Forget the meats, Arby’s also has the credit for Han’s first revival.
It was for a while.
All of a sudden these kids saw Sung and they were like, ‘Han!’
Universal Pictures
He’s being swarmed.
It was the first time feeling that kind of impact.
Sung looked at me and said, “Does he have to be?”
Everett Collection
I was like, “Oh, this is everything I was talking to Vin about, the connection.
We can actually now see and create our own timeline and mythology.”
I had my flip phone and called Universal and said, ‘I’m in.’
Jaimie Trueblood/Universal
And that was the beginning ofFast 4… “It was a fight, not in a contentious way,” he says.
I’m letting you know, but you got to keep it under wraps.'
Of course, I think he was at a red carpet and just blurted it out.
I love him, we’re like brothers.
It all ultimately worked out for the best.
And Lin says the genesis of this epic team-up came from a surprising place.
“Saturday nights, it wasGolden Girls,Empty Nest, and then there was [Nurses].
They had this thing called Hurricane Saturday night, all three episodes got hit by a hurricane.
That was the inspiration forFast Five.
We brought back all the characters, they all existed in the same universe.
That’s theGolden Girlsconnection.”
Lin adds that his “dream” casting for the final twoFastfilms would beGolden GirlsstarBetty White.
Considering the impending introduction, what does Lin have to say about that 12-year-old line?
“I can say that everything’s going to be accounted for,” he declares.
“I would say not evenF9, but I think in the expansion of how we tell these stories.
And next thing I know, he’s being swarmed by all these kids.
It was the first time feeling that kind of impact.
And Sung looked at me and said, “Does he have to be though?”
That was the beginning of Fast 4.
Welcome back to EW’s BINGE of The Fast Saga, full transcripts of which are available on ew.com.
Chanelle Berlin Johnson:
Oh, so ready.
But it’s actually so important.
So yeah, I’m excited to talk about it.
We owe a lot to this film.
Where now, that’d be a no brainer.
It set the record for April box office opening at the time.
Dom’s on the run, and Mia’s in LA, Brian’s back in law enforcement.
But yeah, it’s part reunion and part setting up sort of the next chapter of Fast.
And that’s what we got, Fast 4 setting things up.
So we have so much to talk about.
But until then, here’s Justin Lin.
I heard they were doing some crazy in Tokyo.
So we need to talk to director Justin Lin about Fast & Furious.
Justin, welcome to our binge of Fast.
Thanks for having me.
Thank you for being here.
Absolutely, like I said, we love your F9 hats.
So I appreciate everyone coming in their appropriate gear.
Nice, I love that.
Trust me, I’ve been Googling trying to track down those shirts, they’re really personalized.
I’ll get you one.
I think I snagged a few, so I’ll get you guys some.
Oh, that’d be amazing.
Awesome, this interview is already working out so great, we’re two minutes.
Well, thank you so much, Justin, like I said, for joining us.
And I feel like I just have to start, since we have you here.
But this one directly involves you.
And they were debuting some really exclusive footage from the film.
I know they took our phones, it was real lockdown jot down situation.
Obviously, JJ was a producer of the film, he had just done Star Wars.
And everyone swarms JJ.
I’m sure they all have all these Star Wars questions, all that stuff.
And I see you just kind of hanging out kind of to the side.
I made a beeline.
I was like, “I got to go up to him.”
And I walk up to you, and all I said was, “Nice to meet you.
Fast Five is my favorite film of all the time.”
And I think I shook your hand and walked away.
Oh man, I remember that.
I grew up as a Star Trek kid, and it was great.
And then they’re doing this huge presentation.
But I always loved the Fast energy.
And it was Golden Girls, and then it was Empty Nest.
Do you remember that?
So that was the inspiration for Fast Five, so.
We brought back all the characters.
They all existed in the same universe, that’s the Golden Girls connection.
There’s our headline right there, Golden Girls inspired Fast Five.
Yeah, one great team up, another great team up, that’s perfect.
We’ve been starting each episode by quoting the famous words of Dom.
He lives his life a quarter mile at a time.
For those 10 seconds or less, he’s free.
So how would you summarize Fast 4 in 10 seconds?
And there’s an importance to that chapter that I didn’t even realize.
I had a great time.”
I wanted to do a five million dollar indie movie.
And I got invited to do this parade in San Francisco.
