The Fast & Furious franchise has been astonishingly popular. Despite not getting the attention of some other movies, the films have grossed over 1.5 billion dollars at the box office, with the latest, Fast & Furious 5, being the most popular so far, taking an incredible $606 million around the world. People just can’t get enough of the cars, girls and action! Ahead of the film’s Blu-ray and DVD release on 5th September, we’ve got this great exclusive interview with director Justin Lin, who’s helped keep the franchise revving ever since Tokyo Drift.
So is making a Fast & Furious movie just about blowing things up and racing cars fast, or is there more to it than that? Justin Lin tells us.
So, these movies are very successful, can you tell us what it is about the Fast & Furious franchise that people love?
Well, for me, what excites me is the fact that it grows, it evolves. I think that if you look at every film, they have all stylistically been very different. Were part of something that we are always able to push it and grow with the characters and sensibilities. And also, thematically, for a big action genre movie, the heart of it has always been about this non-traditional sense of family; thats the thing that I think is always present, and I think that is very universal.
Is it nice to have the different characters from the other films coming back in for the fifth movie?
I love it. I personally love stuff like that, so when they called and said, What would it take for you to come and do another one? I talked to Vin (Diesel) and it became very clear that that was one of the big reasons for me to come back, is to convince everybody else to come back. And again, it plays into the theme of family and at the same time, we get to introduce a new character with Dwayne Johnson, so thats very exciting too.
So why did you choose Rio as the location for this one?
Ive always wanted to get to Rio, and I felt like this franchise, as it has been traveling, and the sensibility of these characters, it felt like a perfect match. I think we have gone around all the places, and it felt like South America was where they would land on this one, for sure. Especially after the last movie.
You said that everything has grown, including the budget, so how is that reflected? In the cars? In animation or technology? CGI?
Everything. And also, hopefully, growth for me as a film-maker. I feel like every chance I get to make another movie, I feel like Im better; Im a better craftsman, Im a better storyteller. Having that resource around, I want to be able to utilise that correctly.
Does this movie have any improved animation technology, or are the cars better?
We crash a lot more cars. You can talk to car people and they can argue that the older cars are better than the newer cars. I also think that as Ive grown, I have been able to work with people that I feel I can work best with, so the more I do, I think the team gets stronger too, on the production side. Of course, technology is always growing, but I feel that part of the evolution and the maturity of this franchise is going old school. It is really respecting the car so that when it crashes, whenever it does, we are doing it practically. When I signed up for this, thats the thing Ive always tried to make sure happened, and any kind of visual effects are there to help environmentally.
Is this movie more focused on the character than the cars?
I know that Fast & Furious had certain considerations, but I know that we worked very hard to make sure that thematically the character journeys are important. And I think, referring back to your first question, thats what makes the connection. I think that a lot of the time that people think of Fast & Furious, they think of cars and hot girls and stuff like that, but I think the reason why were here making a fifth one, and we still feel fresh and we still have that energy, is because I think we take a lot of care in all the characters.
There seems to be a great chemistry on set between the guys.
Yeah, its great. We have so many different personalities, people from all different backgrounds, different industries, so I feel like Im working back at the YMCA with 15 kids, all different personalities.
Do you think its an advantage to have all different backgrounds and personalities?
Oh for sure. I love that. I love working around the world, I love working with people from different backgrounds. I think it helps me to become a better director because I have to communicate differently.
Do you get different influences from them?
Yeah, you get different points of view, and I think thats always welcome. I feel like I like that, that discourse. So when I talk to Tego (Calderón) and Don Omar, its very different from Vin. Paul (Walker) is very different from Tyrese (Gibson). Sung (Kang) is very different from Gal (Gadot). So I love hearing what they have to say, and I love that journey of making sure I can communicate and convey that to them.
Can you talk a little about the creative process when it comes to action sequences? How do you manage to top previous action sequences, which were already very spectacular?
For me, it comes from character. I feel like theres not a lot of real estate in these movies, so you have to utilise every second, and a lot of that comes from the action. And what I love about these characters and I go back to sports for an analogy: I can sit here and tell you that Im the best basketball player in the world, but when I get on the court, I am who I am. I think thats the same thing with these characters: when they are driving, it conveys to the audience who they are, by the decisions that they make. So for me, it is very exciting when we lay it down. Action is usually secondary to me, I usually try to think about the theme, what the character arcs are, and once I figure that out, that helps me design the action.
Is it difficult to get all these big personalities together on the set, including the likes of Elsa Pataky?
Well, its not difficult in the sense that
well, nothings easy in film-making but I like that. I like the challenge, and I like the fact that I have to go and convey and convince people why they should be a part of this project. And it means a lot to me that someone like Dwayne Johnson, for him to say, I want to be a part of this, that means a lot to me, for me to go and speak to him. It means a lot to me that Tyrese, and everybody, are in a position in their career that they dont have to do anything, so I like that; that, in a way, validates why were doing this.
Do you have to reflect different cultures in each movie? Because it seems as though in every movie there is a Latino, an Asian character.
No. Look, I grew up in a very multi-cultural community, and I like the sensibilities, and this is why I love this franchise too. I think a lot of the time, Hollywood films feel a little bit backwards, like when you go to the Orient, its just like Geishas. Its very backward. So I think for us to even do the third one, to say, No, its not like drifting around Buddha statues. Tokyo is very post-modern. So for us to even have subtitles, in a big action movie, those are fights you have to fight and I am proud to say that we have that. I can have Tego and Don Omar speak Spanish because thats what they do. People are bilingual, people are trilingual now, and I feel like I like to be a part of that movement. Its a little bit more authentic to respect the different cultures and not to just exploit.
This franchise is so big all over the world. Does that influence the decisions you make?
Very much so, in a way. I think I would have answered this very differently if you had asked me after the last movie, but when we went to do press for the last movie, I actually got to really spend time, from country to country, city to city, with the fans and really got to talk to them, and the thing I realised was that its very much a working class franchise. And thats my background, thats where I came from and I really wanted to respect that, and hopefully Ive worked very hard to entertain and connect with them.
Do you feel more pressure now that you really want to deliver for the fans?
I like pressure and I think thats why you do this. If it was easy, I dont think Id want to do it. I think having four films that have been successful, and now doing a fifth one, where do you go? I think thats very important to find the right answers. Everybody on here, on this set, could have said, No, so for us to be able to go and push and push and push on every ounce of every scene, thats great. I like getting up with that challenge.
So did you get Elsa Pataky in to fill another ethnic role?
No. What I love about this movie is that when we had that role, we just cast it around the world. We looked at everybody from different backgrounds, but she was the best for the role. And I like that, when you talk about different ethnicities, I love the idea about going out and being colour-blind and just going and finding the best person for the job.
Thank you, Justin.