The explosive performance of Summer 2001 blockbuster The Fast and the Furious may have surprised some in the motion picture industry, but for successful filmmaker Neal H. Moritz, it was no surprise at all. The producer felt that the film had allowed thrill-seeking moviegoers a one-of-a-kind ride-a flashy combination of a last-moving plot, supercharged vehicles, amazingly hot actors and slick, cutting edge filmmaking techniques. That summer’s moviegoers wholeheartedly embraced the Fast and the Furious-the film’s outstanding performance at the box office (nor to mention being acclaimed by such lauded critics as Ebert & Roeper) primed it for a follow-up.
Morirz says, "Because of the incredible response to The Fast and the Furious, we knew we had struck a chord with young audiences. I believe we had tapped into a culture-the very urban world of street racing. It really resonated with our fans, who continued to support the film when it hit the streets on DVD and video-I mean, it really just exploded again, allowing even more people a chance to rake the ride. We knew they were ready for another film, but only if we delivered one with the same authenticity and edge as the first. Well, we’ve done just that."
And as if Moritz and the team behind those fast and furious projects needed any more evidence that the youth culture was hungry for more, studies conducted by Teen Research Unlimited or TRU (a marketing research firm specializing exclusively in teenagers) confirmed the phenomenon: in both TRU’s Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 study results, The Fast and the Furious was ranked as teens’ all-time favorite movie.
For Oscar-nominated director John Singleton, watching the original film gave him an eerie sense of deja vu. Singleton explains, "When I saw The Fast and the Furious, I was like, 'Damn, why didn’t I think of that?’ Growing tip in South Central L.A., we had street races all the time. We sort of had car shows along Crenshaw Boulevard, people lining up their cars with the snazzy wheel rims and hydraulics. And late at night, they’d race between Crenshaw and Florence, and into Inglewood and around Centinela Park. I referenced it in Boyz N the Hood."
The director sides with Moritz on the fact that the world of street racing is one that most young audiences either want to see or be a part of. He feels that speed is endemic to the urban lifestyle and, as such, perfect subject matter for seat-of-your-pants moviegoing. He happily signed on to helm 2 Fast 2 Furious.
As production got underway, the filmmakers were again reminded that they were capturing a popular way of life that is continuing to burgeon-which began clearly evident during a particular weekend during pre-production.
Singleton, Moritz and the screenwriters were in total agreement that the original’s success was due mostly to its freshness... in everything from the visuals of it to the wheels driving in it. So, they turned to custom race enthusiasts themselves to get a look at what was scoring with drivers and turning heads with on-lookers.
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