All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S03E01.RACER.X.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR: In 2001,
a franchise roared into life.

And few film franchises
have done so much damage...

The Fast and the Furious
has wrecked a lot of cars.

NARRATOR: ...or gone so far...

Send 'em in the sewer,
bury 'em alive,

send them to space.

...and got away with it.

Two-thirds of the audience
were on their feet.

NARRATOR: But this wild ride...

It's the cars, it's the action.

...started out
with just one guy.

Also known as Racer X.

...and some not so
law-abiding citizens.

At that time,
we were going as fast...

[SIREN WAILING]

...as 160 miles an hour.

NARRATOR: So, how did
this mother of all
car movies...

Speaks to us Latinos

like no other franchise.

...that grew from the street...

We didn't race
for less than $1,000.

What's it gonna be?

...and reached for the stars?

Backstage Universal lot.

[MIMICS TIRE SCREECHING]

Burn rubber through there
and everybody's like...

Who is this guy?
This guy's a movie star.

He had a glow.

NARRATOR: From mega stars to...

actual space.

Am I being punked right now?

NARRATOR: This is the story
of how a family...

The principles
that come with family.

You never turn your back
on family.

...of determined filmmakers...

We all fought so hard
to get it made.

...pulled off
one hell of a stunt.

It hit the pulse

of what young people
wanted to be.

-And it blew up.
-[EXPLOSION]

NARRATOR:
One death-defying moment...

-MAN: Watch this.
-[GLASS BREAKING]

[WHOOPING]

...after another.

They've done some amazing...

...realistic stunts.

NARRATOR:
Well, not always realistic.

Of course this is crazy.

NARRATOR: But definitely...

-Bigger and bigger and bigger.
-[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

And even bigger egos...

They're movie stars.

Welcome to the club.

The Rock only agreed
to do this movie

if he had to film zero scenes
with Vin Diesel.

Stay the...out of my way.

...to build a multibillion
dollar franchise.

Make some money!

...almost by accident.

He would start designing
the action sequences

before the script
was really done.

I remember
reading this thinking,

"He's out of his effing mind."

How is this even going to work?

NARRATOR:
So fasten your seatbelt...

for an explosive tale
of ingenuity...

This was an ingenious invention.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

...fearless risk-taking...

That shot's not CG.

...tragedy...

And the way that he left us,

you don't believe it.

Now what?

...and more resurrections
than the Bible...

You'd think they're dead.

It's kind of like a soap opera.

-Surprise.
-They just come back.

NARRATOR: ...as we take you

from the edge
of your bucket seat...

You're there to get entertained.

...to the edge and beyond...

We're in outer space!

This is definitely
the highlight of my career.

...onIcons Unearthed:
The Fast and the Furious.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC STOPS]

NARRATOR:
Before we get fast and furious,

the start of this story is more

slow and steady,

just like the career
of prolific producer,

Neal Moritz...

Neal Moritz was already
a very successful producer.

NARRATOR: ...working on
films likeVolcano

andI Know
What You Did Last Summer.

So he had been
kind of around Hollywood

doing a lot of films.

NARRATOR: And it was on the set
of Neal's low budget thriller,

The Skulls,

-that inspiration struck.
-[IMPACT GRUNTS]

Thanks to this good-looking
chap, Mr. Paul Walker.

Fast and Furious
essentially started with him

producing a Paul Walker movie,
The Skulls.

NARRATOR:
Directed by soon-to-be
Fast and Furious director

Rob Cohen.

Rob happened to be
talking ideas with Paul.

And, you know, they asked
what he wanted to do next,

and he said, "Something either

"with cars or where
I'm an undercover cop."

-NARRATOR:
Well, here's an idea.
-[SIREN WAILS]

Why not both?

Because Universal already had
such a project in development.

And then he said,
three months later,

they come back, you know,
with this article.

NARRATOR: Years earlier, inside
the pages ofVibe magazine,

Universal execs had found
and optioned

a few thousand words
on illegal street racing

that they thought
would serve as the backbone

of a good summer movie,

which is how it came across
Neal's desk.

Neal Moritz read that article

and said,
"Gee, what a great movie."

NARRATOR: Inside the article,
Neal Moritz

found exactly
what Paul was looking for.

Paul was just kind of
really excited about the idea.

NARRATOR:
Apparently so excited,

he signed on before
he even saw a screenplay.

His representatives are kind of
like, "What are you doing?"

He's like,
"Hey, it's a million bucks.

"I get to, you know, look cool

"hanging out with my friends
and drive cars."

NARRATOR:
But while the article explored

the dark world
of illegal street racing,

it was born from rather
humble beginnings.

At the time I was a cub reporter
at the New York Daily News.

NARRATOR: Covering
the mundane intersection

of business and tech.

I wrote all kinds of stories,

everything from
how to get a mortgage

to covering the return
of Steve Jobs to Apple.

NARRATOR: But after hours,

Kenneth had picked up
a new interest.

I had just learned how to drive
and had just got my license.

And for the first time
in my 20's, I got my first car.

NARRATOR: A safe
and reliable Honda Civic.

A grocery getter.

NARRATOR: But even grocery
getters deserve a little style.

I wanted to get new wheels,

so I went to Honda
and I told them,

"Hey, I'm looking for
new wheels."

The person at the counter
started yelling at me.

I would violate my warranty
and I'd lose the warranty,

and you can't do that.

NARRATOR:
But then, something happened

that would change the course
of Kenneth's life.

