Vin Diesel‘s last conversation with Paul Walker: PHL and Yolanda

'Fast and Furious' star Vin Diesel has revealed that his last conversation with co-actor and close friend Paul Walker, who died in a car accident two years ago, was about the Philippines and how they could send help after Typhoon Yolanda devastated the Visayas Region in November 2013.

“We were talking about the Philippines, and we were talking about relief for the Philippines. He said, 'I know that you love the Philippines. Let's do something,'” Diesel said in an interview with Today, which was aired on GMA News TV's Balitanghali on Tuesday.

In December 2013, Walker died following a car crash north of Los Angeles while trying to raise funds for Yolanda victims.

Yolanda was one of the world's worst and most heart-wrenching natural disasters in 2013, moving many around the world, including celebrities, to pitch in to aid victims. Philippine authorities said Yolanda claimed the lives of over 6,000 people.

Not long after the 40-year-old actor's death, his brother Cody continued his mission to help the Philippines by spearheading a medical mission in Baybay, Leyte as a part of the relief efforts from Reach Out Worldwide Organization established by Paul.

Daughter named after Paul

Meanwhile, Diesel chose to commemorate his co-actor and close friend by naming his third child 'Pauline.'

The baby girl, born March 16, is Diesel's third child with girlfriend Paloma Jimenez, following Hania Riley Sinclair, 6, and son Vincent Sinclair, 4.

"He [Walker] was in the room. There's no other person that I'm thinking about as I'm cutting this umbilical cord. I knew he was there and I felt like, you know, a way to keep his memory a part of my memory, a part of my world," the actor said in an interview with Today.

Diesel and Walker worked together in the street-racing franchise 'Fast and Furious' before the latter's untimely death.

In the first public screening of 'Furious 7' in the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival last week, the preview audience was left teary-eyed after Walker's final appearance in the franchise as law-enforcement officer Brian O'Connor.

In the film, Vin Diesel's character says "those who are lost go on in the hearts of the living" and that was how it felt for many fans attending the midnight screening on Sunday.

'Furious 7,' out in theaters on April 3, ended with a tribute to Walker, closing with the words "For Paul" written in black against a white backdrop. — RSJ, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

'Fast & Furious' rolls over Will Smith's 'After Earth'

Car chase sequel "Fast & Furious 6" kept racing at U.S. and Canadian box offices, leading all movies for a second straight weekend and finishing far in front of Will Smith and son's new sci-fi film "After Earth."

"Fast & Furious" racked up $34.5 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. The sixth installment in the billion-dollar franchise takes the action to London, where stars Vin Diesel and Dwyane Johnson lead their crew on a mission to take down an international ring of mercenary drivers.

In the No. 2 slot was comedy heist caper "Now You See Me" pulled in $28.1 million. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg in the story of street magicians who stage large-scale magic shows during which they rob banks and distribute money to the audience.

"After Earth," starring Smith and his son Jaden Smith, earned $27 million to finish in third place. The film takes place 1,000 years after an apocalypse forced humans to escape from Earth, where a boy and his father are stranded after a crash landing and looking for help.


Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, released "Fast & Furious 6." "Now You See Me" was distributed Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment . "After Earth" was released by Sony Corp's movie studio. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

'Fast & Furious' beats 'Hangover' on holiday weekend

LOS ANGELES -- Moviegoers raced to see "Fast & Furious 6" over the US Memorial Day weekend, earning the action sequel $117 million in its debut -- a clean win over the final "Hangover" movie, figures showed Tuesday.

The latest installment in the action-packed film franchise, starring Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, earned $97.4 million from Friday through Sunday, and an extra $20 million Monday, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend, commemorating America's fallen soldiers, is seen as the unofficial start of summer in the United States.

"The Hangover Part III" was left a distant second despite opening a day early Thursday to avoid going head-to-head with "Fast & Furious." The third and final film in the series, given a thumbs down by many critics, took $41.7 million by Sunday, or $50.3 million including Monday.

Third place went to another sequel, "Star Trek: Into Darkness" which earned $37.3 million as it fell from first place last week. The film took in $47.2 million over four days.

Animated 3D family film "Epic" was in fourth place with $33.5 million in tickets sold, or $42.8 million including Monday.

Super-hero blockbuster sequel "Iron Man 3," starring Robert Downey Jr as the title character, took in $19.3 million ($24.7 million over four days) for the number five spot, while "The Great Gatsby," Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the literary classic, was sixth with $13.5 million ($17 million).

Seventh place was claimed by "Mud," a coming-of-age story starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, taking in $1.9 million, or $2.5 million including Monday.

"42" -- a biopic about trailblazing black baseball star Jackie Robinson -- was eighth, with $1.26 million in tickets sold, or $1.64 million over the four-day weekend.

The ninth spot went to "The Croods," a stone-age cartoon which earned $1.2 million, or $1.6 million over four days.

Rounding out the top 10 was "Oblivion," a post-apocalyptic action flick featuring Tom Cruise, which earned $869,000, or $1.04 million including Monday. -- Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com