The Poster Memorabilia blog

Furious Feelings on the Foolish Day in April

A day of pranks, a night of goodbyes, and an original poster signed in Paul Walker's honor.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Ever had one of those days where your feelings are all over the place? You're pissed off one minute, then you're crying tears of joy the next? I've had plenty, and let me tell you, it's never easy. Especially if one of those days happens to be when you meet the iconic cast of The Fast and the Furious.

I'll never understand why they held the Furious 7 premiere on April 1, 2015, right smack on April Fools' Day. After Paul Walker passed away before filming ended, everyone knew this would be an emotional night, since it was his final film in the franchise. So it always struck me as odd to hold it on a day when people pull pranks on each other.

I was a victim of multiple pranks that day. From my roommate switching the sugar with the salt to my brother putting a whoopee cushion on my seat at a restaurant (yes, he did it in public!), I was in a bad mood all day. I tried so hard not to let it bother me because I planned to go to the movie premiere later that day at the TCL Chinese Theatre in LA.

To be fair, I usually enjoyed this silly holiday myself. I'd also prank my friends and brothers every year, but because I planned to go to that red-carpet event, I told them to skip me just that one time. But did they listen? Of course not. I guess it's also karma, because there were times when they asked me to skip the pranks in previous years, but I still did them anyway.

“The energy that night was somber, but still happy.”

Nevertheless, April 1, 2015, was different. It wasn't just an ordinary movie premiere, even for a franchise's seventh movie. Furious 7 marked Paul Walker's final appearance in the franchise after his untimely passing in 2013. Having been a fan of him and the Fast & Furious movies, I was in for an emotional night.

This is also why I decided to bring an original poster from the first film. I wanted the rest of the main foursome—Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster—to sign it as a sort of final goodbye to their fallen comrade. A friend of mine handled getting our Furious 7 poster signed instead.

✦ ✦ ✦

So despite all the frustration I felt since that morning, I pulled myself together and went to the premiere. I was afraid my roommate might have done something to my clothes or my poster as one last April Fools' prank, but fortunately, he didn't. He always knew when to stop fooling around, anyway, which is why we've remained great roommates despite constantly pranking each other.

My mood finally improved when I saw the cast appear on the red carpet. The energy that night was somber, but still happy. Bittersweet because of what happened, but also slightly hopeful that the movie would leave a lovely legacy for one of the franchise's main stars. After seeing the movie, I'd say they did a great job.

I choked up as I met all three of the original stars. I can't even begin to imagine how they felt that night. They lost one of their closest colleagues while filming this movie, and now they were required to smile for the cameras as they released it to the rest of the world.

I would've understood if they cried right in front of me, but being the pros that they are, they simply smiled as they signed my poster. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I did feel they were more somber than when I saw them at previous Furious movie premieres. Naturally, I couldn't blame them for being more guarded that night. I'm still grateful they signed my poster anyway.

Years later, a friend introduced me to Rick Yune, and I got him to sign the same poster. I initially planned to have only the three leads' autographs on it, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity since it was there.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

Guaranteed authentic for life • 90-day returns, any reason