The death of Paul Walker is still being felt by his “Fast and Furious” franchise costars.
The latest installment, “The Fate of the Furious,” debuts in theaters Friday without its star.
Walker died in a car crash in 2013 just as he was completing filming of “Furious 7.”
The crash, which was not connected to filming of the movie, also claimed the life of his racing team partner, Roger Rodas.
Vin Diesel told “Entertainment Tonight” on the red carpet for the film’s premiere that it’s been difficult since losing his best friend, whom he nicknamed “Pablo.”
“A lot of people go, ‘What’s it like making a movie without Pablo’ and that’s not the right question,” Diesel said. The real question, he said, is “What’s it like living without your brother?”Diesel named his daughter Pauline, now two years old, in honor of Walker.
Costar Michelle Rodriguez said the death of Walker and his absence is the reason why the eighth film in the franchise is darker than the rest.
“We didn’t want to jump in and pretend that everything’s OK after such a big loss,” she said. “You kind of have to reinvent the thing and go dark before coming out of it.”
Ludacris said the cast wants to honor Walker, who was more than just their costar.“The last movie was for Paul, we love to say this movie is from Paul,” Ludacris said. “So, I mean his presence is always going to be felt and at this point we’re working hard and trying to make the best movie possible for him to continue on his legacy.”
Wiz Khalifa has opened up about his tribute song for Paul Walker in the latest Fast and Furious film, saying it “connects with so many people”.
His song See You Again was used in the Furious 7 soundtrack , reportedly as Paul is seen driving off into the distance with the hit playing in the background.
The poignant tune, which features Charlie Puth on vocals, has since become the quickest-selling single of the year.
In an interview with BET, Wiz said of its growing success: “The fact that it connects with so many people, that’s what is really, really important for me so I’m f**king with it.”
He explained vocalist Charlie initially wrote the lyrics about a friend who died in a car crash, and Wiz later took it over.
He told the site: “My whole objective [when writing See You Again] was to make something that everybody can connect with. It feels personal, but it’s something that everybody can feel too. It’s not so personal that you’re disconnected to it. Basically, that was my mind frame for it. Think about family in general. Not necessarily my family or someone else’s family that everybody goes through in that situation.”
He added: “I had a lot of good direction from the Fast & Furious people as far as the texture of the song and how they wanted it to feel. What was most important, too, was to make sure that it was a celebration of life. You know, to reflect on things, but also just to celebrate what we’ve been through.”
Paul Walker was killed in a car crash on 30 November 2013 when the Porsche he was travelling in as a passenger hit a tree and caught fire.
The track marks Khalifa’s second appearance at the top of the Official Singles Chart after reaching the summit back in 2012 guesting on Maroon 5’s Payphone.
See You Again also sets a new streaming record, racking up 3.68 million streams in seven days and smashing past Ellie Goulding’s Love Me Like You Do.
The news comes as it was revealed that Fast and Furious 7 has officially become the fastest film to make $1 billion at the box office.
American rapper Wiz Khalifa’s tribute to Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker has become the quickest-selling single of the year.
Paul Walker was killed in a car crash on 30 November 2013 when the Porsche he was travelling in as a passenger hit a tree and caught fire.
The poignant See You Again, which features Charlie Puth on vocals, climbs 21 places this week with combined chart sales of 193,000, overtaking previous fastest-seller Love Me Like You Do by British singer Ellie Goulding from the Fifty Shades of Grey film.
See You Again features on the soundtrack to the seventh instalment of the Fast and Furious series, which was released in UK cinemas at Easter.
It pays tribute to long-serving cast member Walker, who played Brian O’Conner in the smash hit films, and was killed in a car crash in November 2013 while the new movie was being filmed.
The track marks Khalifa’s second appearance at the top of the Official Singles Chart after reaching the summit back in 2012 guesting on Maroon 5’s Payphone.
See You Again also sets a new streaming record, racking up 3.68 million streams in seven days and smashing past Love Me Like You Do.
The news comes as it was revealed that Fast and Furious 7 has officially become the fastest film to make $1 billion at the box office.
The racing sequel – which is the last film in the series to star late actor Paul Walker – has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top and has now made the massive figure in just 17 days.
