Dwayne Johnson, the erstwhile Rock, is known for his frequent, and usually gregarious, social media presence. Lately, he’s been posting video updates from the set of Fast & Furious 8 (yes, eight, God help us). But his most recent post carried a decidedly different tone. It’s a typed post, and you can still hear the anger in his voice. Here are the harsh words he had for unidentified costars:
“This is my final week of shooting Fast & Furious 8. There’s no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one. An incredibly hard working crew. Universal Studios has been great partners as well. My female costars are always great and I love ’em. My male costars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken shit to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling – you’re right. Bottom line is it’ll play great for the movie and fits this Hobbs character that’s embedded in my DNA extremely well. The producer in me is happy about this part. Final week on Fast 8 and I will finish strong.
#F8
#IcemanCometh
#ZeroToleranceForCandyAsses”
Whew. It might not have been the most profane rant you’ve ever read, but for someone like Johnson, who prides himself on having a clean, friendly image, it was pretty surprising to read. But the more important matter here is, who in the world was he talking about?
Fan speculation narrowed it down to two possible candidates: Scott Eastwood and Vin Diesel. Eastwood recently told Esquire in an interview that he was annoyed with the film’s cast for frequently retreating to their trailers between takes, causing the whole filming process to take longer than it should. Diesel, meanwhile, has a bit a of a reputation for being difficult to get along with on set. According to rumors from the Furious 7 set, he would often stay in his trailer for hours after his call time, throwing off the schedule for the whole day.
While it looked like it could have been either of the two men, Diesel apparently assumed that he himself was the target. Johnson had also made Diesel the butt of some jokes on his HBO show Ballers. Between the two incidents, Vin was understandably affronted. He supposedly confronted Johnson on the set, but there’s no word on how the discussion played out.
The point of all this is, Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel really, really don’t like each other. Or do they?
An unidentified insider for Life & Style magazine (celebrity dirt sheet, so take this with a grain of salt) is reporting that this might all be a work. (That’s wrestle-ese for a pre-planned storyline.) But what could possibly be the reason for the two of them to pretend to have issues?
One word: WrestleMania. You see, although the Rock essentially abandoned wrestling years ago when Hollywood beckoned, he still deigns to show up for rare appearances – usually at WrestleMania, WWE’s flagship event. According to this source, the two are planning to have their supposed beef culminate in a match at WM 33 next April – which, coincidentally, is about a week before the premiere of F&F8.
“They are playing a huge prank, and it’s all for publicity. The Rock convinced Vin to amp up the drama between them so they could turn it into a WWE match to help promote the April 2017 release of Fast 8.”
The plot thins.
So apparently, it’s all manufactured drama to drum up public interest for the continued flogging of the proverbial deceased equine. The question is, how will Diesel fare in a professional wrestling match? He’s certainly a strong, fit guy who could probably hold his own against your average man in a fight. But WWE is a whole different animal – you have to be able to look like you’re kicking ass, without actually harming your opponent. Think of it as a delicate ballroom dance, but with bodyslams and chair shots. Most of these guys have trained for years before they ever make their way to TV.
But, to be fair, quite a few celebrities have gotten involved in matches before, and it generally went well. Drew Carey, Mike Tyson, Mr. T, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Snoop Dogg are among the non-wrestlers who stepped into the squared circle, and lived to tell the tale.
What do you think about this rumor? Is it a match you would be excited to see? Who would win? Who would get put through the Spanish announcers’ table? Let us know what you think!
Source: Life & Style