Saturday, August 3, 2019

DC ExtraTime: How to Be A Badass, The Fast & Furious Way

BY DC CUEVA                        
■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

In the summer of 2001, the world was introduced to a clique of car hijackers in Los Angeles, and the journey an undercover cop had to discover and expose them in this paradise for those who love the automobile. It marked the green flag for the global phenomenon known as The Fast and the Furious, which made stars of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and everyone who's had a role in the nearly two-decade long series of action films which brought to the fore the world of illegal street racing, which has since become a big deal in cities around the world and in the U.S. on a given weekend's late night.
   After focusing on this underground world that keeps both drivers and authorities alike on their toes in its earlier years, Fast & Furious expanded to feature heists and spies along the way, culminating in the most recent installment of the series, 2017's The Fate of the Furious. And there was also the tragedy that proceeded the franchise's seventh film, when a Thanksgiving weekend 2013 car crash in L.A. claimed Walker's life at the midway mark of filming. Production was momentarily postponed and the film's release was delayed in the aftermath as everyone grieved at his sudden death, which saw Paul's character Brian O'Conner being written out in what became Furious 7, which debuted to record numbers at the box office in spring 2015.
   The Fast & Furious franchise has garnered over $5 billion in gross theater revenue in becoming Universal Pictures' biggest film series and the 10th highest-grossing movie franchise ever, with two final flicks planned in the coming 30 months with the ninth installment currently in production and slated for dropping in April of 2020. And it has expanded to include an animated web TV series, live shows, top attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando, numerous other media, and additional films both of the shorter and spin-off variety, for which the first of the two based on this mega franchise drops in theaters this weekend.
   Shortly after Furious 7, Vin Diesel first mentioned possible movies being in development featuring characters from the series in their own parallel universe. The first of them is Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which sees the one & only Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their respective characters of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. For years, they've been on opposite sides of a rivalry, but this time they are forced to come together to combat a bigger threat facing them and the world. And in theaters in America and worldwide, the Fast & Furious fandom are getting together once again as the attention turns back to London for this first spin-off film, a special attraction ahead of next spring's release of Fast 9.

As is always the case for these kinds of summer blockbusters that gets brings you to the edge of your seat at your hometown movieplex, action movies require plenty of work of those on both sides of the camera to create the thrilling stunts we come to expect from the movies we love. Filmmakers make sure that their creative vision is realized in every component of the process right down to the most minute of details, including bringing their ideas for thrilling stunts are brought to life in a grand way that gets everyone talking -- at least not socially.
   Stunts are defined by Wikipedia as "an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill," and where it's become a part of not just action films and TV shows, but also theaters, the circus and elsewhere. They range from special effects of the early years, to the now ubiquitous usage of computer-generated imagery, to the hundreds of those in Hollywood employed to be stunt performers and stunt doubles. And there are companies in this industry which specialize in servicing this important part of any multi-million summer action blockbuster's skyrocketing budgets.
   In 2001, the world of blockbuster movie stunts and reality TV first got together for a memorable years-long honeymoon called Fear Factor. Sure, there's those gross-out contests that defined both iterations of the series with Joe Rogan on the original and the recent MTV version with Ludacris... but it's the last challenge of any episode of the series where the contestants must face their biggest fears yet if they want a cut of the cash that goes to those who survive the test. And those who produce MTV's The Challenge were so much inspired by what happened there, they employ their own team of stunt personnel to test things out before the likes of Johnny Bananas, Cara Maria and friends do what they do best in front of TJ Lavin and all of us.

In the run-up to Hobbs & Shaw, Universal Pictures and the leading behind-the-scenes company in the world of action design, 87Eleven, invited several leading women to join them to try out their talents being stunt doubles for a day. The invitees included model & Instagram icons Jena Flumes and Brandi Marie King, backup dancer turned rising pop star Montana Tucker, artist Jody Steel, YouTube'rs Emily Mei and Mari Takahashi, and fitness guru Iulia Danilova. And two others who got the precious invite are two of those who we are familiar with as multi-season veterans of The Challenge and where their MTV journeys began earlier in this decade.
   Eight years ago during the endless summer of Southern California, Connecticut model and all-around sweet girl next door Ashley Kelsey was filming her season of The Real World San Diego. She became attracted to a then long-haired Michigan country boy Zach Nichols, which continued for some time after leaving Surf City and before splitting up years before a Barbie from the Bronx finally became the one who tamed this giant. And like him, Ashley also became a Challenge champion when they, Frank and Sam won Battle of the Seasons as rookies back in fall 2012... and after taking a hiatus Ashley returned as part of the Champs team with the ex on Invasion of the Champions in 2017 and Champs vs. Pros afterwards before a gig serving as a boxing ring lady came her way.
   A year before Ashley K.'s Challenge return, Tori Deal came to Are You The One? Season 4, where this one-time intern who interviewed hip-hop's best first made a name for herself with her rap battle that led to the famous "Third Eye" mic-drop moment. Her being a perfect match that season to a guy who looks almost a bit like Barbie's beau Ken started a love journey that went from Morgan on AYTO4 to Season 3 alum Magic Mike, then to Derrick H. from Season 5, and finally to her current boyfriend in two-time champion Jordan Wiseley. And if saw her putting on a Hulk Hogan costume at a deliberation on her Champs vs. Stars season or when she joined fellow AYTO alums to prank call new rookie singles, then you know Tori is one who doesn't take herself too seriously.

Ashley and Tori got together with those other invited guests and specialists from 87Eleven as they got to practice some of the same stunts that The Rock, Statham (who looks like one of those I talked to in a past Forum post here) and others got to do in Hobbs and Shaw. Tori captioned on Instagram @Tori_Deal, "I can’t wait to see the new @hobbsandshaw in theatres! I’m going to practice this fight sequence on anyone who wants this smoke while I watch it Hahahahah! Thank you so much Universal for this amazing experience!" And Ashley wrote on IG @AshleyMarieKelsey, "Now this was such a cool experience! Thank you @universalpictures for having me, getting to learn from the best in the business was an experience I’ll never forget! You guys made my first time doing anything like this so fun and getting to throw around a bunch of men all day, my new favorite thing to do!"












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