Fast and Furious fans, and just about anyone who loves a good action-packed movie, do not have to wait any longer — the eighth instalment of the franchise, The Fate of the Furious, hits UAE theatres this Thursday.
On Tuesday night Tyrese Gibson, one of the movie’s stars, landed in the country to promote the film in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, ahead of its official release.
Fans came from across the Emirates as well as the region to the first event at Vox Cinemas in Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi, to get a glimpse of the actor. One man, Mohammad Al Saeid, who called himself Tyrese’s biggest fan, had travelled all the way from Kuwait to meet the actor.
“I met him once before and he seemed so generous, I became a fan straight away,” he told Gulf News tabloid!.
Even the couple of hours of wait did not seem to dampen the mood of the devoted crowd, and as the man of the hour stepped out just after 7pm from Rohde’s Cinema lounge, after meeting a few fans, he was greeted by a loud cheering crowd.
At about six-feet, dressed in a custom-made white kondora and keffiyeh that bore his Voltron businesses’ logo, he began the event by filming a few Instagram posts with the audience and speaking to fans, and followed that by giving out a few autographed posters of the movie.
Watch: Fast and Furious fans - Tyrese Gibson has a message for you.
With the meeting of the fans over, Tyrese started to make his way back to the lounge for our interview, but not before going over and fist bumping Al Saeid, who jumped up and down with joy.
As we got ready to speak with the Furious star, his wife, Samantha Lee Gibson, whom he married back in February, could be seen waiting for him. The trip, he told us, also served as a mini honeymoon for the couple who had not found the time to get away since the wedding.
“How can you outdo the last one? How can you make it bigger and better?,” asked Tyrese about the Fate of the Furious. “A lot of people have stressed out trying to make this one go to the next level, so although a lot of us have complained about the idea of Dominic, Vin Diesel’s character, turning his back on all of us [Dominic is expected to turn against his crew for reasons that are not known to any of them.] Once we saw the movie and saw it all unfold, it all made sense,” with a short pause he said, “You’ll see.”
But he would not give anything else away.
This movie also sees the addition of superstars such as Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren to the mix, notably increasing the number of women working on the franchise. Did that change the dynamics of the set?
“Oh it did,” he said, before explaining, “We pride ourselves on diversity. We feel like for the last 15 years we have worked really hard to make sure that people can go to the theatre, look at the screen and see someone that looks like them. So when it comes to diversity we wanted to make sure that we took it up a level with more women.”
“I feel like even more women will be in the next one. It’s all exciting stuff,”
We had to back up and ask if Tyrese just confirmed a Fast and Furious 9 in the making?
“I mean, why not?” was the answer.
With the franchise going on for as long as it has and the strong bonds that we have heard about formed between its cast, often described as family, is it hard for the newcomers to step onto the set with them?
“No no no. We work really hard to make people feel welcome. You won’t see us over in a corner, talking and whispering, like we are in high school. We make everyone feel like they are a part of it. We work really hard to do that. Whether we have Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Scotty Eastwood, or anybody that is just joining, we make everyone feel welcome,” he said.
You cannot meet Tyrese and not notice his incredibly fit figure, even in a lose kondora.
“Well, diet is important. I think a lot of us [the cast] are big fans of cardio because you can have all this mass but you want your body fat to be down. You don’t want to be bulky and looking like a cartoon character. You want your Bruce Lee cut. You know what I’m saying! Sliced and diced, lean and mean.” Tyrese can turn his humour on in no time, and here he decided it was time to make a growling noise and pose as he continued, “You know what I’m saying? That’s what you want.”
Fast and Furious is notorious for its action scenes, which stretch the limits of what is possible, and we wondered what the craziest action scene in this film was.
“I think the stuff in Iceland is going to be mind-blowing for anyone that sees it. They are going to be blown away for real.”
The movie that has become famous for filming around the world, including Abu Dhabi for Fast 7, went to Iceland to shoot parts of the story. And as it turns out two of the Jeeps used in this film are from Tyrese’s recently launched Middle East business, Voltron Motors.
Here we had to let the man go and attend the premiere of his movie but not before he added, “I have a lot of great things going on out here [UAE], I love the people, the traditions, instead of just words, ‘your welcome’, I really feel it here.”
Don’t miss it
The Fate of the Furious releases in the UAE on April 13.
