STACK NZ Aug #65

20 / 62

It’s been almost 15 years
since the F&F team first
took to the streets of LA.
How do you wrap your
head around this ride that
you’ve been on for years?
VIN DIESEL: The first thing
I do is think how blessed I am
to be a part of something that
has reached the kind of success
that none of us ever really anticipated.
And so much has happened to me in my
personal life; I’ve become a father and I’d like
to think that I matured a little bit. I can’t stress
enough how much of an impossible task this
might have felt like 15 years ago.
Each time out you’ve upped the ante:
more cars, bigger, better action, but the
heart and the emotion have certainly
been pumped in Fast & Furious 7 . How
important is that balance?
My approach to filmmaking is always
one of integrity, regardless of whether
it’s a drama piece or whether
it lives in the world of action.
The idea that we could even
attempt to one-up the stunts
and the action sequences is
fun, and it’s a rich challenge.
But increasing the emotional
stakes is what will set this saga
apart from any other movie. The
emotional heartbeat of the movie is
something that everyone we know can
relate to – everyone we know is invested in.
The idea that the films are finally in
sequential order, the way that you intended
them to be, how does that feel?
Miraculous. The fact that the audience has
allowed us to jump around in the chronology of
Fast and has been willing to take that ride, and
has stayed with us, is a feat in itself, because,
you know, Fast & Furious 7 is the first time we
are beyond Tokyo Drift. There’s something very
exciting about that, because now we’re truly
in a new frontier. One of the most important
reasons for doing the movie was to now
go onto that unknown road that is Fast &
Furious 7 and beyond.
After all the team has been through, is
it all catching up with them now?
All the events from the previous movies,
and even some events that the audience
has never seen before but they know are
in the mythology of Fast & Furious, will all
come together in this movie. Questions are
answered and new thoughts are proposed.
And you’ll see when you watch the movie,
that themes that have been initiated
THE ROAD
AHEAD
After almost 15 years behind the wheel, Vin Diesel
drives into a new frontier in Fast & Furious 7.
20
visit DVD&BD Feature
AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi
Vin Diesel with director
James Wan