A key action sequence in Fast X was shot in the window where there wasn’t actually a director on board the movie: more here.
There will be a point in the future when somebody will write the definitive history of the Fast & Furious saga, in particular covering its last three or four films. There are clearly stories going on behind the scenes, not least the one that led to director Justin Lin quitting the latest film, Fast X, just as cameras were rolling.
Lin, who has several Fast & Furious movies to his name, was replaced in the end by Louis Leterrier, but only after early filming had got underway. And that meant that a sizeable action moment was shot without having the film’s director involved in any way.
Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron, as spied in the Fast X trailer, exchange blows in the film, and Rodriguez confirmed to Vanity Fair that their battle was shot in the gap between directors. “Can I just tell you – no pun intended, but Charlize is a monster”, Rodriguez told the outlet.
“We shot our fight sequence with no director. Bro, like hands down, drop mic, we nailed it. We were there, we don’t need [a director], let’s do this”.
And do this they duly did. With a second unit director on hand, the footage was captured, and filming could continue.
We’ll still not clear why Lin quit, and what involvement series lead and clear power-base Vin Diesel had. That’s a tale for a long time into the future though by the looks of things.
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