And this is Central California, right off the 5 freeway, some little tiny town.
And again, this is 2007.
So internet, it wasn’t as big.
It was the first time feeling that kind of impact.
And I still remember, I was driving on-ramp back after lunch.
And I said, “God, it’s too bad Han is dead.”
And then Sung looked at me and said, “Does he have to be though?”
And that was the beginning of Fast 4.
It was at an Arby’s off of 5 freeway going back to San Francisco.
That’s too good.
The film is called Fast & Furious.
I mean, I’m still on the floor over 2 Fast.
I told Ludacris that’s the greatest title of the history of film.
But I don’t know, was there was a lot of discussions about the title?
It’s been such a journey and I was still a very young filmmaker.
And so, I remember sitting there and having these conversations.
And one of the things that we wanted to do was that we wanted to evolve the franchise.
We felt like after Tokyo Drift, this opportunity came.
And it was something that Vin and I connected on.
And it was really clear that like, “Wow, it’s weird.”
In Hollywood, we all kind of found ourselves through Sundance, we were not supposed to be here.
At that time, they’re like, “You want to be a director?
And he went and made his own film, and Michelle with Girl Fights.
So we all kind of connected on that energy.
We want this to be something that is us, but we’re making a signal.
It was a fight that I just couldn’t have the right conversation and I was really bummed.
And then Dom turns around, that was the sentiment.
It was such a great, earned connection where marketing, filmmaking and everything.
Nobody knew what it was going to do.
So I walked from the cutting room to Universal Studio.
I took the escalators up and I was like, “Whoa, we have billboards.”
They thought I was a visitor sneaking onto the lot.
And they were going to take me to Universal jail [crosstalk 00:17:39].
And I just thought taking the the out was amazing.
And so, that’s how I think of it now in retrospect.
It was a lot of pressure.
I think it was also a kind of tonal pressure.
I don’t like it when filmmakers go, “I do one for them.
I do one for me.”
On your end, what’s really what happened there?
First of all, I love that with success, there’s just all these different narratives out there.
People will tell me about like, “Oh yeah, so-and-so said this.”
And I’m like, “I was there, I know what happened.”
Yeah, and so I was in that room.
I mean, unless they were hiding in the walls or something, I don’t understand.
It was actually just connecting on the mythology and the connection between the characters.
I think it was more just like the state of mind.
So I went and sat down with Paul and we connected instantly, and it was great.
They would never talk of like, “Well, let’s just do this or that.”
Again, it was more about like, “Well, how do we going to do it?
Let’s really have a reason for being.”
That’s what I wanted to do.
That was something that I felt like there was going to be a culture shift behind the cameras too.
And it was incredible stuff, I was just smiling, reading everything.
But then he’s like, “Justin made it better.”
Do you remember kind of Paul having any hesitation there?
He was being very kind.
I don’t think there was actually a script when he read.
I’m honest with you, there was a strike and I did not want to overstep.
So for a young filmmaker, it was really tough.
And so, I actually agree with Paul, I don’t think it was a straight shot.
And so, how do you develop that language?
I go to film school and come back… What I’m learning, you guys are experiencing it.
So I’m like I’m learning in public light.
And so, that’s my approach.
And obviously, it ends up happening in five.
What was that scene?
Oh, you guys are will get me in trouble.
Did I say that?
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, it’s classic Tyrese, it’s classic Tyrese.
I’m letting you know, but you got to keep it under wraps.”
And of course, I think he was at a red carpet and he’s just blurted out.
I love him, we’re like brothers.
Was it always the plan that she eventually come back, or?
So what were those conversations with the fate of Letty here in the fourth one.
I could tell you that it was for real.
That was not the essence of why we did it.
And so, it was a ballsy move.
I’m responsible for that?"
And so, I was torn.
Even shooting it, I was just like, “God.”
She is just so great to work with."
But again, I never sit there and expect a sequel.
And they’re like, “We’d be happy with 35.”
And then at some point, the Thursdays were going up, and it was like 50.
Well, then creatively, like, “Oh, this is really great, we earned it.”
But then it was also kind built.
I didn’t know the opening weekend.
So I’m like, “God, milk and cookie sounds so good.”
I’m like, “What’s happening?”
We really connected and this is something that I look back now, such a great moment.
And he’s like, “They almost kicked me off the lot.”
