In regard to joining the fifth movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise, Dwayne Johnson wants the series’ die-hard fans to “Put your hard-earned dollar on me,” which, to my perverted interpretation, means that he really just wants them to stuff dollars down his pants. Hell, I’d be game for that one, but just check out the first still from Fast Five. Johnson and Vin Diesel are seriously pulling off the John Travolta From Paris with Love vibe, and it’s a little too hilarious for words, so here’s some filler copy from USA Today:
Justin Lin, who has been directing the series since 2006′s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, says the challenge has been in trying to top its muscle cars and muscled stars.
“If you’re going to do a Fast and Furious movie, you’ve got to go bigger each time,” says Lin. “People thought it would be impossible to get Dwayne. But he didn’t show up looking to cash a paycheck. That’s pretty amazing, for a star like him to join the fifth part of a franchise. That says a lot about him and the fans.”
Indeed, few movies have had the consistency of Furious, a rare series about the working class. The films, which have averaged $122 million in North America, have a devoted following in the Latino community.
Of course, it’s not a movie without plenty of sheet metal, and Johnson will wield the most with his Gurkha, a 10-ton armored military vehicle that looks like a Humvee on steroids.
Lin says that while Furious has long subsisted on chemistry, “the vibe was electric when Dwayne walked on set. The whole crew was buzzing with him, Vin, and all these other huge action stars on one set. It was like having (Sylvester) Stallone and (Arnold) Schwarzenegger in their prime together in a movie.”
Supposedly, Johnson plays a cop who’s after Diesel and his street-racing ilk. In other words, there will be much bumping of chests and fluffing of feathers to be witnessed. These two action stars aren’t quite Stallone and Schwarzenegger, but Diesel and Johnson sure are pretty.
