tellurikwaves blog : , CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration (75 Paris)

Jump to: Cameo (1) | Director Cameo (1) | Spoilers (3)

Vin Diesel accidentally broke a stuntman's nose.

Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Eminem were all considered for the part of Brian O'Connor before Paul Walker was cast.

Neither Michelle Rodriguez nor Jordana Brewster had driver's licenses or even learner's permits before production of the film.

Over 1,500 cars were at the Race Wars.

Natalie Portman, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kirsten Dunst, Bijou Phillips and Jessica Biel auditioned for the role of Mia.

Paul Walker and Matt Schulze carefully choreographed the fight scene outside the grocery store, but when it came time to shoot, it didn't feel right. In the end they just improvised.

During the Race Wars, real race cars with their real drivers came to participate in the huge scene.

Film-makers asked owners of houses in backgrounds to re-paint their houses with more muted colors to show off the colorful cars.

Dominic's RX-7 originally had a roll cage. It was removed to accommodate Vin Diesel's physique.

There were more than 60 Japanese vehicles in this movie.

There are over 15,000 individual sound effects in the first street race.

Working titles for the movie included "Racer X", "Redline" and "Race Wars".

The role of Mia was written for Eliza Dushku, but she turned it down. (tant mieux! cé ki de toute manière?)

The only film in which O'Connor does not pilot a Nissan Skyline. Although a Skyline does appear during the four way drag race where O'Connor tries to ingratiate himself to Toretto's team.

At the house party, Dom says to Brian, "You can have any beer you want, as long as it's a Corona." This is a reference to automobile innovator Henry Ford. Although he probably never said, "You can have any color you want, as long as it's black," and although the Model T to which he was supposedly referring was made in several colors (including a couple of shades of green and red as well as gray, blue, and several others), the phrase has long been attributed to him.

The Volkswagen Jetta that Jesse drives in the movie was later purchased by Frankie Muniz.

Only two domestics are ever driven by the principal cast: Dom and his '70 Charger, and Brian's/ Racer's Edge's Ford Lightning parts truck.

Before the first race, Leon states that there is "a one eighty-seven in Glendale". Glendale is the birthplace of Paul Walker.

The only cars to feature in both "Fast and Furious" films was Neal H. Moritz's navy-colored Ferrari F355, and Dom's RX-7. In the first film, the F355 was used in the Malibu race scene and then parked outside Verone's house in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). The RX-7 was changed and used again in the second film as Orange Julius' car in the first race scene.

The title rights, not the story rights, to the film The Fast and the Furious (1955), were purchased so that the title could be used on this project, another film about racing. The original film was shown in a theater owned by the grandfather of producer Neal H. Moritz.

Only one other classic Mopar was used for the film besides Torreto's Dodge Charger. A 1969 Roadrunner featured during the Rave party the night before the Race Wars.

The house used as headquarters for the FBI and LAPD undercover investigation is the same house that was used as Walter Matthau's house in Raccroche! (2000).

The first street race scene is supposedly a quarter mile race, taking approximately 10 seconds. However, the race takes almost two minutes of screen time and shows the vehicles driving in excess of 150 mph, faster than even a 1,200 hp Bugatti Veyron can accomplish a 1/4 mile.

Came hé ho!!

Neal H. Moritz: driver of the black Ferrari.

Director Cameo

Rob Cohen: as the old pizza delivery man who is blocked by the first race. (Ah ? ben mince alors j'lé pavu!!...fo ke jrevoille le flime alors !!!)

Spoilers

The trivia items below may give away important plot points.

Dominic Toretto's black muscle car is a 1970 Dodge Charger with a 528ci supercharged Hemi and 727 automatic transmission. This Charger is the same body style (although one year newer) as the famous 1969 Dodge Charger "General Lee" of the Shérif, fais-moi peur! (1979) television series. After the filming of the crash at the end of the film, the same 1970 Charger wound up in the opening scenes of La coccinelle revient (2005) as a car in the junkyard.

When first submitted to the MPAA, the film received an R-rating. Some shots from the final robbery showing Vince's mutilated arm were cut.

The street where Vin Diesel crashes his car at the end of the film is the same location as the first narcotics bust in Training Day (2001), which was also written by David Ayer.