Vin Diesel accused of 'cashing in' on Paul Walker's memory for 'Fast & Furious' franchise
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Vin Diesel is reportedly upset with Jason Momoa's "overacting" in the latest installment of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise and has blamed the 'Aquaman' star for the movie's loss at the box office. The 55-year-old is quite infamous for his tantrums and lack of professional attitude due to which he had been engaged in several beefs with his co-stars including Dwayne Johnson and the late actor Paul Walker.
While it is reported that Diesel has made amends with The Rock, the father of three apparently didn't get along with Walker either, behind the scenes, while he was alive. Although Paul has not appeared in any of the 'Fast & Furious' movies since 'Furious 7', the franchise hasn’t forgotten about the actor and his character Brian O’Conner. The late actor's daughter even made a cameo in 'Fast X' and his family remains involved in the franchise to this day.
Diesel and Walker did not like each other
Vin Diesel publicly expressed his sadness after Paul Walker's untimely death in a car crash in 2013. He even referred to the late actor as his "brother" and named his daughter Pauline to honor the later actor. However, many insiders claimed that people close to Diesel were shocked to see his public dedication to Walker.
"Paul and Vin really came to dislike each other," reported an inside source to The National Enquirer, as noted by Nicki Swift. The source continued saying, "Paul said Vin was always trying to outdo him on the set, stealing the limelight, upstaging him and fawning all over producers to make himself look good and Paul look bad. Paul also thought Vin was loud, brash and aggressive, while Vin thought Paul was a Hollywood wimp. That couldn't have been further from the truth, but Vin thought he could walk all over Paul when it came to negotiations, and that infuriated Paul."
'Vin and I are so east coast-meets-west coast'
Just days before Walker died, he himself told Wenn via Contact Music, "Vin and I are so east coast-meets-west coast, and we have different approaches to life ... I don't know if we necessarily found a stride together because there are certain days I still want to crack him in the head! But he looks at me and there are days he wants to crack me in the head too."
Vin Diesel's hypocrisy
An insider told The National Enquirer, "Paul was close to several people on the set, but they were cameramen, stuntmen and other production people Paul genuinely liked." Although, as per the claim of a source, Diesel was indeed "shattered over Paul's death," but it was not because he missed him. "He's broken down in tears several times and said he wishes Paul would just walk in the door, tell him this was all a bad dream and forgive him," the source added. "Vin has told friends he hates himself for feuding with Paul and feels terribly guilty about how he treated Paul while he was alive. He's determined to make amends and he's doing everything he can to help Paul's family and to honor his legacy, but Vin's hypocrisy is making Paul's true friends gag, because they know how nasty he was to Paul when Paul was alive."
'Fast & Furious' franchise cashed in on Paul Walker's memory
An insider reportedly told the outlet that 'Fast & Furious 7' should have been "shelved as a memorial to Paul" but with mega-millions at stake, producers didn't want to kiss the big money goodbye. Scriptwriters instead scrambled "to find a way to write him out of the series in a respectful manner." The source said that, at the time, there was talk of replacing Paul with his brother Cody "playing Brian's younger brother in an eighth film" While many found that creepy, Diesel was reportedly "all for it". The source had blasted Diesel saying, "He sees Cody's role as a way to honor Paul's memory, and justify Vin continuing to cash in with the 'Fast & Furious' franchise."
