Development for "The Fast and the Furious" arose after Cohen read a "Vibe" magazine article in 1998 titled "Racer X", which detailed the illegal street racing circuit operating within New York City. After contacting producer Neal H. Moritz, Moritz was able to present the script to Universal Studios, who greenlit "The Fast and the Furious" in 2000. Walker was the first actor to sign onto the project, while Diesel initially had to be persuaded to participate in the film, accepting after proposing several script changes.