Two days before Memorial Day while catching up and brainstorming, Charles had the idea to make a video.
The next morning, I woke up to a million Facebook notifications and the news we would be filming that night. Charles is about as integrated as one could be in the local car community so all it took was a Facebook post and some hype to get everyone in on the idea.
We would be throwing a car meet using one of our sponsor's locations (Thank you, Voodoo13!) in order to recreate the last scene from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. (Fun fact: the beginning of the film is actually set in Oro Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Tucson.) For those of you that don't remember, the newly crowned DK (drift king) and main character of the film Sean is told by his friend that one of Han's old friends has just got into town and wants to race the new DK. Enter Dominic Toretto and his 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner.
By recreating this famous scene we had an opportunity to deliver a message from our team and the local community for Memorial Day. In (hopefully) creating a viral video we could show our thanks to the fallen in our own way. While throwing a car meet and creating a video, this opportunity was not one we took lightly. Before Jennifer started the famous race scene we offered the following appreciation to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our country and those who serve today:
"From all of us here at The Function Factory, Voodoo13, and the Arizona Car Community: To those that have made the ultimate sacrifice, and those that are still serving today, we thank you."
The cars may seem misplaced at first to those who are paying attention to the original scene. We have Charles (Sean) in the domestic/muscle car while he pulls up to Justin (Dom) in an import. But then comes the audio... why does that Mustang sound like... Why does that 1989 240sx sound like a NASCAR? What's going on here? Well, if you follow The Function Factory, you'll know that everything matches up. Charles' Mustang is an EcoBoost with a big turbo swap, and Justin's 240sx has a big cammed LS7 in it (it sounds insane in person). This also plays on a theme we've had from the beginning, Japanese style on an American car.
To me, the most overwhelming part of the night, especially while dealing with the challenges that go along with filming, was the support and patience from the local community. We had about 100 people show up to support us, the video concept, and in turn Memorial Day. Not only did they show up but everyone was so excited to help in anyway possible. Again, thank you to everyone in the community that came out to support. Check out the Behind the Scenes below!
