We Bet You Don't Know These Juicy Details of the OG Fast & Furious

Learn more about the beginnings of the now-iconic franchise with the car ownership experts at Jerry. 
Written by Allison Stone
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
After nine Fast and Furious films, the iconic franchise has grown a pretty serious following from car enthusiasts since its humble beginnings in 2001. 
The first film in the series follows a rag-tag crew of illegal street racers driving a variety of
car brands
and was slated to be your typical summer action flick. Its international success, however, exceeded all expectations. 
Since then, we’ve learned a lot about what transpired on that first film set. Read on with Jerry, the car ownership
super app
to learn more about everything you didn’t know about the first-ever Fast & Furious film 

Behind-the-scenes with the cast and crew

According to a story in
The Wrap
, the cast of now-beloved actors and actresses starring the late Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster, spurned some real-world romances in addition to their onscreen connections. 
Director Rob Cohen confirmed in a 2015 interview with
Yahoo
that all of the movie’s leads were involved in real life. In fact, that on-screen love story between Diesel and Rodriguez actually worked to carve out a larger role for her in the film. 
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Walker was a naturally skilled driver

One surprising detail is that neither Rodriguez nor Brewster had their licenses prior to filming. Thankfully, all four leads got some training before landing on set. 
Walker, Rodriguez, Diesel, and Brewster all got a chance to drive Formula One cars at a racing school in Las Vegas, and director Cohen confirmed that Walker took to racing immediately. 
"We could see right away Paul was going to be an ace driver," Cohen said. "It was clear he had a natural talent. He had no fear. You could see he was falling in love with the whole car business."
MORE: How Does Insurance Coverage Work For Movies?

Filming didn’t go without mishaps

To make such a high-octane film, some serious stunts had to be done. In some scenes, the perceived danger was completely fabricated, like the moment when Walker and Diesel’s characters are nearly hit by a moving train. In real life, the scene was created by two separate pieces of footage that were spliced in post-production. 
Not every scene went so smoothly. In the midst of a choreographed fistfight, Diesel accidentally broke the nose of a stuntman. 
While the movie remains action-packed and risque, some scenes were removed before the final debut to get a PG-13 rating. 
MORE: What Happened to Paul Walker's Cars?

Insuring cinema’s most expensive cars

Insuring a rare or collector car can get expensive, and Fast and Furious is infamous for being one of the most expensive franchises to insure. With inflation, the average cost of car insurance is going up for everyone, but there are still ways to save. 
Sign up with
Jerry
, and in the time that it takes you to fill out the introductory form, you’ll be connected to instant insurance savings from 55+ major providers and their policies in less than a minute. 
Jerry contacts your insurance company to get the details of your current coverage, so you get all the best prices and coverage with none of the legwork. 
Nervous about the hassle of changing plans? Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy. Jerry customers save an average of over $800 per year!
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