He storms off, and then his
kind of 20-something assistant,

kind of sketchy-looking,

slinks over to the desk,
looks both ways,

hands me a crumpled up
business card.

NARRATOR: This was
no ordinary business card.

KENNETH: And it turned out
to be a card for his friend.

A car tuner in,

I think, Staten Island
of all places.

NARRATOR:
More than just a mechanic,

a car tuner is a wizard

who can tune any engine
for incredible performance.

Even the one
inside a Honda Civic.

Of course, being a moron,
I decided, "Why not?

"I'll just drive
to Staten Island

"to go to some
random person's garage."

Turned out to be a great,
great tuner, a great guy.

And he taught me
about the physics

of making cars go fast.
I was hooked.

NARRATOR:
Thanks to his new friend,
the car tuning guru,

Kenneth's eyes were opened
to a colorful new world.

There were Asians or white kids.

There were Black kids,
Hispanic and Latino.

They were all sort of united

by this one thing
they really loved,

which was just going fast
and looking great.

NARRATOR:
Kenneth had found his tribe,

thanks to his humble Honda.

The Honda Civic at the time

was one of the most popular cars
for tuners,

especially people
with very little money.

Because of that
pure coincidence,

it led me into the whole world
of street racing.

NARRATOR:
Where fast, maxed-out cars

meet a healthy disregard
for traffic regulations

on dark city streets.

I've lived in New York
my entire life.

I'd never seen that.

And figured since I was
a journalist at the time,

I should probably
write about this.

NARRATOR: And for this expose,

Kenneth searched high and low

for someone who'd be
willing to share their story.

And somehow stumbled into Raffi.

Also known as Racer X.

Ken started to do the story,

and wherever he went,

everybody will be
mentioning my name.

NARRATOR: But here's the thing
about street racers.

I don't wanna be seen.
I don't care who he is.

I don't wanna talk to this guy.

NARRATOR: Because what
this person was doing,

and we can't stress
this enough,

was very, very, very illegal.

At that time, we were going
as fast as 160 miles an hour.

NARRATOR:
And with the fast cars,

there was fast money
to be made.

We didn't race
for less than $1,000.

NARRATOR: But Kenneth
wouldn't be deterred.

So, he actually
got a friend of mine

to introduce me to him.

NARRATOR: And right away,

Kenneth could tell
that Raffi was...

KENNETH:
Charismatic, very easy-going.

Just someone that,

you know, you'd...
You'd want to hang out with.

NARRATOR: But Kenneth's angle
was not concerned

with the illegal side
of Raffi's passion.

He saw a bigger story.

So I wanted to write a story

about people of color
re-appropriating something

that's very deeply rooted
in American culture,

but also about this one guy

rising through the ranks

and trying to get life
and a career out of this.

I think it was something
very interesting by then,

so I agreed to it.

NARRATOR:
For the next two years,

Kenneth, he immersed himself
in a high-octane world

of illegal street racing.

He got to see what racing
was about and understand it.

KENNETH: There were a lot of
kids, obviously, on the street.

There were a lot of cars.

There were also, like,
families there.

But it was like a whole
kind of community thing.

And for him to come
and understand

what we were doing
without judging us,

that was very fulfilling
for me.

NARRATOR: But despite
joining the fraternity,

there was still one experience

Kenneth hadn't
yet been afforded.

I was building a car
and he wanted to get in the car.

And I'm like, "I'm not sure
if you want to do that."

NARRATOR: Oh, but he did.

He's like,
"Yeah, I have to feel...

"That's like the last thing
because I've seen it already,

"so I want to know
what's the excitement."

NARRATOR: So,
Raffi straps Kenneth into...

A hollowed out Civic.

This thing has, you know,
no interior or no nothing.

Totally illegal
to be on the streets.

And he's like all strapped up.

NARRATOR: So Rafael did

what racers do.

He guns it.

[ENGINE REVVING]

I'm doing, like, 100
and something miles an hour.

[ENGINE REVVING]

He's just scared of that.

Nearly pee my pants.

I thought I was going to die.

NARRATOR:
It was the perfect ending.

KENNETH: The issue went out.

It took forever.
I almost forgot about it.

Then the studio called.

[BEEPS]

NARRATOR:
Studio execs Scott Stuber,

Holly Bario and Kevin Misher

agreed to option
Kenneth's expose,

but they did have
one reservation.

The executive producer asked,

"What do you think
the story is?"

The wrong answer
which is what I said was,

"Well, you read the story."

NARRATOR: And so, someone else

would need to turn
this slice of life

in the fast lane
into a movie script.

That's where this guy comes in.

My name is Gary Scott Thompson.

I am the original writer on
the first Fast and the Furious.

NARRATOR: But Gary wasn't
the studio's first choice.

The number I heard,
which I don't believe,

which was 250 writers
had looked at it

and couldn't crack it
or figure out

the way anybody wanted it.

NARRATOR: But he had
all the qualifications

needed to write about
illegal street racing.

Four hours after I got
my license on my 16th birthday,

I got a ticket for

reckless driving, racing,

failure to stop
at a posted sign, and...

There was a fourth thing on it

but I can't remember
what it was.

NARRATOR: And reading through
Kenneth's article,

Gary was stumped.

There's really not a story here,

so, what's a cool story?

And, obviously, I just went,

"Romeo and Juliet's
a cool story."

NARRATOR:
Gary figured he would write...

For I never saw true beauty
till this night.

Romeo and Juliet in cars.

It was a romance between

Paul Walker
and Jordana Brewster.

NARRATOR:
In which Mia was
Johnny Tran's little sister.

