The Fast and the Furious

• • The Fast and the Furious is based on the Vibe magazine article “Racer X” by Ken Li.

• • It is the first installment in the Fast & Furious franchise.

• • Director Rob Cohen was inspired to make the film after reading a 1998 Vibe magazine article called “Racer X” about street racing in New York City and watching an actual illegal street race at night in Los Angeles, with the screenplay originally developed by Gary Scott Thompson and Erik Bergquist.

• • The film’s original title was Redline before it was changed to The Fast and the Furious.

• • Thompson and Bergquist wrote the original screenplay that year, with Ayer hired soon after.

• • Various actors were considered for the roles of O’Conner and Toretto, with Walker cast in 1998 and then Diesel in early 1999, with the pair attending actual street races in preparation for the film.

• • Principal photography began in July 2000 and finished that October, with filming locations primarily including Los Angeles and the surrounding area in southern California.

• • Record producer BT was hired to compose the score.

• • The film was shot in various locations within Los Angeles and parts of southern California, from June 26, to October 25, 2000. Key locations included Dodger Stadium (the opening scene where Brian tests his Eclipse in the parking lot), Angelino Heights, Silver Lake and Echo Park (the neighborhoods around the Toretto house), as well as Little Saigon (where Tran destroys the Eclipse) and the San Bernardino International Airport (the venue for Race Wars, which attracted over 1,500 import car owners and enthusiasts).

• • Racing Champions released diecast metal replicas of the film’s cars in different scales from 1/18 to 1/64. RadioShack sold ZipZaps micro RC versions of the cars in 2002. 1/24 scale plastic model kits of the hero cars were manufactured by AMT Ertl.
  • The Fast and the Furious premiered at the Mann Village Theatre in Los Angeles on June 18, 2001, and was released in the United States on June 22, by Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism for its story, but praise for the action sequences and Walker and Diesel’s performances, with the film considered their breakthrough roles.

The Fast and the Furious Awards & nomination

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
AFI Award	Cinematographer of the Year	Ericson Core	Nominated
ALMA Award	Outstanding Song in a Motion Picture Soundtrack	The Fast and the Furious for the song “Put It On Me”	Nominated
ASCAP Award	Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures	Ja Rule for the song “Put It On Me”	Won
Black Reel	Theatrical – Best Actor	Vin Diesel	Nominated
BMI Film Music Award		BT	Won
Golden Trailer	Best Action	The Fast and the Furious	Nominated
Hollywood Breakthrough Award	Breakthrough Male Performance	Paul Walker	Won
Golden Reel Award (Motion Picture Sound Editors)	Best Sound Editing – Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film	Bruce Stambler (supervising sound editor) Jay Nierenberg (supervising sound editor) Michael Dressel (supervising foley editor) Steve Mann (sound editor) Kim Secrist (sound editor) Steve Nelson (sound editor) Howard Neiman (sound editor) Glenn Hoskinson (sound editor) Tim Walston (sound effects designer) Charles Deenen (sound effects designer) Scott Curtis (foley editor) Dan Yale (foley editor)	Nominated
Golden Reel Award (Motion Picture Sound Editors)	Best Sound Editing – Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film	Bruce Stambler (supervising sound editor) Jay Nierenberg (supervising sound editor) Becky Sullivan (supervising dialogue editor/supervising adr editor) Mildred Iatrou (dialogue editor) Donald L. Warner Jr. (dialogue editor) Robert Troy (dialogue editor) Paul Curtis (dialogue editor) William Dotson (dialogue editor) Cathie Speakman (dialogue editor) Nicholas Vincent Korda (adr editor) Lee Lemont (adr editor)	Nominated
MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Team	Vin Diesel Paul Walker	Won
	Best Movie	The Fast and the Furious	Nominated
	Best Male Performance	Vin Diesel	Nominated
	Breakthrough Male Performance	Paul Walker	Nominated
	Best Action Sequence	The Fast and the Furious	Nominated
Stinkers Award	Most Intrusive Musical Score		Won
Taurus Award	Best Driving	Matt Johnston Mike Justus Debbie Evans Tim Trella Christopher J. Tuck Kevin Scott (semi driver)	Won
	Best Work With a Vehicle	Christopher J. Tuck Mike Justus	Won
	Best Stunt by a Stunt Woman	Debbie Evans	Won
	Best Stunt by a Stunt Man	Christopher J. Tuck Tim Trella	Won
	Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director: Feature Film	Mic Rodgers	Won
	Best Work With a Vehicle	Jimmy N. Roberts	Nominated
	Hardest Hit	Mike Justus	Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Sleazebag	Rick Yune	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Hissy Fit	Vin Diesel	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Fight Scene	Paul Walker vs. Rick Yune	Nominated
	Choice Summer Movie	The Fast and the Furious	Nominated