He’s like the host kind of insane, so it’s kind of crazy.
I love him, but he’s always a dreamer.
We’re like, “What?
What are you talking about?
I’m trying to make one movie.”
What were those conversations like?
You walk into, you’re like, “All right, I’m in.”
Or what were those conversations like?
I mean, look, I always enjoy great discourse.
And I don’t know, maybe it’s like my way in was kind of through indie movies.
And ultimately, there was a trust for the filmmaker.
I wouldn’t be doing my fifth Fast movie if it was any different.
But I also felt like it was something that, again, we earn this relationship.
And that was kind on the reality of Tokyo Drift.
Look, things shouldn’t be easy in life; it should be hard.
And I knew that was going to be the thing.
And sure enough, the movie came out, it was not an issue at all.
But I’d say fight, not in a contentious way, it was serious concerns.
But it also made me question and see to it that that is what I want.
And then you’re like, “No, I saw it this is it.
I was at that Arby’s.
You should have been at the Arby’s, you should have known.
It is interesting because I am so proud, but I also got…
I’m like, “Am I the old man now in the room?”
And I felt like that was one that was worth taking.
Han:
Heard they’re doing some crazy shit in Tokyo.
Put it off for a while.
We’ve got to take a quick break, but we’ll be right back.
Now that we’re gassed up, let’s drive back into the interview.
And so, as you are bringing that character in, what was that there?
I said, “Hey, let’s do color-blind casting.”
And I remember back then, they’re like, “Why?
It was just very pragmatic like, “Well, this is the way things are done.”
And then we have the potential meeting some great people that can come and join us.”
I learned a lot, because I also learned that some people who were talented weren’t prepared.
You cannot just be reading on pages still.”
Things like that and I was like, “I love it.
Those are the little side stories that I love.”
And so, when we did the Gisele character, same thing, we did a worldwide search.
She did it in her living room and there was just something about her.
But Gal just came by herself and she just nailed.
And she was just fearless and there’s just something about her.
Obviously, there’s a lot of sparks between Dom and Gisele in that fourth movie.
Gisele:
Something interesting about this car.
Just admiring the bodywork.
Are you one of those boys who prefers cars to women?
I’m one of those boys that appreciates a fine body regardless of the make.
So then what was the evolution then moving forward?
And I think, for me, that moment was really about two alphas kind of testing each other.
And obviously, you’re free to feel the attraction.
And so, it was more of that.
So it was never like love interest this or that.
Is that kind of what’s always at the forefront for you guys?
I think that we never really have meetings about it.
Like Shea Whigham, I could sit there and talking about Stasiak for hours.
And now, it’s become years.
And so, it’s like that for every character.
And obviously, he’s actually part of the universe and he’s existed for a long time.
But when you watch the film, he’s only in a couple scenes.
So I think that’s not foreign, that’s something that I’ve always enjoyed doing.
And so, I think that naturally leads into the development.
I was just really proud to work with talented people and trying to fight for their emotional real estate.
And I think that always yields in something more interesting.
I remember the vault sequence in five, at one point, was the opening of Fast Five.
It was actually going to be in Bolivia.
Imagine like, “Wait, they’re dragging a vault out of the what?”
That’s an example of like, “Well, we don’t want to rest.
We want to take the essence of what we love, but how can we evolve this?”
And I think a lot of that is also influenced by us behind the camera.
There was a connection between Mia and Brian and the family literally growing.
I mean, there is definitely a few scenes I wanted to specifically ask about.
That it was such an adrenaline rush, that hijacking scene.
It was a statement, a tonal shift.
And we talked a lot about Dom and Letty stealing gas, but not for monetary gain.
And trying to find subjectivity in big action scenes, it takes a lot of planning and conversations.
And there’s something that I enjoy in the filmmakers that I loved kind of growing up.
And I always think that’s our check-in with our characters.
Or is it all about emotion here?
How did you guys sort of craft that reunion?
It was a very conscious effort.
Again, it wasn’t about like, “Oh, they’re buddy buddies, right away.”
It was a day and a half’s worth.
And I looked at my aide.
I said, “We’re going to shoot this in a day and a half.”
And he’s like, “It’s a six-day sequence.”
I said, “No, we’re going to do it.”
And if you look at the film, we did it.
We actually, literally, used the same real estate, and we just rotated it.