Dominic and Brian
were on the same side

like Romeo and Mercutio.

Universal was happy
with Gary's Shakespearean twist

on teenage anti-heroes
behind the wheel until...

Columbine happened.

REPORTER: A total of 15 people
are believed to have died here.

Investigators say this attack
appears to have been

carefully planned
for a long time.

When Columbine happened,

the studio comes back to
Gary Scott Thompson and says...

"We can't make this movie
because of Columbine.

"You know,
it came down from the top.

"No movies that depict
anything, like, bad like that."

NARRATOR:
The Columbine shooting
had rattled the nation,

and for months, studios
were unsure how to proceed.

It basically was dead.

NARRATOR: As America
was gripped by tragedy,

Gary Scott was losing
another opportunity.

I was like,
"They wanted to make this.

"Oh, my God, this is horrible."

NARRATOR:
But then, Gary had a brainwave,

thanks to some actual waves,

and a little bit of
Keanu Reeves.

I definitely
got a feeling on this.

He saw the way to re-imagine
the untitled Racer X script.

So, I called back

and I said, "Hey, guys,
this is what we do.

"I'm going to put Point Break
right over top of it."

NARRATOR:
In which an undercover cop

infiltrates a group of
thrill-seeking bank robbers.

Let me take that
Point Breakstructure

with an undercover cop,
that one's the hero,

and they said, "Okay, cool,
go try and make that happen."

NARRATOR: So Gary did,

replacing surfboards
with hot cars.

Now it was the story of
undercover cop, Brian O'Conner,

infiltrating
a diamond heist group

led by street racer
Dominic Toretto

and his import car gang.

I live my life
a quarter mile at a time.

NARRATOR: Only to fall in love
with Dominic's sister, Mia,

and the gang's
high-speed lifestyle.

And when Gary
turned in his script,

the project was given a title.

Redlinewas the working title.

NARRATOR: Universal then
brought the project to Neal,

and with Rob and Paul
signed on,

the search began for the Bodhi
to Paul's Johnny Utah.

It was time to address
the Olyphant in the room.

The studio said,
"If you get Timothy Olyphant

"to play Dominic Toretto,
you've got a green light."

NARRATOR: And while Olyphant
was a rising star,

he bore little resemblance
to Rafael.

The irony is
he had just finished doing

Gone in 60 Seconds.

Shit.

A movie that comes out
a year before Fast.

-Jeez!
-Keep your pants on.

It felt like it would be
a little too much

to star in back-to-back
car-oriented movies.

-NARRATOR: So Olyphant said...
-No.

-...in 60 seconds.
-Unbelievable.

And I thought, "No one's gonna
want to see this movie

"eight or nine different times."

NARRATOR: The door was open
for a new leading man.

And one Hollywood newcomer

not only bore a strong
resemblance to Rafael,

but he also had that
New York swagger.

Vin was a struggling actor,
you know, in New York for years.

He was working as a bouncer,
like, at a New York club.

NARRATOR:
But in 1995, he made a short

that would mean his
nightclub days were numbered.

Which audition are you here for?

Uh, the beer commercial.

Hey, man,
I'm gonna be honest with you.

You're a little too late.

Um, I actually
appreciate honesty.

Steven Spielberg
sees Multi-Facial

and specifically
carves out a role

in Saving Private Ryanfor Vin.

Captain, the decent thing to do

is to at least take her down
the road to the next town.

NARRATOR:
Spielberg wasn't the only one
captivated by Vin's short film.

So Neal Moritz
convinces the studio,

like, "This is the guy."
Like, "Vin Diesel's the guy."

NARRATOR: And unlike
the struggling actor he played
in Multi-Facial...

Neal Moritz said,
"Vin walks in

"and it was like
this kind of..."

This light just shined on him,

like, "Oh, my God,"
like, "Who is this guy?

"This guy's a movie star."

Right.

Neal Moritz is right.

He had a glow.

NARRATOR: Suddenly,
Neal realized it was his film

that was being auditioned,
not the other way around.

Thankfully,
Vin likes what he heard.

He says what, you know,

instantly made him
want to sign up

is they described a scene
early on in the film

where he's in the car
and he kind of hits the gas

and it then
goes through his body

and then into the car.

[TIRES SCREECH]

As he described it, it's like
merging man and machine,

and he's like, "I'm in.
I... I'm doing it."

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, producers
had settled on a relative

unknown for the role
of Dom's girlfriend.

Michelle Rodriguez,

she had only done one movie
at this point,

you know, Girlfight,which was
a really big indie breakout.

She was incredible in it.

Then she gets cast as Letty.

I smell [SNIFFS] skanks.

Very tough, very aggressive.

I think one of the more
legitimate characters.

NARRATOR:
But for the film's Juliet,

producers went in
a slightly different direction

when they cast up-and-comer,
Jordana Brewster.

I believe she was going
to Yale at the time.

So very different background
from Vin, or Paul, or Michelle.

And she admits to being pretty
intimidated walking into that.

Chad Lindberg here.

I was tapped to play
the sensitive Jesse,

but I nearly blew it.

And at that time,
I thought I wanted to be

a very serious
independent actor, okay?

Very, very serious.

So I actually turned down
the audition.

Like an idiot.

Oh, God!

The next day, another agent
called me from the same agency.

He's like,
"Yo, Chad, Just go in.

"Go in. Let 'em see you."

"All right, I'll do it."

And that was it.
We all read together,

and later that day
I got the phone call

that I had booked Redline.

