Vin Diesel Has Reportedly Been Difficult as Studio Looks for FURIOUS 8 Director
Looks like there might be some problems with the development of Furious 8. Universal Pictures is currently on the hunt for a director. Neither Justin Lin nor James Wan are coming back to helm the sequel because they are booked with other projects. Wan was initially signed on to direct it but stepped away to direct The Conjuring 2.
There seem to be some challenges that the studio is facing at the moment. One is that co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, who oversaw the series, is no longer with the studio. The second deals with star/producer of the movie Vin Diesel. According to THR's insiders, Diesel isn't an easy actor to work with, which is weird because I've never heard anything like that about him before.
"Sources say Diesel proved extraordinarily difficult. As a producer, he is said to have questioned even small 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."
Diesel's spokesman says this is all nonsense and Fast and Furious producer Neal Moritz says, "Obviously, if there was any issue, we wouldn't be making the eighth [film] with [Diesel] right now." Apparently, one of the reasons why Wan walked away from a big deal to direct Furious 8 was because of how demanding it was to the point where it affected his health. The report goes on to offer the following details:
"Sources say Diesel must be consulted on director choices but does not have veto power over studio picks. (Some at Universal fear that Diesel will, at some point, want to direct one of the films himself. The ambition seems to be there: In 2009, Diesel wrote and directed an 18-minute short, 'Los Bandoleros,' that was intended to set up his return in the fourth Fast film.) But another source says Diesel wouldn't want to expose himself to such scrutiny on a high-profile extravaganza."
One thing we do know is that Diesel is 100% committed to the franchise. An insider says, "Vin is tireless. It may be difficult, but he is trying to win with this thing." The script for the film is currently be written by screenwriter Chris Morgan.
In defense of Diesel, the guy was going through an insane amount of stress during the production of Furious 7 with the passing of his friend Paul Walker.