By Stephanie Alexander
Entertainment Editor
Kids, do not try this at home!
The movie Need for Speed featuring “Breaking Bad” actor Aaron Paul is a film of triumph, tragedy and some major horsepower.
Even though Need for Speed is just hitting theaters all over today, I was able to go to a screening last month and have a word with Paul and the director of Need for Speed, Scott Waugh.
“We wanted to come up with a really compelling story that could take the audience on for a thrill ride,” Waugh said. “I said ‘Look, we need to find the next Steve McQueen’. We were trying to do almost a throwback to the old racing movies that I grew up on like Bullet and Grand Prix.”
Waugh is no stranger to the dangerous side of entertainment. In fact, it is in his blood.
“My father was a stunt man. He was the original Spider-Man on television in the 70s, a circus performer and he worked in a lot of the classic car films,” Waugh said. “This movie is sort of a tribute to him as he passed away before we started filming.”
The star studded cast consists of Dominic Cooper, Michael Keaton, and rapper Kid Cudi, as well as Paul.“We were really lucky to get ourselves a guy like Aaron Paul to be our lead character and put this movie on the map,” Waugh said.
The lead role of Tobey Marshall was not a simple get in the car and go job. All stunts were done by Paul and the other actors.
“There was some serious seat time needed before we started filming. I knew how to drive before, but nothing like this,” Paul said. “The first day we started this project we were on the racetrack from sunrise to sunset learning how to get out of problematic situations, then the reverse 180s and madness, it was so much fun.”
The move from drug dealer Jesse Pinkman on the small screen at home, to racer Tobey Marshall in the Cinemark was a whole other preparation in itself.
“It’s such a different animal, Jesse was so lost and so hurt,” Paul said.
Even with the storyline being more of a serious tone, the film has humor sprinkled here and there that can take some edge off. Whether or not you are an action movie person or a fast car lover, Need for Speed is definitely entertaining to say the least.