It was like all indie tricks, but it was great.
And obviously, we’ve earned a lot more real estate now in what we can do.
Speaker 7
I don’t know shit.
I don’t know shit, man.
Speaker 9:
Give me the names.
Speaker 8:
David Park.
David Park’s, the guy you want, c’mon.
Speaker 10:
The planes keep rolling in after your little downtown Olympics, O’Connor.
Tell me that reinstating you, wasn’t a mistake.
And I was scouting trying to figure all this out.
And it was just, again, not take anything for granted.
We don’t take the action for granted.
Why don’t you start designing the action before there is a script?"
Which again, rewatching this last time I jumped out of my seat and I rewound it.
So now we know there’s another Toretto brother coming.
So what do you have to say for yourself with this line of dialogue in F4?
I can say that everything’s going to be accounted for.
We’re going to earn that line, I promise you.
Oh, we can’t wait.
So first off, I don’t know, you’re the person involved with some of these things.
So do you have a dream person?
Like I said, maybe we put out in the world and that helps make it happen.
Oh, bring back the Golden Girls.
Betty White, that would iconic.
That would be true.
The remaining Golden Girls, yeah, that’d be awesome.
Oh my God, that’s too good.
We talked to Lucas and we were like, “Hey, where’s Mia.
What do you think she’s up to?”
You put this guy, you beat the crap out of him anytime he pops up.
So what do you personally have against Shea Whigham?
He’s maybe the best character actor out there.
But what do you enjoy about just kind of putting him through hell?
He was the little creature, that was him.
What I love about, he’s game for anything.
And so, we had two-hour conversation about how to design the nose.
It goes all the way down to Stasiak’s nose, right?
He’s been more beat up and he’s still trying to heal."
Even if it’s just a short, what would they be doing?
It’s crazy like it wouldn’t be what you expect, even with Vin, it’s weird.
There was this character, Dwight in four, and he just loves feet.
We shot for two hours.
I had him sucking toes and MPA was like, “That’s not PG 13.”
I’m like, “you’re free to’t suck toes for a PG 13?”
Oh, my God.
But then I would be talking to Vin in Fast 6 and he would bring up Dwight.
I’m like, “I’m not even thinking about Dwight.
Why are you thinking about Dwight?”
We do have love for all these characters.
If you asked me, I feel like we could spin off any character to do anything.
I can spin off a character, to a YouTube video.
So I love it, I love them all.
Well, as I told Vin, Vin says he listens to anybody.
So I requested Eva Mendez as Monica Fontez back before we get to the end.
So if you have any ideas for her, get the ball rolling there.
It’s not like promoting a rap album.
You just say it’s the best because you want it to sell."
In my gut, in my mind, yes.
But I do think that F9 is a culmination of all our work through the years.
But I also think that on so many levels with character, it was great to reconnect with everybody.
Yeah, in my heart, I feel like F9 is the best film.
It’s part of our evolution but that’s until we do Fast 10.
But I really do.
Again, maybe it’s me coming back, having everybody, they just know their characters so well.
And being away never felt like I was away.
And we might be on the cusp of fiasco, but we’re doing something.
And I wouldn’t say that Chris is right.
But I really truly believe that.
Is there maybe someplace you want to go or some character you want to revisit?
And it’s like one of those like serial killer movies.
I feel like there’s rings that are all connecting everybody.
And I would sit there and I’m like, “Wow, this is really interesting.”
Everything’s pressure, money pressure, schedule pressure, everything.
Because I know it’s there.
Yeah, that’s awesome.
Well Justin, thank you for joining us and becoming a part of the BINGE family.
We really appreciate your taking us deep into Fast 4.
Guys, I mean, again, I thank you guys so much for your passion.
And it was something that, when I started, none of this was there.
It just means everything to us.
Yeah, well, thank you for the gift of these films.
We appreciate that always.
Yeah, we’re excited every time.
Speaker 11:
Papa Dwight wants you to take off your shoes.
Take of your shoes.
Dwight likes his foot.
I wouldn’t want to live in a world where Fast Five doesn’t exist.
So props to you, Justin Lin.
Chanelle, what’s our first category.
As always, we got to choose who earned our respect.
So who are you thinking about for this movie, Derek?
But no, I think it’s Gal Gadot.
You mentioned in the interview with Justin, this is her big-screen debut.
