Universal’s ‘Furious 8’ Stuck In Neutral

Universal’s ‘Furious 8’ Stuck In Neutral

$CMCSA

‘Furious 7’ director James Wan, 37 anni, opts for a ‘Conjuring’ sequel as Star/Producer Vin Diesel, 38 anni, causes headaches and the studio faces an April 2017 release date on the follow-up to the $1.5-B box office winner.

No franchise is more important to Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) than Fast & Furious, the car-racing series whose 7th installment grossed $1.5-B worldwide in 2015. But the effort to mount an 8th picture is proving difficult.

As its announced April 2017 release date closes in and screenwriter Chris Morgan works on the script, Universal still has not found a director for the next outing. And in this case, it seems that the job will involve more than just the challenge of overseeing a big-budget thriller. There also is the recent exit of studio co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, who oversaw the series, and the dicey matter of Star/Producer Vin Diesel.

Following the death of Paul Walker in November 2013, Universal enlisted Mr. Diesel, as the face of the series, updating fans on Furious 7 via his social media and putting him forward to speak about the cast and crew’s desire to finish the movie, which was about 50% completed when Walker died in a car accident.

Mr. Diesel, a veteran of the series going back to the Y 2001 original, took a break, returning for the 4th installment), was close to Mr. Walker personally.

Furious 7 nearly 2X’d the $789-M take for Fast & Furious 6.

So, with a hit of that size the studio Chairwoman Donna Langley was eager to re-enlist Furious 7 director James Wan, who emerged from his horror-franchise past into major action with his big-budget breakout.

But while Universal had contractual options on Mr. Wan to direct the 8th and 9th installments, the filmmaker informed the studio before Furious 7 was finished that he instead wished to direct a sequel to his Y 2013 hit The Conjuring for New Line Cinema.

Universal accepted Mr. Wan’s decision, but when Justin Lin, who directed the 3rd through 6th movies in the series, chose to make the next Star Trek rather than return for Furious 8, the studio went back to Mr. Wan with a very rich package to direct the next film.

But Mr. Wan is said to have felt that rather than life altering, the deal could have been life ending. And industry sources say Mr. Diesel was extraordinarily difficult. As a producer, he is said to have questioned even smalles details on elaborate action sequences, often holding up the complex production. He also was known to summon filmmakers to repeated late-night script sessions to make him comfortable with his character and dialogue.”

So with all of that drama in mind, Universal put out feelers to agents for experienced action directors, and relative newcomers. Sources say Mr. Diesel must be consulted on director choices but does not have veto power over studio picks.

All of this is happening without Mr. Kirschenbaum, who left Universal to partner with producer Joe Roth in August after being credited with working with Messrs Morgan and Wan to reshape the Furious 7 script and pull together the film under extraordinary circumstances.

Plus, there is the April 2017 deadline.

Universal is seeing a record year and nearly $6.3-B in worldwide box office gross, and want at least 3 more F&F films.

Stay tuned…

HeffX-LTN

Paul Ebeling

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