20 facts you might not know about 'The Fast and the Furious'

Every massively successful movie series has to start somewhere. Sometimes, the success seems preordained.

Rob Cohen, who directed The Fast and the Furious, got the idea for the film off of a 1998 article in Vibe about illegal street racing in New York City.

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Given how the series has played out, it’s hard to imagine a world where The Fast and the Furious has a different title.

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Roger Corman was the king of low-budget independent filmmaking, and he  helped bolster a lot of careers. He also had a knack for titles,  apparently. In 1954

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Universal was ready to green light the film, but they had one condition: they wanted Timothy Olyphant to play Dominic Toretto.

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Neal Moritz, one of the producers of The Fast and the Furious, had seen Vin Diesel in some of his smaller, supporting roles and liked him as an actor.

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The movie had its Dom, but what about Brian, the undercover cop who  infiltrates the street racing world? For that role, the studio wanted  Eminem, who wasn’t an actor.

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Eminem was out of the picture, but the filmmakers still had some ideas.  They considered Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, though both were  likely too big to sign on for the movie, even by then.

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Clearly, That seems to include Eliza Dushku. Apparently, Mia Toretto was written  with Dushku in mind, but she still turned down the role.

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Dushku was out, but some actresses were apparently interested in playing  Mia. In the mix were Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jessica Biel, and a pre-Spider-Man Kirsten Dunst.

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David Ayer had his first screenplay credit in 2000 with U-571, and in 2001, he made waves with Training Day. He was also brought on to do a rewrite on The Fast and the Furious.

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Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez had a bit of an issue facing  when they were cast. Specifically, neither of them had a driver’s  license.

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There are plenty of practical car stunts done in The Fast and the Furious. In fact, 78 cars were wrecked in making the movie. One of the stunts wasn’t real, though.

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The Fast and the Furious did a reverse Edward Scissorhands. In the latter film, houses were painted to look bright and garish. For The Fast and the Furious

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In the script, Dom is 24, which makes sense given where he is in life.  If you weren’t aware of that, you might not peg Toretto as being 24.

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The film on television at Dom’s house is Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. It’s pretty easy to figure out why that movie was chosen.

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A PG-13 rating is the sweet spot for most films looking to take in a lot  of cash. By getting an R rating, you lose some of your potential  audience.

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This is a film franchise known for a loose tether to reality when it comes to physics, but The Fast and the Furious is a little more sensible and down to earth.

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The music of The Fast and the Furious isn’t necessarily famous, and yet, two soundtracks were released for the movie.

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The Fast and the Furious didn’t have any big stars, or much in  the way of critical acclaim. It was made for $38 million, which is not a  big budget for a studio action movie.

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The surprise success of The Fast and the Furious gave us a sequel in 2 Fast 2 Furious, a title we will always remember.

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