Was this
the kind of intelligence

I can expect from you, O'Conner?

NARRATOR:
To play Agent Bilkins,

Thom Barry
was not the first choice.

Denise Chamion was...
Was the casting director,

and they were
trying to get someone,

I don't... I don't remember.
I don't know who it was,

but it didn't work out.

And Denise Chamion suggested me.

Are you gonna make me a liar?

Hot rods and muscle cars.

I'm like, "Yeah.
We can do that all day."

NARRATOR: With Rick Yune
cast as the rival, Johnny Tran,

the rapper Ja Rule as Edwin,

Matt Schulze as Vince,
and Johnny Strong as Leon

The Fast and the Furious family
was coming together.

But like any family,
there were disagreements.

There was a lot of,
you know, push and pull

when it came to the actors.

Re-evaluation of plot lines,
you know, of the overall script.

NARRATOR: Screenwriters
David Ayer and Erik Bergquist

were drafted in
to punch up the script.

David Ayer was this young writer

who grew up
on the south side of L.A.

on the streets,
kind of knew this world.

And David Ayer basically said,

"Yeah, I'll do this

"if I can set it
in a world I know."

NARRATOR: That world
was a long way from New York.

We talked about
moving to California

because it would be very costly
to shoot in New York.

NARRATOR:
So the script was updated

to the sunny streets
of Los Angeles,

and Universal gaveRedline
the green light.

It was a pretty good script,
I thought.

Even though they continue
to make changes,

that's kind of normal.

NARRATOR:
As the executive producer,

Doug was in charge of
making the picture

run on time and on budget.

I came in and physically
produced the picture,

budget, schedule,
put the crew together.

NARRATOR: Doug had experience
with film logistics

having runApocalypse Now
like a military operation.

I love the smell of napalm
in the morning.

That started my career
in the movie business.

NARRATOR:
But even by Doug's standards,

coordinating hundreds of cars
was a challenge

that needed someone who knew
how to move fast cars fast.

My name's David Marder,

and I was
the transportation coordinator.

NARRATOR:
David had seen it all before.

I did a movie years ago
called Days of Thunder.

Hell, I thought
this was gonna be a joke.

That's how they found me
for Fast and Furious

'cause I could do
big car movies.

NARRATOR: David had
the expertise to join the team,

but actually, he was already
part of the extended family.

My wife, Kool Marder,

was vice president of production
for Universal features,

overseeing
The Fast and the Furious,

so, you know,
nepotism begins at home.

NARRATOR: But no sooner
had David signed on,

then someone slashed his tires.

That is to say, his budget.

They had a new
head of production come in,

and he came in and said,

"We can make this picture
for $25 million."

-[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
-But at that time,

just a regular walk-and-talk
picture at Universal

was 30 to 40 million.

And for 25,
it wouldn't be a car movie.

Or if it was, there wouldn't be
any car crashes whatsoever.

NARRATOR: And if it wasn't
really a proper car movie,

it wasn't for David.

We were, like, eight weeks away
from filming.

My wife Kool said, "They're
asking you to do something

"that's totally impossible.

"You'll get a coronary
from this."

NARRATOR:
So David put his foot down

and not on the gas.

I walked into Doug's office
and I said,

"I quit. I can't do this."

NARRATOR:
Universal had a budget
in mind forRedline,

but at 25 million, for David,
it crossed the line.

And I had never
quit a show before, ever.

NARRATOR: That was all it took
to send a message to Universal.

And then, they must have had
some meetings

'cause Doug said, you know,
"Start spending money."

NARRATOR: And just like that,
his $25 million budget

got bumped up to a more
reasonable 38 million,

which is more than enough
to cover his first purchase.

Doug Claybourne handed me
a picture of a Supra and said,

"This is the type of car
they want."

NARRATOR: David went
to his local newsstand

and picked up
a copy ofSuper Street.

DAVID:
I'm thumbing through it.

I come to an ad for something
called NIRA, which is...

National
Import Racing Association,

focusing 100%
on Japanese tuner cars.

And there's a photograph
of the yellow Supra right there.

I took mine and I went, "Wow!"

There was a phone number
which led me to Craig.

NARRATOR:
It would be Craig Lieberman,

who was then
executive director of NIRA,

but was still rather shocked

that Hollywood was calling him
of all people.

You got to remember,
I'm Joe Nobody,

NARRATOR:
But he did own the Supra,

which he had customized
and tuned to the tune of...

About 40 grand.

NARRATOR: But what really
interested producers

is Mr. Nobody's connections.

What's the most important thing
about this movie?

You've got to find
the real people that do this

so it's authentic.

NARRATOR:
Craig was the real deal,

and to prove it,
he agreed to meet producers

and show off his car.

So they're coming out
and I had the hood popped

and I had the trunk popped,

and everybody's asking
all these questions

about the car
and that kind of stuff.

NARRATOR:
But director Rob Cohen
had only one key question,

and there was only one way
to answer it.

So Rob decides
he wants to go for a ride.

So I get on the 101 freeway
about 2:00 in the afternoon

and I just jump on the gas.

I looked down,
I'm doing 130, allegedly.

And I don't think he was scared.

I think it was excited about it,
you know.

NARRATOR: And just like that,
this Joe Nobody was a somebody

on a major motion picture.

Rob says to me, "You're hired.
You're a technical advisor."

And I said to Dave,
"What is that?"

He goes,
"Don't worry, you'll find out."

NARRATOR:
And David needed his help

sourcing the 50 cars
needed for the film,

and fast.

