Behind Clash with Vin Diesel Universal – The Hollywood Reporter

Families come in all shapes and sizes. They can be loving and nurturing, they can be loud and boisterous, they can be divisive and frustrating. The The Fast and the Furious The franchise, which runs around the theme of family, became its latest when, just days after filming the latest edition, fast 10boss Justin Lin Do the unthinkable: quit.

Managers were replaced in the middle of production before, bohemian rhapsody And Solo: A Star Wars Story being recent examples. These, however, were incidents in which the filmmakers were fired. In case fast 10The director was the one who made it. Enough of constantly changing script, enough for file creation process Fast movie, and enough management from the movie’s lead star and fellow producer, Vin Diesel, according to multiple sources The Hollywood Reporter.

Lane was taking on the writing assignments for the movie and thought he had a closed script going in. Universal and Diesel had other ideas. A key position that had been secured because of its location in Eastern Europe, was cut off amid the war in Ukraine. And the movie still hasn’t cast a villain yet. Furthermore, even when Lynn attempted to draw lines in the sand, the studio said it would send a writer to London to improve dialogue for some of the cast, a move that was expected but apparently unwelcome by Lynn at the time. sources say.

The constantly moving target proved too much for veteran Lin, who on April 23 had a “big feud” with Diesel. The four-person meeting started with Diesel having new notes. It ended with a closed door. One source says, “Justin finally had enough and said, ‘This movie isn’t worth my sanity.'” Both Lynne and Diesel declined to comment for this story.

A Universal spokesperson said THR: “Any creative differences that led to Justin Lin’s exit were with the studio, not with his fellow producers, cast, or crew.”

In the midst of this moment, Lane said he passed the film. The studio took it very seriously. By April 25, a settlement was reached regarding Lane’s exit from production. He will remain involved as a producer. Lots of crew members worked on it F9 With Lin and briefly wondering what their next moves should be, Lin, according to the insider, gave his blessing that they should continue. Regardless, the muscle car lost its driver while accelerating on the highway.

On April 26, three days after the explosion, Lin announced his departure at Fast Social media channels. “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step down as a Director X fast,” He wrote, thanking his cast and crew for their support, and expressed his pride in helping build “the most diverse franchise in film history.”

Lane’s departure took months in the making and offers a glimpse into the kind of high pressure cooker environment the film series, now nearly 21 years old, has become. It also shows how dangerous his studio is, Universal PicturesAnd its main star and producer, Diesel, and any director discovered in Sturm und Drang to make a blockbuster movie.

Lin knew, more than any director, what he was going to have in common fast 10. I took out five Fast movies from the third installment, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. He directed the series from a simple and unassuming action movie dedicated to the car into a worldwide box office movie, especially with 2011 fast fivewhich brought in Dwayne Johnson and set the new track: Big Names, Bigger Fixed Pieces.

Lin was coming out of 2021 F9: Fast Saga, who had the unfortunate luck of being released during the pandemic. While a total of $726 million worldwide does not lose motor oil, it has been the lowest result since then fast five. The pressure was on to make the tenth thrust the barn burner and the manager, with a small break, put the key in the ignition and immediately began to work on the next one.

Press Universal to keep Fast The privilege is enormous. It’s the biggest franchise in studio history, grossing nearly $6 billion on stage. But 20 years later, films are unusually expensive.

The sources say THR who – which fast 10′The budget was in excess of $300 million, and that’s without any spending on marketing and advertising. Over a hundred million of that amount is for above-the-line costs, which have ballooned over the years and have seen the studio manipulate the nine and 10-figure salaries of actors like Charlize Theron, whose portion has only increased, newer newcomers Jason Momoa and Brie Larson, and veterans Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and Therese Gibson. All of these numbers pale in comparison to the upcoming graphics at Diesel Road. (Universal declined to comment.)

Diesel has become his personality to be reckoned with at this point in the Fast Franchise business. He had long since become the dominant force and was not afraid to flex his ample muscles. His clash with former super wrestler Dwayne Johnson resulted in him leaving the franchise – even refusing public communication. And the movie writing process was unconventional, to say the least. Insiders say writers will write action sequences and Diesel will say “yes” or “no,” leaving them to the director to make them fit. Or not, if Diesel changed his mind. “The whole process is a mosaic that never stops moving,” says an insider who has seen firsthand the manufacture of many items. Fast Movies.

Fast He has seen his share of unfortunate, if not tragic, setbacks. In 2013, Paul Walker, who starred in films with Diesel, died in a car accident while taking a break from production. The film suspended production for several months while studio, producers, and director James Wan overhauled the entire filming as they figured out ways to honor Walker and move on without him.

Although it clearly wasn’t terrible, Lin’s exit was definitely an unwelcome development. fast 10 It centered around the second unit’s photography as the studio and Diesel scrambled to find an alternate director. The operation was costing the studio over $1 million a day to keep the crew and locations on standby.

And finding a way out for the franchise wasn’t easy. “You need someone who can play ball with the studio, Finn and the actors,” notes one agency partner. “Maybe you can count on a couple of filmmakers who can take on this challenge. Most filmmakers will present this under Life Is Too Short.”

Clear candidates, those who had previously managed the premiums, were not available. But production tried. Gary Gray (fast 7) in the middle of filming Kevin Hart on Netflix. Wan in post production Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. David Leach is scheduled to shoot victim Feature, for star Ryan Gosling, this summer. Even if it would get him out of that project, the studio risked losing Gosling to another project, or worse, pissing off the actor, who might not want to push his schedule.

On the plus side, as one agency source points out, this could be a great opportunity: “If you can land a 747 and prevent an accident, you’ll be a hero.”

The hopeful hero of Louis Leterrier, a strong hand with experience in big visual effects work, has been found after she remakes battle of the titans and the highly regarded but short-lived Netflix series, Dark Crystal: Age of ResistanceAction car chases, starring Jason Statham Transporter Movies. According to an insider, the Leterrier has always been in contention to steer the wagons for Fast films because of his expertise and interest. Now he was getting his shot.

His deal is expected to expire this week with the project out of the pit and back on the road soon after.