After directing FAST FIVE to relatively roaring acclaim both critically and commercially, Justin Lin has had all the leverage in the world. He was rumored for all sorts of projects from TERMINATOR to HIGHLANDER to THE WOLVERINE to A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, but elected instead to make a sweet little two year development deal with Universal in exchange for directing FAST SIX. Part of that deal may now be coming to fruition with the word on the digital street that Lin is currently in talks to shoot L.A. RIOTS, a true account (as true as can be twenty years on) of the “riots that killed 53 people, injured 2,000, and cost $1 billion in property damage” and which arose in response to four LAPD officers being acquitted after being charged with the beating of Rodney King.
Spike Lee tried to get a similar project going six or so years ago with a script from John Ridley (RED TAILS), but there’s no word if Lin will make use of Ridley’s script. Lee’s attempt fell through, of course, else we wouldn’t be reporting this news right now – as he said, “We didn’t get the money that we needed to make the movie I wanted to make. How can you scale back the LA riots?!”
FAST SIX (which seems to be the title that everyone is using so we’ll just stick with that) is currently on track for a May 24th, 2013 release – more as we hear it regarding L.A. RIOTS, including whether it will even end up being Lin’s next project after all.
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