We were under the gun,

and so, I got with Craig

and we had a casting call.

NARRATOR: Just like
you would for an actor.

But this time, it was for cars.

They need to portray the cars
a certain way,

so they have to look
over-exaggerated.

So they wanted cars
with big wings,

fancy graphics,
a bunch of audio video,

flashy wheels
and all that kind of stuff.

NARRATOR: Within days,

Craig had assembled
some of the fastest wheels

in Southern California.

And in the Universal backlot,

we must have had
70 or 80 cars come up.

And Rob and the producers
and everybody,

they all walked through these
and I kind of told them,

"If you wanna start this movie
at the time you wanna start it,

"out of these cars
you got to pick your cars."

NARRATOR: And they had to go
shopping on a budget.

I think it was only $1 million,
or $2 million total

for all the picture cars.

NARRATOR:
Having Craig onboard saved them

from making several
embarrassing mistakes.

If you look at the script,

Paul Walker was originally
in a Mitsubishi 3000GT

and then he went
into an Eclipse,

which is going downhill.

NARRATOR:
Meaning it was a slower car.

-So that's the wrong car.
-But Craig suggested...

We get the Mitsubishi Eclipse
as a starter car

and then a Supra
as a second car.

NARRATOR: Craig also had
a problem with Dom's car.

They had, like, a front wheel
drive Buick LeSabre

for Vin Diesel's car,
which would not have worked.

NARRATOR: Instead,
Craig recommended a Mazda RX-7.

But it was a tight fit
for Vin Diesel

'cause he's a big guy
and it's a little car.

NARRATOR:
And for the rest of the cast,

our producers got Leon
an R33 Nissan Skyline,

-Jesse a VW Jetta...
-Yeah!

...Letty a Nissan 240SX,

and even Mia got a pimped out
Acura Integra.

Which worked out okay.

[CHUCKLES]

NARRATOR: And just as fast as
Craig was setting them up,

David was knocking them down.

I made deals with these people
to take their cars,

and we started replicating them.

NARRATOR:
Meaning they started making

cheaper stunt car versions

that they could wreck
if needed.

Including Craig's Supra.

And I was laughing at them.

"Oh, yeah, sure, sure.

"Do you know what it took me
to build that car?"

Two weeks later,
there's four of them identical

sitting next to my car
in the parking lot.

-So I had to use the key fob...
-[CAR UNLOCKING BEEPS]

...to identify
which car was my car.

NARRATOR:
And just like the producers

were learning the ins and outs
of import car culture,

so were the actors.

Vin and Paul actually went

to a real street race in L.A.,

like, a real illegal
street race.

Vin said they didn't tell
anybody that they were doing it,

but they just went,
and then, like in the movies...

-[INDISTINCT POLICE CHATTER
ON RADIO]
-Oh, shit.

We got cops, cops,
cops, cops! Go!

...the cops do show up

and everyone
just starts running.

And Vin finally remembers

running down a highway
with Paul.

And as he said, that was kind of

the beginning
of their brotherhood,

like, it was kind of
an instant bond they had.

NARRATOR: While the male leads
risked lives and liberty,

the film's director
was busy arranging

a less perilous means
for his cast to connect.

There was a two-week
rehearsal period.

You dive into the script
and you...

You really talk about
the characterizations.

NARRATOR:
But most importantly...

They were building their family.

NARRATOR:
A key member of this family

was going to be
the adult in the room

when it came to the stunts.

My name's Mic Rodgers.

I was the stunt coordinator

and the second unit director
for all the action.

You know,
I'm a purist for action.

I think I'm known for that.

And director Rob Cohen
knew exactly

what kind of action
Redline needed.

Rob had a really clear idea
of what he wanted in the action.

He wanted it
as real as possible.

NARRATOR: But Universal,
and more importantly,

their insurance department
put up some major roadblocks.

Universal is not going to want
any of the actors driving.

NARRATOR:
So Mic had to devise a way

to get his actors
behind the wheel

without them actually driving.

And so, I came up
with the Mic Rig.

NARRATOR: Mic's idea was as
simple as the name he gave it.

This was an ingenious invention.

-[TIRES SCREECHING]
-So you take a fan,

you take the box off it...

NARRATOR:
Then you grab the hero car,

or rather,
one of the stunt replicas.

...gut the car itself...

...and we literally
fillet them...

NARRATOR: And you drop
what's left of that car

onto the back of the truck.

...to get them low enough

so the vantage point

was as if they were sitting
on their wheels.

NARRATOR:
The Mic Rig was a game changer,

but the actors inside it

would still need to look like
they knew how to drive.

Michelle Rodriguez
and Jordana Brewster

didn't even drive a car.
They didn't know how to.

She lived in New York,
there was no need for it.

NARRATOR: Mic had a way
to fix that in short order.

I took 'em to Dodger Stadium.

Within 30 minutes,
I had them throwing

-180 button hooks around.
-[TIRES SCREECHING]

And we had a lot of fun.

NARRATOR: But the car park
was just a warm-up.

It was time
for a weekend in Vegas.

[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]

They wanted us to bond,

so they took us
to a huge Formula One track

outside of Vegas

and they let us race.

It's like method directing.

Rob wanted them all
for their characters

to get the feeling
of what it would be like

going 120 miles an hour.

So they had to really be
kind of soaked into the,

"Here's what it's all about."

NARRATOR:
By the end of the weekend,

the cast could
drive their cars,

but could they drive a story

that audiences
would find convincing?

