XXX

About The Production
The idea for Triple-X was hatched by screenwriter Rich Wilkes while he was on his honeymoon in Bora Bora. "I've always been a big fan of the classic spy movies," says Wilkes "but I thought it was time for a movie that spoke to today's young audiences." When Wilkes returned to Los Angeles, he met with Revolution Studios partner Todd Garner who sparked to the idea immediately. "Rich's pitch was fresh and clearly had the potential to blow the lid off the action spy genre as we knew it." Garner brought the idea to Revolution founder Joe Roth who put his full support behind the project. "What Todd and Rich wanted to do was create an entirely original character – one the screen had never seen. That was a movie I wanted Revolution to make."

With Revolution shepherding the project, Roth and Garner went to work on putting the creative team together. In May 2001, producer Neal H. Moritz showed them a rough cut of The Fast and The Furious which cemented their next move. With Moritz signed on as producer, they committed to reuniting Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel. The team first approached Cohen, who connected with the project immediately. Once on board, the creative collaboration between all parties began and continued throughout production. "I loved the new ideas in Rich's script and the opportunity to team with Revolution and reunite with Neal all made the film's potential irresistable," said Cohen. But there was one condition. Cohen believed Vin Diesel was the only man who could pull off Xander Cage. "He is Triple-X. I wouldn't make this movie without him. I like to refer to Xander Cage as the all-American anti-hero. He's not the guy who does the right thing because he believes in all the good principles. He's the guy who does the right thing because that's what circumstances demand, not conscience. And somebody who has that degree of attitude, defiance, toughness, vulnerability, likeability and soul is Vin Diesel."

Upon being presented with the idea of XXX, Diesel agreed that the only way to do it was together.

"When you stumble across a great actor-director relationship like the one I found with Rob Cohen on The Fast and the Furious," notes Diesel, "you are quick to get back into that environment again. A big part of my attraction to Triple-X was to work with Rob again."

"The role of Xander Cage is all about attitude," continues Moritz. "The whole film has an attitude. And this isn't something you can just act. You either have it or you don't...and Vin exudes attitude."

Diesel was also intrigued by the character created by screenwriter Rich Wilkes. "The idea of giving birth to a new breed of secret agent was interesting and challenging. What attracts me to projects first is the content, and with Triple-X I was attracted to the concept of a guy who is solely concerned with his own thrill-seeking endeavors. He couldn't care less about political affairs outside of the ones that directly affect him. I liked the idea that someone like Xander could be called upon to step into the shoes of a secret agent. Taking a guy who's the least likely to want to save the world, and having him do just that, fascinated me."

Diesel adds, "Joe's history developing high concept action films like Con Air, The Rock and Die Hard gave me the ultimate confidence that this project was in the right hands."

"This film does not give you a chance to catch your breath," says Roth. "Rob had created action set pieces that raise the bar for movies to come."

"Xander Cage is definitely not your average secret agent," declares Neal H. Moritz. "He's today's version of the secret agent. He gets to do everything:

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