Photography courtesy of Universal Pictures
Family no more? If someone were to graph out car modification interest by year, that line would explode like a certain Eclipse with a 鈥�鈥� warning right around 鈥� release date in 2001. The Fast & Furious series was the catalyst for so many enthusiasts to bring out that latent build bug and start modifying their cars their way. Sixteen years later, and 香蕉视频直播 is still getting the response 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� when we ask our feature car owners what their biggest inspirations were.
Over the span of seven films, we鈥檝e seen Dominic Toretto () and his extended family drive and slide almost every make and model of vehicle, in nearly every country on Earth. Now, in the eight instalment, everything seems just peachy. Dom and Letty () are on their honeymoon and Brian () and Mia () are retired to the good life, while the rest of the crew are enjoying life with rad cars, privacy, and doing things that are non-life-threatening. While some people might be okay with watching a lighthearted movie like that, F&F fans need some octane, stunts, bullets, and explosions.
A mysterious woman named Cipher () somehow seduces Dom back into a life of crime that pits him against his old crew and family, and he can鈥檛 seem to escape. Is it the result of brainwashing, blackmail, or something else entirely? We鈥檒l have to wait until April 14th to really discover what will be (see what I did there?).
In the meantime, we were able to sit down with , who plays Roman Pearce, the fast-talking joker of the crew or 鈥渄ouble alpha/man candy,鈥� depending on who you ask, and ask him about himself and his experiences shooting The Fate of the Furious.
How does The Fate of the Furious compare to previous titles in the series?
The Fate of the Furious was really inspired by 鈥淔8.鈥� The letter 鈥淔鈥� and the number 鈥�8,鈥� you know? Fate. So, we ran with 鈥淔8,鈥� 鈥淔ast 8,鈥� and that lead to 鈥淔ate of the Furious.鈥� And that鈥檚 the question: What is the Fate of the Furious? You鈥檝e got Dominic Toretto turning his back on us all, and we鈥檙e all confused and in the dark, not knowing why. We鈥檙e just on this whole mission to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on. It鈥檚 all weird.
Hey, man, I can just tell you now: I had a huge issue with them doing this to Vin, and coming up with the idea to do this, until I saw the movie. When I saw the movie, I said, 鈥淵ou know what? This is why you work for hire and you don鈥檛 work at a studio or write scripts. This is why. You just stick to being Roman Pearce. You鈥檙e doing just fine.鈥� I was blown away, man. F. Gary Gray, man. This director. He can just go to the mall and walk around like a regular guy, and nobody knows who the hell he is, but the s*** this dude has going on in his head 鈥� he鈥檚 from another planet. This dude is a humble genius. To go from Straight Outta Compton to Fate of the Furious in itself, like get the f*** out of here. What are you doing? This dude is on another level.
Furious 7 is a pretty tough act to follow. Can you tell us how you guys stepped it up for this next instalment?
To be honest, man, everything went up a notch. We were the first to shoot in Cuba 鈥� the first Hollywood movie in 50 years to shoot in Cuba. What was crazy was, we were first, and Transformers was second. We shot in Iceland, and that was crazy because it was 28-below-zero, which was not fun. Like, I hate the cold. I hate it. It was a crazy experience though, man. The overall scope of this movie - even we couldn鈥檛 believe that it could be any bigger, but it鈥檚 as big as it gets right now.
As part of the Fast & Furious films, you鈥檝e been involved in some pretty crazy stunts. What did you get up to this time around?
As you鈥檝e seen in the trailer, they鈥檝e got me sliding on ice, on top of an orange Lamborghini door, which is all f up. It鈥檚 just wrong. That, to me, was the craziest stunt I鈥檝e ever done because we鈥檙e literally doing this scene on top of a frozen lake in Iceland and I鈥檓 laying on top of a door, being dragged by a truck, which is being held onto by a string. There鈥檚 the rope in front of me, and they鈥檙e dragging me for like two miles each take, really fast. It鈥檚 already 28-below-zero when you鈥檙e standing still, so it gets even colder when your face is out and you鈥檙e being dragged on top of a frozen lake at like 60-miles-an-hour. So, I didn鈥檛 really have a good time. I did that for seven takes. They made me earn it this time, my brother.
Family has always been an underlying theme in past Fast & Furious movies, but Fate of the Furious really brings that theme to the forefront. How does family tie into the eighth film to you?
I think, for me, it comes down to a couple things. This is very disruptive, what Dom is doing, and very confusing for all of us. We鈥檙e just really on a mission to try to get to the bottom of what鈥檚 going on, and that鈥檚 what a family does; they come together, because there鈥檚 power in numbers, and just get to the bottom of what鈥檚 happening.