NARRATOR: Shooting on
The Fast and the Furious,

orRedline
as it was known then,

began in the summer of 2000.

First day of shooting
was Dodger Stadium.

NARRATOR: Which meant stunts
right out of the gate.

...with Paul in a car
in the Mic Rig.

We jumped it. We chased it.

We did all this stuff in it.

NARRATOR:
The Mic Rig's first day out

was so successful,

they can almost cancel
their green screen booking.

Turned out to be
just the ticket.

It looked real.

NARRATOR:
With a tight schedule,

the crew split into two
to cover more ground.

The first opening sequence
of Fast and Furious

is all second unit.

NARRATOR: And even for a movie
with "fast" in the title,

this production
was happening at speed.

Most of the gags
and stuff like that

were done
at 30, 35 miles an hour.

But these we were doing them
at 55, 60 miles an hour.

You can see the look is better.

The most tense time
I had on that show,

where the Honda
goes under the truck.

NARRATOR: One of the most
dangerous stunts in the movie

was going to be a rush
in more ways than one.

We didn't have any time.

We were getting stuff ready,
you know,

like an hour
before it had to shoot.

The paint was still wet on it.

NARRATOR:
And David had to be sure

the Honda could manage
a terrifying limbo dance.

I measured a Honda

and I took the trailer
down to a trailer outfit in L.A.

and we raised it
because, you know,

cars don't go under trailers.

NARRATOR:
It was a case of measure twice,

yell "cut" once.

As we're ready to do this thing,

I finally realized

I never checked if it fit.

And it was kind of
like the "oh" moment.

NARRATOR:
It was too late to yell "cut."

The cars
were already in motion.

It's just kind of like
my heart was in my throat

and I saw this car fly under it.

And I went... [INHALES DEEPLY,
EXHALES SHARPLY]

NARRATOR: Having a Honda
fit under a semi-truck

was a touch of
creative license.

But it sure
wasn't the only one.

They don't do
a four-lane wide drag race,

which was a little
creative license,

I think everybody noticed that.

But the energy
is certainly there.

NARRATOR: Thanks in part
to extras with extra...

who brought not only
their own energy...

[TIRES SCREECHING]

...but their own
very expensive props.

We couldn't afford 1,000 cars.

NARRATOR: So producers
reached out to Kenneth Li

to pull on the connections
he forged

researching the original
Racer X article
that started it all.

At the time,
I did advise the studio

to look up, you know,
a few people.

There was a guy R.J. de Vera,
who's actually in the film.

NARRATOR: Although young,

R.J. de Vera was already
a SoCal street racing legend.

Of course, you get the Asian
dude on the PlayStation,

right, in the car. Jeez.

He helped bring the car
enthusiasts to the table.

When they heard he was involved,
they wanted to be involved.

NARRATOR:
Thanks to R.J. and his friends,

the people in the background

weren't just fading
into the background.

And these were extras
bringing their cars.

When you have that,

especially
when you shoot nights,

normally, you lose about
20% of your background

because they get bored,
they get tired.

NARRATOR:
ButRedline was the rare case

where background extras
didn't leave. In fact...

We started with 50 cars.
The next night...

we had 100 cars,

and the night after that,
we had 150 cars.

And it became
a big street party.

NARRATOR: It was so much fun,

director Rob Cohen
decided to crash the party...

-[RECORD SCRATCHING]
-What the hell's
going on around here?

NARRATOR:
...with a little cameo
as the pizza boy.

He's a horrible actor, Rob.

Just... let's be honest.

NARRATOR: But it's
the performance of Mic Rodger

that's truly impressive.

I had to choreograph
and map out

where they had to park

so I could exit them
off the street...

in 15 seconds.

Cops, cops, cops! Go!

NARRATOR: It would have to be
a one-take wonder.

And by the way...

We were liable for any damage
done to the cars.

And I had to have a meeting
and talking to all these people.

They're all just
having too much fun.

-NARRATOR: But when
the cameras began to roll...
-[SIREN WAILING]

It was like...

[TIRES SCREECHING]

Fifteen, 20 seconds,
the street was completely empty.

Nobody got in a wreck.

Nobody got killed.

Maybe we had, like,
two scratched fenders.

And that was it,
from three nights of filming.

Rob was just like,
"Dude, that was good."

I go, "We're really lucky,
okay, let's move on."

NARRATOR:
And while safety on the set

ofThe Fast and the Furious
was paramount...

MAN: Fire in the hole. Action.

...one death was unavoidable.

The joke with my family,
with my manager,

always, the first thing
if I get a part,

"Do you die?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

NARRATOR:
The Fast and the Furious
would be no exception.

"Why? Why do you always die?"

"Well, it's because of this.

"Because I just have this face

"that when I die on screen,
you feel bad."

NARRATOR: But dying on screen

is sometimes
easier said than done.

There was a lot
I had to hit that day.

I had to hit the mark
with the car.

I'm all loaded up with squibs.

I had all this, uh, business
going on.

And I kept coming in
and hitting my mark

and then just not
quite bringing it.

I am so sorry.

So Rob Cohen comes out and goes,

"Come on, Chad,
give me one of this. Come on.

"You're really gonna do it."

[SCOFFS]
So I'm like, "All right."

So the last one,
I finally bring it in,

I come in hot, I do my thing.

What were you thinking, man?

I don't know.
I panicked. I'm sorry.

-NARRATOR:
And without a doubt...
-I kill it.

NARRATOR: Or rather,
Johnny Tran kills it.

And the one thing I remember

is Paul Walker
running out of the driveway

in front of everybody
and gives me a big hug

and he's like,
"That was amazing, bro."

