Vin Diesel was a real jerk on set of ‘Furious 7’ and making it difficult to for production to start on ‘Furious 8’
Following the death of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, quickly became the face of the Fast and Furious franchise. The actor used his wildly popular social media accounts to keep the world updated on the new Furious 7 movie. Now, according to reports, things are getting more and more difficult when it comes to making the next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
sources say Diesel proved extraordinarily difficult. As a producer, he is said to have questioned even small details on elaborate action sequences, often holding up the complex production. He also was known to summon filmmakers to repeated late-night script sessions to make him comfortable with his character and dialogue.
However, Vin Diesel wants you to know that he’s a nice guy.
Diesel’s spokesperson says any suggestion that he was tough to work with is “complete nonsense,” and Wan’s rep denies any on-set friction beyond the pressure of soldiering on after Walker’s death. Furious producer Neal Moritz adds, “Obviously, if there was any issue, we wouldn’t be making the eighth [film] with [Diesel] right now.” And, in a statement, a Universal spokesperson says “the studio and filmmakers loved working with James on Furious 7, but he was never in the mix for an eighth film due to a scheduling conflict with The Conjuring 2. We are actively casting and searching for the right director for the next chapter of the franchise.”
But, things get worse. While Universal had a contractual obligation to James Wan to direct the eighth and ninth Fast and Furious movie, the director informed the studio before Furious 7 was finished that he wanted out. Universal would later accept Wan’s decision, but according to reports, Justin Lin, who directed the third and sixth movies in the Furious series, chose to make the next Star Trek rather than return to Furious 8, which leaves Universal searching for a new director.
Fast and Furious franchise had made over $6 billion dollars worldwide. If producers want to continue to fatten their pockets, they are going to need to come up with a solution now and fast.
