenon.

It's bananas, you know?
No one saw that coming.

NARRATOR: From
the grounded realism
of the first film...

You know, they're stealing
DVD players in the first movie.

...to a series of escalating
action-packed stories.

Yep, still, still escalating.

The sky isn't even the limit
for Fast and the Furious.

But these stories represent

more than just
highly entertaining cinema.

Fast and Furious
is one of the most awesome,

ridiculous machines
I've ever worked on.

CHAD: I just can't
stress enough that
this movie has been

one of the most amazing gifts
of my life.

I get called
the godfather of it,
the creator, this and that.

It does mean a lot to me.

I'm proud of it as if

I was a part of it
all the way through.

But I was there
at the first stages,

so it's definitely
a foundation we built on.

NARRATOR: But amidst
the explosions and excitement
and success,

the core values
ofFast and the Furious

don't require
any special effects,

because these
fictional lawbreakers

were willing to risk it all...

for family.

Everyone has a family.
Everyone starts a family.

Family is
a global beautiful thing.

Most important thing in life
will always be the people
in this room.

NARRATOR:
But at the heart of
this franchise,

it isn't the fictional family

that made these movies
so successful.

It's the real life,
behind the scenes family

of filmmakers and risk-takers

that we need to thank.

And, well,
it's a big family at that,

with new members
and family members we've lost.

After Paul's tragedy,

the expectation of
who's gonna
fill those shoes,

which was impossible, right?

The caring, the humanity,
the friendship

between these two actors
was just irreplaceable.

They weren't real brothers,

but they were brothers for us
as a team.

In each of the films
that came after
his tragic accident,

there's homage to Paul Walker.

Everyone...

meet Brian.

[ALL APPLAUDING]

Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: From the first film
to the last and beyond,

it's thanks to this family
of filmmakers

and their collective
rule breaking of

the very rules of Hollywood

that pushed
Fast and the Furious
to make and break history.

Finally, the whole world
was able to go to a movie

and see someone in a film
that looks like them.

MARK: People say, you know,
representation matters,

and I think this is
an example of that.

Characters that are at
the forefront of the story,

that are very integral
to this story,

it's very important
to Black culture.

The level of diversity

that was in
the Fast and the Furious,

Hollywood has just
caught up with
20 years later.

Having all these characters

from different backgrounds

come together
and help each other

is really beautiful.

People of color can have
their superheroes
and spies, too.

And they did it.

And they found an audience

and they went buck wild.
[LAUGHS]

TYRESE: Universal knew it.

They were the first ones
that had the balls to
jump out there...

and actually have
a movie poster
that represented it.

Hollywood literally took
Black people
off of movie posters

when they start promoting
these films overseas.

And why? Black people
don't translate

into box office success
overseas.

And that is a narrative
that has been around
for almost 100 years.

And the Fast and the Furious
changed that.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

ALL: Salud.

Like everything
about our DNA

is diversity, inclusion,
one race.

Love, love, love, love,
love, love, love, love, love.

Now, we may not ever win
an Oscar,

but Hollywood has been
changed forever.

Fast and the Furious,
the franchise gets the credit.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]