That's just the kind of guy
he was, you know what I mean?

NARRATOR: But while the action
on set was good,

what David Marder was hearing
from Universal was not.

I have an inside track
because of my wife.

And she used to go
to the dailies.

And all the film they were
seeing ofFast and Furious

was Paul Walker and Vin Diesel
talking and walking.

It wasn't very exciting.

NARRATOR:
Studio execs over at Universal

were starting to get
a little worried.

Universal thought
their big summer hit

was Josie and the Pussycats.

And they just thought

Fast and Furious
was just like,

"Eh, it's a flop."

So, Kool went to Rob,

and she said,
"The picture's in trouble."

NARRATOR:
Universal had gone cold

on its summer blockbuster.

Luckily, Kool Marder
had a suggestion

for director, Rob Cohen.

"Why don't you make a trailer

"of all the B-roll, the stunts,

"put a driving soundtrack
behind it

"and show that at dailies?"

NARRATOR:
Cohen liked the idea, and...

He did.

NARRATOR:
Every action-packed moment

was put into a trailer...

When you drive fast,
you just need music

that'll match your intensity.

NARRATOR:
...effectively re-pitching
the movie to the studio...

And it was killer.

So what do you say,
am I worthy?

Universal hierarchy went...

BRIAN: Wow.

I just felt
the whole tone change.

NARRATOR: And it wasn't
just the tone that changed.

Inside information from my wife,

they upped the budget
to $42 million.

NARRATOR: With millions
added to the budget,

the film now had every chance
of being a hit.

Speaking of hits,

while producers continue
to fight for their film,

their leading lady
was coming out

swinging in more ways than one.

Michelle Rodriguez
was fighting from the beginning

to do better for her character.

NARRATOR:
And director Rob Cohen
liked what he saw.

Michelle had just
come off Girlfight.

And so, Rob said, "Well,

I'm just gonna have her
throw the punch 'cause...

And she threw
this tremendous fake punch

that looked so real.

-[IMPACT GRUNTS]
-This character, Letty,

she's not just gonna stand by

and, like, watch her crew
get in a fight

and just, like,
be on the sidelines.

She's gonna mix it up.
She's gonna get in the action.

Why don't you girls
just pack it up

before I leave tread marks
on your face?

NARRATOR: But Letty's
best maneuvers were so daring,

they needed a stuntwoman
worthy of the character

in every regard.

I'm Debbie Evans
and I'm a stunt performer.

NARRATOR:
Mic Rodgers called on Debbie

to reprise the first act's
centerpiece stunts...

Going under a truck.

And he goes,
"Your character has to drive

"underneath a semi-truck.

"And then, get hit.

"And flip off
the side of the road."

NARRATOR:
She just happened to be

perfectly qualified
for the job.

DEBBIE:
I said, "Well, I've driven
under a semi-truck before."

And he went, "What?"

NARRATOR: Mic could
probably be forgiven

for not having seen the classic
1986 John Stamos action film...

Never Too Young to Die.

NARRATOR: Luckily, she was.

It was kind of ironic.

NARRATOR: Just like
the character she doubled for,

Debbie's work
has always led her

into places few women tread.

They didn't like to
let women drive much

'cause the guys like to take
all the driving jobs.

You should be watching
from the side.

I wouldn't wanna get the exhaust
on that pretty face.

NARRATOR: So Debbie broke into
the Hollywood stunt scene

the only way she could:

by outdoing the men.

So I was picked to go against

nine of the top guys
in Hollywood

in a car race, motorcycle race,
and a horse race,

and I beat them in the car race.

See ya.

And then they went, "Wow!

"There's somebody
with some talent

"we could really trust
in those positions."

NARRATOR:
Including this position

that had Letty driving
under a truck at high-speed.

We were doing like 65,
almost 70 miles an hour.

You have three inches of room
at the top of the roof.

And I need to have
my exact marks

where I needed to stay

in order to
not get into the wheels.

She just went...

That's one take.
There's not two.

She was laughing.

She was having so much fun.

NARRATOR:
Fun for the professionals.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

But there was one stunt
in the film

that was no laughing matter.

Even the stunt guys

were a little bit leery
about the setup.

NARRATOR:
'Cause for this showstopper...

their lives and reputations
would depend

on a rather modest contraption.

That's called a pipe ramp.

It's a piece
of really strong tubing

going up at an angle,

so the car goes up the ramp

and it's flipping the car over
at that time.

NARRATOR:
And launching it high enough

to allow for the second
component of the stunt.

I gotta have time
for the car to get lifted

and fly at 10 ft

so that Chris Tuck
can drive underneath it

'cause I've got a camera
locked off in his car.

That shot's not CG.

I mean, people just think
it's fake. It's not.

NARRATOR: With cameras
carefully placed...

A 600 mm lens,

a 300 mm lens,

camera mic
over here on the side.

NARRATOR: ...including the one
position to catch this shot.

Crash box is the box
that you put the camera in

so that when the car
lands on it,

it doesn't break the camera.

NARRATOR: It was just
a matter of yelling "action."

It's the moment.
It's gotta work.

Stand by, we're gonna...
Rolling cameras. I turn over,

and here's
the craft service guy,

he's trying to
give out sandwiches.

You know, I gotta eat.

Then I go,
"Get the...out of here!

"What are you doing?"

And he goes,
"Oh, I'm really sorry."

NARRATOR:
As the sandwich man piped down,

this pipe ramp
became the instrument

played by
a virtuoso stunt driver

to produce
this soaring symphony.

