Last night I asked director Rob Cohen (’01’s The Fast and The Furious) if he felt like sharing about the death of Paul Walker, who had co-starred in TFatF as well as Cohen’s The Skulls (’00). His reply was there when I awoke this morning:

“I’m still in shock and hurting. Paul was a beautiful man inside and out. We were both in Maui for Y2K and ran into each other. We had done The Skulls together and formed a deep connection. He used to call me his ‘Movie Dad.’ He introduced me to surfing for which I’ll always be grateful. The ocean was the core of him, and his beauty and harmony came from that connection.

Vin Disel, Paul Walker in Rob Cohen’s The Fast and the Furious (’01).

“I had just started developing the script for The Fast And The Furious with writer David Ayer and thought he would Paul perfect for the undercover cop who falls in love with the underground world he’s supposed to bust. I offered it to him over dinner at Mama’s Fish House. He jumped on it and my commitment to him never wavered.

“Paul’s loss is more painful because he was so full of life. He was a superlative man.” — Rob Cohen.