I think the same year, she also has a small role on Entourage in one episode.
And then she gets cast and Fast 4, and it slowly builds, Fast Five, Fast 6.
And then-
Now she’s Wonder Woman.
Yeah, now she’s Wonder Woman, she’s in another stratosphere.
One of the biggest stars in the world and the seeds were planted here.
We’re immediately intrigued by her.
The minute she’s on-screen, you’ve got the option to’t look away from her.
And then, her back and forth with Vin throughout the movie is so great.
So yeah, I think it’s Gal Gadot for sure.
They were all like, “Oh, you know what, there’s something really special here.”
So yeah, knocked it out of the park, all the respect for Gal.
Next up, we’ve got the, Hey, This Guy is in the Movie.
And there’s a lot of options again.
He’s popped up a few other times, but John Ortiz is in a lot of great things.
He pops up all the time and I’m always happy.
But we talked about him with Justin, I think that’s got to be Shea Whigham.
This guy, IMDb is insane.
And that’s not even mentioning all the TV shows he’s been on.
So you got to respect him, right?
Yeah, I agree.
And we know something fun is about to happen.
I think that’s the ultimate for sort of a recurring cameo.
It’d be like, “It’s you, and we’re happy to see you.”
Awesome, that’s the perfect combination.
Yeah, absolutely, every single time we’re like, “Hey, this guy.”
So that’s literally the title of the award right there.
Next up we got, which Oscar should Fast have been nominated for.
Are you a true fan if you don’t know what that is?
Chanelle, tell them what Los Bandoleros is.
Yeah, this is Vin flexing his filmmaker side of things.
That’s how he started.
And this one, he writes it, he directs it, he stars in it.
And it’s really a great companion piece to Fast 4.
Right, I feel like it’s so unique too, for a franchise to have something like that.
And it could have easily gotten recognized for it, I think.
Yeah, totally, now we got biggest heat check.
What do you think Chanelle?
I mean, it’s got to be Justin Lin.
And just flipping it and then convincing Universal that they knew what they were doing by changing the timeline.
Heat checks kind of one of my favorite phrases, and I think this is an ultimate heat check.
And maybe, possibly, going to confuse people.
Luckily, as Justin said, doesn’t seem like that was the case.
So just keeping the heat checks going, we got to love it.
All right, so the next one, of course, how about the We Hungry Award.
I feel like they’re less instances of food in Fast 4 but does anyone qualified to you?
You’re totally right.
And I wish people could be watching me do this.
And Dom’s like, “He used to date my sister.”
And then Braga’s like, “You’re lucky you’re still alive.”
And then Vin, “Hold my Corona.”
It’s iconic, it’s a little moment that I love and it’s two seconds.
You could blink and you miss it.
Braga:
Do you know each other?
He used to date my sister.
I see, you’re lucky, man.
Brian:
How’s that?
You’re still breathing.
Yeah, I think it absolutely does.
It’s a perfect reaction, the delivery on, it is so great.
I like to think Vin was just in the mirror practicing that.
Just really thinking a lot about it.
What do you think?
What are you guys doing?
So I think this should have been fast for life, but I don’t know.
Is it that, or is it the quick Letty death?
We only see it in Dom sort of CSI, Sherlock moment of what he thinks happened.
So in a way, it ends up being a blessing because it gives them more freedom.
I think that’s fair.
Okay, lastly, the way we end every show, we all know winning’s winning.
So who do we think was the ultimate winner of Fast 4?
And then we showed up and surprised them like you already said.
Justin already said they were not sure exactly what it was going to do.
And it’s all because we went to the theater to see this one.
No, you’re totally right.
Not to award ourselves but we kind of are, it’s just Fast Five was no guarantee.
So we’ve reached the finish line of today’s episode.
Thank you again to Justin.
As Tej would say, “It’s going to be an all-timer.”
So double-check you’re there.
Rate us, tell us what you think, share it with your friends and family.
you’re able to find us on Twitter @derekjlawrence or me @chanelleberlin.
Also, head to ew.com for complete coverage of the Fast saga and full episode transcripts.
This episode was hosted and produced by Derek Lawrence and Chanelle Berlin Johnson.
Produced, edited, and mixed by Samee Junio and executive produced by Carly Usdin and Shana Naomi Krochmal.
And until next time salud, mi podcast familia.
