Even without ever meeting the actors in person, it’s clear just from the way they present themselves in the franchise, the muscle-bound leads in the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise are very particular about how they look in the film series. And according to a new report, stars Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Vin Diesel are allowed to dictate exactly who gets to punch who, in what is seemingly a way to make sure everyone continues to look like a badass, while also making sure no one is the top badass.
Per a new report from the Wall Street Journal (via Vanity Fair), it has been revealed that the aforementioned stars of the ‘Fast & Furious’ series have specific rules in their contracts that determine how many times each can be punched or shown to be beaten up. You know, because god forbid either one of them actually loses a fight.
Statham has a limit to the number of times he’s allowed to be punched or beaten up in the various films. The Rock, on the other hand, actually employs people to count the number of head butts, kicks, and punches, get thrown his way. And Diesel has actually hired his sister Samantha to keep track of each and every fight, to ensure that he doesn’t take more punishment than his co-stars.
In fact, the report says that on the set of “Furious 7,” Diesel’s people tried to “assign numerical values to every move—head butt, roundhouse kick, body slam—so he could calculate a total and determine” whether he took more damage than Statham.
Long-time ‘Fast’ producer Michael Fottrell actually confirmed that each and every fight scene is choreographed in a way that ensures that the actors get a fair shake in the fight, without one overtaking the other. When asked if this has to do with the actor’s own vanity, he said, “No comment.” But he later added, “Of course it does!”
This report comes long after it’s been fairly public knowledge that the actors on the set of these films are very competitive, to the point where there have reportedly been altercations (or almost, at least) on set, specifically between Johnson and Diesel.
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Perhaps the reason these films seem to forget the plot and focus on the action so much is because the logistics of each fight scene are so specific. You can’t just let the characters act how they might in real life. You have to make sure that somehow, during a fight, everyone comes out the victor.
With this knowledge, you can now go and watch ‘Hobbs & Shaw,’ the first ‘Fast’ spin-off film, and see if the number of punches adds up.