The Fast and the Furious: David Ayer Reflects on Writing First Film in Franchise

These days, David Ayer is known best for directing Suicide Squad in 2016, but he’s been working in Hollywood for quite a while. In fact, he’s written some big movies, including U-571, Training Day, End of Watch, and Fury. One of Ayer’s biggest claims to fame was writing the screenplay for the first The Fast and the Furious movie back in 2001. Recently, Ayer opened up about how the Fast Saga has gone on to be one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, but he has “nothing to show” for writing the first entry.

 “Biggest franchise in Hollywood, and I don’t have any of it,” Ayer told Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast (via Entertainment Weekly). “I got nothing to show for it, nothing, because of the way the business works.”

The first draft of the film was written by Gary Scott Thompson and Erik Bergquist, but Ayer says he is the one who grounded the story.

“When I got that script, that sh*t was set in New York, it was all Italian kids, right?” Ayer explained. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m not gonna take it unless I can set it in L.A. and make it look like the people I know in L.A., right?’ So then I started, like, writing in people of color, and writing in the street stuff, and writing in the culture, and no one knew sh*t about street racing at the time.” He added, “I went to a shop in the Valley and met with like the first guys that were doing the hacking of the fuel curves for the injectors and stuff like that, and they had just figured it out and they were showing it, and I’m like, ‘Oh f*ck yeah, I’m gonna put that in the movie.’”

“It’s like people hijack narratives, control narratives, create narratives to empower themselves, right? And because I was always an outsider and because, like, I don’t go to the f*cking parties,” Ayer explained of his Hollywood experience. “I don’t go to the meals, I don’t do any of that stuff. The people that did were able to control and manage narratives because they’re socialized in that part of the problem. I was never socialized in that part of the problem so I was always like the dark, creative dude, beware.”

Will DC Studios Release the Ayer Cut?

Last year, it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran are now the co-chairs and co-CEOs of DC Studios, a new entity formed to replace DC Films. Ayer has previously shown his support for Gunn’s new position, but he has also been very open about wanting Warner Bros. to release his version of Suicide Squad. Considering he’s friendly with Gunn on Twitter, many fans have wondered if Gunn will release the “Ayer Cut.” Soon after Gunn’s new role was announced, he addressed some of the fan requests, including saving Legends of Tomorrow after it was canceled and releasing the “Ayer Cut.”

“Opened up Twitter at the end of a long, creative weekend to see the many tweets to #SaveLegendsofTomorrow & #ReleaseTheAyerCut & fan support for other DC projects over the years. The majority of these requests were enthusiastic & respectful,” Gunn wrote. “As the new (& first ever) CEOs of DC Studios, Peter & I think it’s important we acknowledge you, the fans, & let you know we hear your different desires for the pathways forward for DC. Although our ability to interact on Twitter has been lessened due to the workload of our new positions, we are listening & open to everything as we embark on this journey, & will continue to do so for the next few years.”

Gunn continued, “But all our initial focus is on the story going forward, hammering out the new DCU, & telling the Biggest Story Ever Told across multiple films, television shows, & animated projects. We invite all of the DC fandoms from across the multiverse – and everyone else as well – into this new universe. We can’t wait to reveal more.” You can check out his thread here.

Recently, Ayer has debunked rumors that his cut was coming, but it sounds like he is still holding out hope.