Production note The film reportedly originated from a 1998 Vibe article about undercover street racing called Racer X.
Production note The movie cost $38 million and made $216 million.
Production note The studio briefly wanted Timothy Olyphant as Dom Toretto.
Production note The role of Mia was written for Elisha Dushku.
Production note The title The Fast and the Furious had to be negotiated because Roger Corman owned it.
Production note The production built a special rig so actors could appear to drive at high speed.
Production note Over 1,500 real-life drivers were brought to the Race Wars scene.
Production note The house used for Toretto’s home is at 724 East Kensington Road in Echo Park.
Production note The hosts claim Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez dated during filming.
Production note The original working title was Redline.
Point Break Used as the core template for the film’s undercover-cop / outlaw-group structure.
Smokey and the Bandit Referenced as an earlier car movie where the vehicle is central but the plot is looser.
Days of Thunder Mentioned as part of Paul Walker’s dream-movie mashup pitch.
Donnie Brasco Mentioned in Walker’s dream-project pitch as the crime side of the mashup.
Roger Corman Name tied to the ownership of the original title The Fast and the Furious.
Eddie Murphy Named while discussing rare non-white action leads.
Beverly Hills Cop Cited as a rare example of a non-white action lead.
Passenger 57 Mentioned as another example of a minority action lead.
Cliffhanger Used as an example of Stallone’s physical, grunting action persona.
Ronin Referenced for an especially convincing practical car chase.
The Fast and the Furious 7 / Furious 7 Used as a comparison point for later franchise-scale action and CGI.
The Black Tux Ad read sponsor reference during the episode break.
Vudu Ad read sponsor reference during the episode break.
Neptune’s Net Discussed as a Point Break-related lunch stop in Malibu.
Dodger Stadium Mentioned as a real LA location where Brian tests the car.