What kinds of cars are you driving in the movie, and are there any you think the fans are going to love?
I think they鈥檙e going to love me driving in my Lamborghini. The Lambo is definitely special. I鈥檝e got the Bentley GT Coupe I鈥檓 driving in as well. There are a couple different magical pieces out there that people are going to love.
I mean, I think the cars in Furious 7 sucked, for me. The car that I jumped out of the plane with didn鈥檛 even have working air bags. So, y鈥檃ll was wondering why I was scared? S***, I was up in a plane in a car that was made before they invented airbags. What makes y鈥檃ll think that I鈥檓 going to feel safe jumping out of a plane in that s***?
If you could have any ride on Earth, what would it be? Or do you already own it?
I鈥檓 in my dream car right now, which is the Rolls Royce Wraith, the two-door. Also, I鈥檝e got a Mercedes- branded Sprinter van that I鈥檝e completely gutted out and made it into what I call the 鈥淰oltron Ghost Sprinter.鈥� You guys have to pull up my Rebel Jeep. Have y鈥檃ll seen the Voltron Rebel Jeep? Go to . Two of these Jeeps are in Fast 8. They鈥檙e ridiculous. Pull up the webpage real quick, I want y鈥檃ll to see this thing. (We pull up the website quickly and freak out over how rad these custom Jeeps are.) We鈥檙e talking about supercharged magic right there. I mean, every customized Jeep imaginable is there, and people can literally go to the site and build their own Jeep.
Do you spend a lot of time around sportscars and supercars off-set?
I can鈥檛 speak for everybody, but I stay away from super loud cars, like Ferraris, Lambos, and custom ridiculousness. I鈥檓 not really completely consumed in the culture on the level that Paul Walker was. Ludacris is. There are a couple of us in the cast that really aren鈥檛 into it outside of the movie. That鈥檚 not really me. I rock with it, I love it, I appreciate it, I鈥檓 a part of the culture, a part of the biggest franchise ever that has nothing but customized cars - but if I have a Friday or a Saturday and I find out they鈥檙e drag racing, would I go to it? No. No, I would not.
What are you listening to these days?
I鈥檓 just listening to R&B songs, man, unless I鈥檓 feeling turnt up or all I鈥檓 all hype, then I put on some hip hop. I love 鈥� new album. I was just listening to it last night, it just came out, and I think that dude right there is one of the best rappers out there. I love . I love Rick Ross because his albums are just crazy. He picks the perfect beats. He just always comes with it. It really reminds me of Biggie and what hip hop used to be. Right now, people just have a bunch of albums, and they put the albums together, but they don鈥檛 feel like anything. It doesn鈥檛 feel like a real vibe.
What are things like on the set of Fast & Furious?
This is what I do. On the set, I鈥檓 the guy that everyone comes to for good energy. I鈥檓 Mr. Positivity. I鈥檓 also the therapist for everybody in the movie, okay? I keep everybody together, I keep the peace. So, I have a big trailer, and I created this fun experience with chess, Connect Four, Uno cards, and everyone is always in my section everyday on the set because there is no section that鈥檚 more fun. That鈥檚 who I am. We get to talk about things, conversate, and take ourselves out and away from the pressure of these mega movies that we鈥檙e working on, money being spent, and family. It鈥檚 escapism. Within escapism, I create escapism.
What is the message that you hope fans go with after seeing the movie and leaving the theater?
I just hope they understand that with family comes loyalty, and with family comes challenges. I think the fans should know that we are under more pressure than people could imagine to deliver something better every time. It鈥檚 been going on for 16 years. We鈥檙e the first and only non-comic-book, non-TV-show to have this many movies in a franchise. It鈥檚 crazy. It goes from simple street racing to all of the different things that we鈥檙e doing now. And, to me, I just look at it as entertainment. We鈥檙e not trying to win 12 Oscars, we鈥檙e just creating these cultural experiences that are multi-ethnic and all-inclusive, which is what America represents.
The Fate of the Furious hits theaters Friday, April 14, 2017.
Related Articles
Throwback: 5 Vehicles from 香蕉视频直播 in 2010
PAS365 Podcast: SEMA 2024 Live - Part 2
Throwback: 5 MORE Vehicles from 香蕉视频直播 in 2009
Throwback: 5 Vehicles from 香蕉视频直播 in 2009
VIDEO: PAS365 Rally 2024 - Vegas to Salt Lake
Does Rivian's R1T Keep Up Off-Road? Team Venom Racing Think So