Diesel Super-unleaded

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Vin Diesel is in his element as he always is every time your Conversationalist does a one-on-one with him.

The first was several years ago for The Pacifier, so far his only comedy role, at a function room in Four Seasons Hotel in this city, where stars feel so at home that they can be themselves, left alone by the other guests. I was with Miriam Quiambao in that junket where Vin gleefully showed his “flirtatious” side. When Miriam’s turn for the TV interview came, Vin playfully asked her to come, “Sit on my lap,” but Miriam politely said no, “I have a boyfriend” (whom she later married and separated from), even as I jokingly pushed her to honor the rare invitation.

My second close encounter with Vin was barely three years after that for the Triple XXX junket, also at Four Seasons, and Vin was his usual friendly and casual self. He was in the same “lightness of being” last May when he flew to Manila for the world premiere of Fast & Furious 6 (which grossed more than $670M worldwide) and what a great time he had!

Three weeks ago when I interviewed Vin for the fourth time also at Four Seasons, this time for his latest screen caper, Radar Pictures’ Riddick (which he also co-produced), he was his usual outgoing self, not at all showing any star complex. Except for the usual cordon sanitaire, a common sight around superstars, Vin didn’t exude that disquieting “untouchable” aura unlike some superstars.

On the afternoon us “international press” was scheduled to preview Riddick (a “must” in Hollywood junkets where the no-preview-no-interview rule is strictly observed), I saw Vin and company at the second-floor lobby. Instead of going straight down, I got out and exclaimed, “Hi Vin, how are you?” I thought he would snub me. He broke into a wide smile and said, “Oh, you’re back! Glad to see you again!” What photographic memory he has! Obviously stunned by the familiarity between their boss and me, Vin’s bodyguards stood amused, perhaps wondering who the “intruder” was.

When I met Vin again the next day for our one-on-one, he welcomed me with a warm handshake and that wide, wide smile that never seemed to leave his face, softening the menacing image unwittingly projected by people of his super-size. But believe me, giants like Vin are the gentlest in the world, including Dwayne “Ex-The Rock” Johnson who appeared with Vin in Fast & Furious 6.  

As I entered the function room (turned into a mini-TV studio), I was wafted into Cloud 9 by a beautiful song playing.

“What’s that music playing?” I asked Vin who turned 46 last July 18.

“It’s La Vie en Rose, Louie Armstrong’s version,” smiled Vin. “It’s the song that I love to play at home.”

That song must have inspired Vin to wax poetic about his May visit to the Philippines.

“You have to be there to faithfully describe how beautiful it is,” gushed Vin whose only Manila connection before that visit was Grace Blanco, the Filipina wife of his twin brother Paul Vincent, whom Vin described as “a beautiful and wonderful lady” from whom he had heard so much about the Philippines. “Every minute that I was there, I saw so much beauty. You know why? Because whether you are a star or a street vendor, you are embraced with warmth and hospitality. The people’s smile was genuine.”

During his Philippine sojourn, Vin rode in a jeepney around town (an experience that went viral on the Internet) and enjoyed the nightlife perhaps like he had never done before, no wonder he would show up at the presscons and interviews a bit late (but he was gladly excused by the media guys that he won over with his friendliness and accessibility, posing for pictures with them and, when in public places, with whoever asked for a photo-op with him).

“I knew that I was going back to the Philippines,” he said.

In fact, confirmed Vin, he’s definitely shooting a good part of his next movie, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, in the Philippines.

“Yes,” he added, “in May, I told you that the producers of Triple X envisioned that Xander Cage migrated from Bora-Bora to the Philippines, so that would be very cool and I’m very excited to read the script when it comes in. I want to find out how much of that is true.”

Asked what was it that he wanted to do or wanted to see when he was in Manila, which he wasn’t able to do for lack of time, Vin smiled again.

“I want to go to the beaches,” his eyes lit up. “I wasn’t able to do that because I didn’t have enough time. But I did have a feel of what Manila was — the warmth of the Filipino people. They treated me like family when I was there and not just because my sister-in-law is from the Philippines. Every Filipino has a very strong sense of family. The theme of the next Triple X is about family and it’s a subject that will resonate with the Filipinos because they are family-oriented.”

Meanwhile, we talked about Riddick, the character that Vin first played in the 1999 hit Pitch Black and which he reprised a few years later in The Chronicles of Riddick, a glowing-eyed space traveler who, in this new installment, is portrayed as an ex-con who can see in the dark. As leader of the Necromonger race, Riddick leaves his comfortable world to reclaim his homeland after he is double-crossed and is left for dead. Along the way, he fights beasts and bounty hunters.

According to a Reuters report, Riddick beat the Oprah Winfrey starrer The Butler during the weekend race last week, grossing more than $18.7M in the US and Canada market. Riddick will start its Philippine run on Wednesday, Sept. 18, released by Pioneer Films.

Is the Riddick character closer to what he is in real life than any of his other characters (including that in Fast & Furious)?

“The Riddick character is a character that I can identify with. It’s such a well-executed character, a true anti-hero, a character that’s definitely close to my heart, a character that’s quite difficult to portray. People love Riddick because they identify with his plight and that’s why they gravitate toward him. They identify with people who are pre-judged and underestimated and given up on. But Riddick is able to overcome all the odds and that’s something that people love about him.”

Before we parted, Vin patted my back and gave me a warm, tight handshake.

“See you in the Philippines!” he said.

Oh yes, I replied.

“You are welcome anytime, Vin. Like a well-loved member of the family.”

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