The Fast and the Furious: Welcome to the sexy, and forbidden underground of Tokyo

Production Notes Chapter 1

Lucas Black and Nathalie Kelley in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Welcome to the sexy, and forbidden underground of Tokyo

Chapter one brought to the screen the underground world of American muscle cars and dangerous street racing from the City of Angels. Chapter two told a tale of Miami money laundering, redemption and the latest sleek racers available to men with fortunes to burn.Now, the newest and fastest customized rides go head-to-head on some of the world's most perilous courses in the latest installment of the adrenaline-spiking series built on speed-The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Welcome to the sexy, forbidden and hyperkinetic underground of Tokyo, where the latest trend to emerge from Japan is taking over the world…one drift at a time. Following in the tracks of its predecessors, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift presents the hottest chapter yet in the popular series that has accumulated more than $443 million at the worldwide box office.Taking racing out of the States and into the post-modern city of Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo Drift brings moviegoers to a sport that simultaneously assaults the senses and delivers daredevil thrills.

Welcome to the tense era of teenage outcasts living in a universe of explosive, white-knuckled street racing, deeply entrenched in Tokyo's hidden racing scene. Hot cars and sexy girls venture into forbidden territory when drifting is injected in the mix. This distinctly Japanese style of driving defines a new type of driver whose technique must blend effortlessly with daring speed, where control in the realm of no control is more important than crossing the finish line first.

Although street this "extra-curricular activity"racing provides an escape from an unhappy home and the superficial world around him, for outsider Sean Boswell (LUCAS BLACK, Friday Night Lights), his reckless involvement in the sport has made him very unpopular with the local authorities. After one crash too many-and to avoid jail time-Sean is sent to live with his gruff, estranged and gruff father, a career military man stationed in Tokyo.

Now officially a gaijin (outsider), Sean is feels even more shut out in a land of foreign customs and codes of honor. But after a fellow American buddy, Twinkie (BOW WOW, Johnson Family Vacation), introduces him to the underground world of drift racing-an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a heart-stopping course of hairpin turns and switchbacks-he's hooked again, and back in trouble. Simple pedal-to-the-metal, drag racing is is replaced by an entirely new, rubber-burning burning automotive art form…just bad enough to fit Sean's rebel style.

In On his first unsuccessful foray in drift racingtime out drifting, Sean unknowingly takes on D.K. (BRIAN TEE, Fun with Dick and Jane), the “Drift King,” a local champ with ties to the Japanese crime syndicate Yakuza. Sean's loss comes with a high price tag when he's forced to work off the debt under the tutelage thumb of another ex-pat named Han (SUNG KANG, Better Luck Tomorrow). Instead of keeping Sean "under his thumb", Han soon welcomes Sean into his family of misfits and introduces him to the real principles of drifting. Whether for pink slips, wads of cash or bragging rights, the stakes remain high for Sean and his competition…as they learn to elevate the race itself to an art form. They will take cutting-edge, modified racers to the densely populated streets of Tokyo's urban landscape at neck-snapping speeds then smoothly glide through tight hairpin turns punctuated by screeches and the acrid smell of smoking rubber.

But when Sean falls for D.K.'s girlfriend, Neela (newcomer NATHALIE KELLEY), an explosive series of events is set into motion, climaxing with the an ultimate high-stakes face-off.off against his nemesis. Punishment for the loser? Banishment from Tokyo forever by Yakuza crime boss-and D.K.'s uncle-Kamata (the legendary SONNY CHIBA, Kill Bill: Vol. 1)…if they survive the race at all. Honor will be challenged and racing skills will be pushed to the extreme…with only one winner standing as champion in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Behind the camera, director JUSTIN LIN (Better Luck Tomorrow) takes us into this secret society of drifting, working from a screenplay by CHRIS MORGAN (Cellular). Signing on for the third of his series, filmmaker NEAL H. MORITZ (The Fast and the Furious franchise) returns to produce the film.The film is executive produced by CLAYTON TOWNSEND (The 40-Year-Old Virgin).

Also joining Lin's team is director of photography STEPHEN F. WINDON (The Patriot); production designer is IDA RANDOM (A Man Apart). The film is edited by FRED RASKIN (Annapolis) and KELLY MATSUMOTO (Meet the Fockers); costume designer is SANJA MILKOVIC HAYS (The Fast and the Furious franchise). Music for Tokyo Drift is by BRIAN TYLER (Constantine).