The seventh movie of the Fast and Furious series, “Furious 7,” hit theaters April 3.
Fans have experienced mixed emotions as this will be Paul Walker’s, the face of the fast franchise, last film after his sudden passing in 2013.
As a fan, it hurts to know Walker isn’t with us anymore.
It’s similar to the deaths of Heath Ledger or Selena.
All three suffered a different cause of death, and all had films released after they passed away.
Heath Ledger was remarkable as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”.
“The Dark Knight” was released a few months after he passed away.
The way Ledger transformed him- self to become the Joker entranced millions.
It is a film he will forever be remembered in which he won a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009.
Jennifer Lopez played the singer in the biopic “Selena” based on Selena’s life and her journey to becoming a Tejano singer leading up to her tragic death, and it was a major hit.
The movie made Selena well known in the United States.
“Furious 7” made $143.6 million its opening weekend, according to Yahoo News. It became the highest grossing film in the Fast and the Furious franchise.
These stars had a fan base before their deaths.
It poses the questions: why does huge artistic success follow a celebrities death, and why the deaths have such an impact on art.
One of the reasons is that a lot of fans see this as a way to say goodbye and show support.
“Paul Walker’s character grew on me because he was such a great actor. Not only in the Fast and Furious movies but all the movies I’ve seen him in,” said moviegoer Vincent Lopez, who saw “Furious 7” in Manteca this weekend.
Celebrity deaths somehow attract people to want to watch or hear the dead star’s work more.
“After watching this one I [want to] go back and watch them all. It had my heart pounding throughout the whole movie. It was so action packed. The tribute to Paul was touching and made me cry,” said moviegoer Angie Gomez, who had never watched a single Fast and Furious movie before seeing “Furious 7.”
