Development Writer
Chris Morgan was a fan of the
Fast & Furious series, and the producers had an
open writing call for the third film. Morgan originally pitched
Dominic Toretto in
Tokyo, learning to drift and solving a murder, but
Universal Pictures wanted a high school-themed story. By 2005,
Paul Walker, who played
Brian O'Conner in the first two installments, no longer showed interest in the franchise, citing "politics, studio stuff and regime decision". Vin Diesel, who didn't appear already in the second movie and at the time was busy with the
xXx and
The Chronicles of Riddick franchises, also turned down the role, leading the film being ordered as a new stand-alone reboot.
Neal H. Moritz, who had produced the two previous installments, began working on the film in 2005. In June 2005, Moritz hired
Justin Lin to direct it. It was impossible to get the necessary filming permits in Tokyo, so they went ahead without permission. According to Lin, "I wanted to shoot in
Shibuya, which is the most crowded place in Tokyo. The cops, they're all so polite, so it takes ten minutes for them to come over and kick you out." Unknown to Lin, the studio had hired a fall guy, who stepped in when the police came to arrest him, and said he was the director and spent the night in jail instead. Following respectable
test screenings of
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Universal still felt it needed a star
cameo appearance;
Vin Diesel agreed to reprise his role as Dominic Toretto for a brief cameo, in exchange for Universal's ownership to rights of the
Riddick character, in lieu of financial payment. The series itself, being in a stage where most of the main cast were not involved, was in a precarious state where the movie may have actually been released straight to video, however it was in the end decided to release it to cinemas.
Technical Races and stunts were coordinated by
Terry J. Leonard, who also served as second unit director. The film used almost 250 vehicles, cutting up 25 and destroying more than 80. The
Nissan Silvia which Sean trashes in his first race in Japan is depicted as having an
RB26DETT engine swap which itself is donated to the
Ford Mustang. However, the car in the movie was actually powered by the Silvia's original
engine. The
Veilside body-kitted
Mazda RX-7, (dubbed "Fortune"), driven by Han was originally built by Veilside for the 2005
Tokyo Auto Salon, but was later bought by Universal and repainted from dark red, to orange and black, for use in the movie. The car in which Dominic appears in at the end of the film is a highly customized 1970
Plymouth Road Runner, which was built for the
SEMA Show. SCC magazine tested the cars of the film, and noted that the cars in
Tokyo Drift were slightly faster in an acceleration match up with the cars from
2 Fast 2 Furious. Notable
drifting personalities
Keiichi Tsuchiya (who also made an uncredited cameo in the film),
Rhys Millen, and
Samuel Hübinette were consulted and employed by the movie to provide and execute the drifting and driving stunts in the film.
Nobushige Kumakubo,
Kazuhiro Tanaka,
Tanner Foust, Rich Rutherford, Calvin Wan and Alex Pfeiffer were also brought in as none of Universal's own stunt drivers could drift. Some racing events were filmed within the
Hawthorne Mall parking lot in Los Angeles, as filming in Tokyo required permits the studio was unable to obtain. They instead used street lights and multiple props to help recreate Tokyo. Toshi Hayama was also brought in to keep elements of the film portrayed correctly, who was contacted by
Roger Fan, an old high school friend who starred in Lin's
Better Luck Tomorrow. Hayama ensured certain references were deployed correctly, such as the use of
nitrous oxide in straights but not in turns, and keeping the use of references to sponsors to a minimum. One of Kamata's henchmen has
missing fingers, a punishment typically deployed by the
yakuza. He had to have the missing fingers digitally added in to appease cultural concerns.
Music The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed of 12 songs, was released on June 20, 2006, through
Universal Motown. It features contributions from
Don Omar,
Teriyaki Boyz,
Atari Teenage Riot,
Brian Tyler,
DJ Shadow,
Dragon Ash,
Evil Nine,
Far East Movement,
Mos Def,
N⋆E⋆R⋆D,
Tego Calderón and
The 5.6.7.8's. Brian Tyler's
Original Score was released on June 27 via
Varèse Sarabande, a week after
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. ==Reception==