Vin Diesel is adorable

Fast and Furious is a gloriously dumb franchise that has become incredibly successful selling the dream that anything – fame, fortune, gold necklaces, women, well-moisturized arms – can be yours, as long as you put enough aftermarket body work into your Honda Civic. To his credit, Paul Walker has always seemed like he’s just enjoying the ride (the episode of MTV Cribs set in his surfer-dude RV being a particular highlight), and you can’t blame him for that. Vin Diesel, on the other hand, who unlike Walker has actually done some decent acting work on occasion, seems to be taking all of this SUPER SERIOUSLY. Interpreting the ongoing appeal of vroomy car porn as validation that they’re making Important Art, and denied proper awards consideration simply because the films appeal to the working class. Though it’s not just Fast and Furious. Diesel once wrote of his Chronicles of Riddick sequel, “Money is always second to art, integrity and spirit… but the real issue is deeper. Can I suspend my life, to momentarily venture to that dark place.”

Isn’t he great? Diesel was back on Facebook this week to discuss Fast 6 screenings and the possibility of Fast 7 in typical Diesel fashion.

There was an early screening in LA this week of Fast 6. The crowd reaction was surreal… and their demand for the continuation was powerful…

It’s remarkable to think I first embodied this character in 1999… and the evolution continues.

P.s. Filming begins this summer in LA, where it all started… talk about a studio in sync with the audience…

/smile

Vin Diesel strikes me as a guy who spends a lot of time talking about his “brand.”

Audience demand for 7 Fast 7 Furious was palpable. I’ll tell you… It hasn’t always been an easy task as an Actor, taking this Dom Toretto character home to my baby girl. A guy who lives his life a quarter mile at a time. Who respects no authority and never narcs on his homeboys. But on the final day of shooting, as I watched The Rock piledrive that terrorist off a suspension bridge, before I even knew what was happening… My eyes felt wet. My hands were coming together in a slow clap. The performance was just so… so brave. In a way that bypasses your brain and goes right through your pectoral muscle to your biggest muscle of all, the muscle of heart. And it was then that I knew that all those times I’d been a jerk to my wife and my kids and my bengal tigers, just because I’d brought this bad boy home with me had all been worth it. I could see it written in the shining eyes of fans, the fan letters from Jiffy Lube employees. 7 Fast 7 Furious is for the children.

/smile. //preacher curl.

See also: Vin Diesel Goes to the DMV.

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