Vin Diesel has high expectations for "Furious 7"— really high expectations.
"Universal is going to have the biggest movie in history. It will probably win Best Picture at the Oscars - unless the Oscars don't want to be relevant," the actor told Variety of the seventh installment in the "Fast & Furious" movie series.
For what it's worth, the film currently is 84 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The actor also is credited as a producer on the film, which is the final work of the late Paul Walker. Diesel and Walker became close friends through filming the "Fast & Furious" movies. He told Variety he was crushed after Walker's death.
"I went through three boxes of tissues, and I felt so embarrassed," he said. "I had always been the kind of actor that other actors respect. I was just failing so hard. My nose was running and my eyes were tearing. I had to walk off set and try to get all the fluids out. I couldn't contain my emotion . . . It became the toughest film I ever had to shoot."
Walker died in 2013. He was the passenger in a California single-car accident that also took the life of Walker's friend and Pirelli World Challenge series driver, Roger Rodas. At the time, "Furious 7" was still being filmed, so the final product, which hits theater April 3, includes heavy digital work for the scenes Walker is in.
Regarding the death of his dear friend, Diesel said that his recent role as Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy" helped him cope.
"That was healing for me ... To play a character that could reincarnate, rejuvenate and represent life as trees do," he told Variety.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" was, to the dismay of many, not recognized at the 2015 Oscars. If it's up to Diesel, "Furious 7" will not have the same fate.