Furious 7 becomes the 20th movie to reach the billion dollar mark and it could be well on its way to topping the list. Though with Avatar currently ruling with $2,787,965,087, it’s got a bit of a way to go.
With Fast and Furious 7 currently taking a staggering amount of money at the box office, speculation is mounting as to whether the franchise can churn out an eighth installment.
The success of the current film can be partly ascribed to the fact that it serves as a memorial for the late Paul Walker but it seems likely that there’ll be an appetite for an eighth without the tragic lead actor.
Celebrity fan Ludacris mocked up a Furious 8 logo and posted it to his facebook page with the caption “Yes or no?”
The post had half a million likes in just eleven hours.
Star Vin Diesel has also teased fans with hints at another film.
The 7th installment has surpassed all expectations to be the highest grossing film of 2015 so far.
But after the tear-jerking closure of the seventh film, where the cast bid a moving farewell to Paul Walker, who died in 2013, using CGI and old clips- is there anywhere else for the film to go?
Although it seems like a logical place to call the 14-year-old series a day, studio executives will likely find milking the cash cow another time irresistible .
Fast cars falling off from airplanes with parachutes aren’t the biggest thing in the upcoming “Furious 7” franchise. It’s the stars-most especially the late Paul Walker. Vin Diesel talks about his co-star’s work as the film nears its release date.
The latest poster of the movie “Furious 7” has been unleashed as the supercar franchise nears its release date. Vin Diesel who plays Dominic Toretto, the ring leader to the band of misfits shared on his official Facebook account, the latest teaser poster of “Furious 7.”
The poster features him with co-actor, Paul Walker who portrays Brian O’Conner in the “Fast & Furious” franchise. With “Furious 7” known as the last film of the late Paul Walker, fans worldwide have been anticipating the release date coming this April.
Apart from “Furious 7” and the release date tagged at April 3, the poster of Diesel and Walker came with an inscription. Vin Diesel said, “Our objective was to make Paul Walker proud… After watching ‘Furious 7,’ and his timeless performance… we realized that it was Paul, who has made all of us… so very proud.”
Paul Walker’s death came unexpected as he was involved in a vehicular accident-not relating to filming any “Fast and Furious” franchise. His death in November 2013 slightly delayed production of “Furious 7,” as few scenes were left unfinished. Brothers of Paul Walker, Caleb and Cody Walker came in and stood in for the actor’s remaining scenes.
“Furious 7” creators didn’t change the storyline after the accident because they wanted to keep Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner’s memory alive. And as it has been reported that at least three more “Fast and Furious” movies are coming, Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Conner is said to say goodbye in “Furious 7,” but in a nicer and walk-out-into-the-sunset kind of way.
“Furious 7” release date is set on April 3, 2015.
After Paul Walker tragically died last year, the ‘Fast and Furious 7’ production team had a lot of difficulty grieving over the actor’s death while having to deal with rewrites and delays. The upcoming seventh installment of the popular film franchise will showcase Walker’s gracious exit from the series.
Even though the cast and crew had a tough time, they were able to find a way to continue filming until July 10, when they finally wrapped up the production.
The sudden death of Walker made the franchise’s future unclear, since no one knew how the series would continue without the actor.
Different rumors about the movie circulated, one of which said that the franchise would retire the character, instead of incorporating the character’s death in the film.
It was also rumored that the franchise used CGI effects, to supplement scenes where Walker was absolutely necessary.
“They have hired four actors with bodies very similar to Paul’s physique and they will be used for movement and as a base…Paul’s face and voice will be used on top using CGI,” a source told Daily News.
More recent reports say that Walker’s siblings, Caleb and Cody, helped out in the movie as body doubles, which the production team confirmed through the movie’s official Facebook page.
“We have resumed shooting and now welcome Paul’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, into our FAST family. Caleb and Cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother and fill in small gaps left in production. Having them on set has made us all feel that Paul is with us too,” the statement read.
In order for the franchise to continue without Brian, Walker’s character, ‘Fast and Furious 7’ director James Wan and writer Chris Morgan reportedly altered the script in such a way that the movie will be able to send-off Walker’s character by using the footage he had shot before his death.
‘Fast and Furious 7’, stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Gina Carano, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, and the late Paul Walker; it hits theaters on April 3, 2015.
