Welcome to the Family - by Barry Hertz (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An exclusive look inside the surprising history and contentious future of Hollywood's most unlikely blockbuster--the Fast & Furious franchise--a series that uncannily anticipated the shifting currents of pop culture while changing the business of global entertainment at the same time.

What do Miami drug traffickers, bloodthirsty Yakuza warriors, Corona-soaked backyard BBQs, Dame Helen Mirren, and a duct-taped 1984 Pontiac Fiero-turned-rocket-fueled spaceship have in common? They are all essential elements of the ever-expanding, logic- and laws-of-physics-defying Fast & Furious universe: the most entertaining, outlandish, and secretly genius Hollywood creation that everyone has taken for granted - until now.

Through an escalating series of high-risk maneuvers - from synapse-stretching stunts to timeline-bending narratives to explosive PR wars between the biggest, baddest, baldest egos in showbiz - the Fast family (and it is a family above all else) has redefined the art and commerce of popcorn moviemaking. And the gang did it all while staring down the kind of monumental, soul-rattling challenges - the death of a star, the upheaval of an industry - that would have crushed the speed and spirit of any other filmmaking team.

An unauthorized journey into the makings of a cinematic saga unlike any other, Welcome to the Family exposes the stranger-than-fan-fiction journey of the franchise from the ground up. Through rigorous behind-the-scenes reporting and incisive cultural commentary, writer Barry Hertz's ride-or-die epic details every single twist and turn of Fast & Furious drama, a quarter mile at a time. By the end, you will believe a car can fly.

Review Quotes

"Barry Hertz captures with insightful reporting and witty storytelling how this little calendar-filler clawed and fought its way to the top of the entertainment pyramid, with drama wild enough to rival the franchise's notorious "car in space" stunt. Even if you're not a Fast fan, the story of this saga is such a fun read you'll keep coming back for every chapter with delight."--Richard Rushfield, co-founder and editorial director of The Ankler, author of American Idol: The Untold Story

"Barry Hertz reveals a surprising truth about Hollywood: the most revolutionary movie franchise of the 21st century doesn't involve superheroes or Stormtroopers. His incredibly entertaining book hit me like a big boost of NOS: it was an adrenaline rush that I couldn't put down."--Alan Siegel, author of Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television-and America-Forever

"Barry Hertz's Welcome to the Family is a swift, absorbing, and occasionally guffaw-inducing book that mixes first-hand reportage and wide-angle cultural analysis with lively, unpretentious film criticism, and which also admirably refuses to stay in its lane, swerving away from mere fan service to scrutinize the ethos --and egos--fueling a franchise defined in equal measure by joyriding exuberance and blindsiding tragedy."--Adam Nayman, author of David Fincher: Mind Games

"Barry Hertz's deeply reported and wildly entertaining look at the world's biggest, beefiest franchise is no mere love letter. By investigating every shocking twist and turn of the Fast & Furious drama across a quarter century, Hertz deftly reveals the hidden history of modern Hollywood."--Stephen Rodrick, senior writer at Rolling Stone, author of The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life

"The unlikely rise of a band of speed-freaks is one of modern Hollywood's most compelling stories. Barry Hertz recounts the saga behind the saga with a book that's as pacy as a runaway Mitsubishi Eclipse and as zesty as a lime-soaked Corona. If you've ever wanted to get under the chassis of this splendidly ludicrous movie franchise -- from NOS-blasted action to turbo-charged egos -- now's your chance."--Nick de Semlyen, author of The Last Action Heroes

"Hertz's prose is muscular...Readers who can't get enough of speed and steel will find this a ride worth taking."

--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Barry Hertz is the award-winning Chief Film Critic for The Globe and Mail, Canada's leading national newspaper, based in Toronto. Over the past two decades, he has reviewed thousands of movies, interviewed hundreds of actors and filmmakers, and covered every angle of the industry from festivals, sets, and markets around the world.