75 miles an hour.

Everybody was so pleased.

NARRATOR: Now, the sandwiches
could be dispensed

for a celebration feast.

I get a phone call one day
from David Marder.

Hey, what would they say
if, like, sitting around a...

"A table and they want to do
like a prayer before eating?"

-JESSE: Dear Heavenly...
-Spirit.

Spirit.

So I came up with...

[READING]

-Amen.
-MIA: Amen.

Not bad.

And I was flabbergasted
when they actually used it.

NARRATOR:
AsThe Fast and the Furious
wrapped in October of 2000,

Rob Cohen's family
of filmmakers

knew they had something
worth toasting.

He brought
a real sense of family

and heart to the movie.

NARRATOR:
A mood perhaps summed up
by this deleted scene.

See, this is nice.

-What's nice?
-All of this.

You know,
the picnic and the barbecue.

It's like a family.

GEORGE:
Rob is a true team leader.

His cast loved him.

He set that tone.

He had his hand on that pulse.

NARRATOR:
But whether Rob Cohen's movie

had his finger on the pulse
of its intended audience

remained to be seen.

NARRATOR:
After pulling off stunts

as bold as the heists
they depicted,

all the hard work
was done. Right?

Well, I, uh... I'm gonna...
I'm gonna be honest with you.

This movie was made in post.

When you get into post

and you start adding sound
and you start adding music,

everything that happened
in post just elevated

the energy of this film.

NARRATOR: But post production
onThe Fast and the Furious

also shone a new light
on all that action

and to get
a family friendly rating,

the MPAA asked them
to tone it down.

It was probably just
a little bit too, um... graphic?

NARRATOR: And one scene
in particular needed a hand.

A less bloody one,
to be precise.

I can't get my arm free!

We're working to try to earn
our PG-13 rating.

NARRATOR:
Alongside editor Peter Honess,

director Rob Cohen
had to find a way

to tone down the gore
without compromising the story.

The one that looks like
it's cut at the bone

is the one that I think
is too much.

NARRATOR: But cutting the gore
out of the film

wasn't the only thing they had
to change aboutRedline.

The title was never great.

It's... It was always
kind of a B movie title.

NARRATOR: Even though
some people liked it.

Redlineis a cool name.

NARRATOR: Over dinner,
Neal Moritz's father

suggested the name
"The Fast and the Furious"

after the 1955
Roger Corman film

with the same name.

"Call Roger and see if you can

"get the rights to the title."

NARRATOR:
And Neal did just that.

So I had a very
pleasant luncheon meeting

with Neal and he said
he'd like to, uh, acquire

the rights to the title.

NARRATOR:
So the two settled on a number.

But Roger had a gladiator
picture in production,

so he asked for
a little something extra.

I asked for rights
to their stock film library

that I can utilize
for low budget films.

So, I did score
a little bit on that.

NARRATOR: With that deal,
both filmmakers

were able to finish
their works of art.

On June 18, 2001,

Universal Studios debuted

the newly titled
The Fast and the Furious

to rapturous audiences.

I didn't expect. This is...
This is pretty unreal.

We knew we had a hit

when every kid got in their car

and they peeled out of
the parking lot. We were like,

"What did we just do?"

These guys went crazy,

and tires were screeching

and you get the sense

that the movie
has gone home with them.

NARRATOR:
All signs suddenly pointed
toThe Fast and the Furious

being more than just a hit.

It blew up
in the craziest way.

It was all those car owners.

Remember the first scene
with the Honda Civic

go under the trailer?

Two-thirds of the audience were
on their feet cheering and...

I have never seen that
in any movie.

NARRATOR:
This movie that started
with a $25 million budget

had graduated
to blockbuster status

in a matter of days.

We all fought so hard
to get it made,

and so when it came out,
you were, like, vindicated.

And then we get calls
over the weekend,

the picture had done
40 million first weekend.

Just before the movie came out,
my mom said,

"Chad, you want to have
a screening back home,

"so all the family and friends
can come see it?"

And I literally said
these words. I go,

"Mom, no one's ever
going to see this film."

NARRATOR:
But people did come to see it.

Not only to see the cars
they were madly in love with,

but to see themselves

and their culture
reflected on screen.

And I think that's why
Fast and Furious

became such a phenomenon,

because it hit the pulse

of what young people
wanted to be,

and they now had a role model.

Anywhere that I went,
it was just a scene.

And then I knew,
"Oh, this is different."1

I said to my wife, I said,

"I think they're gonna have
a cult classic."

NARRATOR:
And no one was more shocked
than the execs at Universal.

They had no idea.

No one really thought much of it
'cause it was,

as Neal Moritz said, "It was,
like, maybe the cheapest movie

"Universal made that year."

NARRATOR: And as for that film
that Universal thought
was gonna win the summer...

You don't see any Josie
and the Pussycatsfranchise.

NARRATOR: But not everybody
was celebrating.

Despite being a big advocate
for the film,

Kool Marder was let go.

They didn't pick up
her contract.

NARRATOR: Even telling her...

"You really do a great job
around here.

"Everybody really likes you.
You know, you're really good,

"but I don't think
there's a place for you here."

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, as the film grossed
over 200 million worldwide,

Universal execs
were clamoring for more.

You know it's successful
at the box office,
obviously well enough,

where, you know, there's
immediately talk of a sequel.

NARRATOR: But will the team

that took
The Fast and the Furious

from a B movie
to an instant classic

agree to return?

[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]