Justin Lin
| Justin Lin | |
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 Lin on the set of Fast Five |
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| Chinese name | 林詣彬 (Traditional) |
| Chinese name | 林诣彬 (Simplified) |
| Pinyin | Lín Yìbīn (Mandarin) |
| Origin | Taiwan |
| Born | 1971 (age 41–42) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Other name(s) | Yipin Lin |
| Occupation | Director |
Justin Lin (traditional Chinese: 林詣彬; simplified Chinese: 林诣彬; pinyin: Lín Yìbīn) is a Taiwanese-born American film director whose films have grossed $1.2 billion worldwide.[1] He is best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious franchise and the television show Community.
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Early life [edit]
Lin was born in Taipei and grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Orange County, California.[2] He attended University of California, San Diego for two years[3][4] before transferring to UCLA, where he earned an MFA in film directing from the UCLA Film School.
Feature Films [edit]
Shopping for Fangs [edit]
Shopping for Fangs was Justin Lin's first feature film, which he co-directed with fellow UCLA Film School alumnus, Quentin Lee when they were still at UCLA. The film stars John Cho and is considered to be a "cult classic" amongst independent Asian American films.[5]
Better Luck Tomorrow [edit]
Lin's solo directorial debut was Better Luck Tomorrow. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. In a question and answer session following a festival screening, and in response to an audience member who asked director Lin if he thought it was irresponsible to portray Asian-Americans in such a negative light, Roger Ebert stood up and said, angrily, "You wouldn't say that to a white filmmaker". Ebert's approval of the film drew the attention of major studios, leading eventually to MTV Films buying the film for distribution, making it MTV Films very first acquisition. The film was also an official selection of the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, and was also nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at 2002 Sundance and the John Cassavetes Award at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards. The film arguably launched Lin's career into directing larger budget films, and Variety magazine also named him one of the "Top 10 Directors to Watch" in 2002.[6]
Annapolis [edit]
His second feature film (and first film to be produced and distributed by a large studio, Touchstone Pictures) was Annapolis, which starred James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Donnie Wahlberg, and Jordana Brewster. The film cost $26 Million to make, but only ended up grossing $17 Million worldwide.[7]
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift [edit]
His directorial break-through and third feature film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, was released in North American cinemas on June 16, 2006. Despite mixed reviews, Tokyo Drift brought in over $24 million on its opening weekend. As of January 28, 2007, the domestic box office take has totalled $62,514,415 with another $95,953,877 from the foreign box office, resulting in total receipts of $158,468,292. With Tokyo Drift, Lin would establish his reputation as the director of all the succeeding The Fast and the Furious films in the franchise.
Finishing The Game [edit]
After Tokyo Drift, Lin went on to do an independent film Finishing the Game, which is a comedic interpretation of the events surrounding the production of Bruce Lee's final film, Game of Death.[8] It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was also selected as the opening night film at the 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the 23rd Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the 30th Asian American International Film Festival in New York, the DisOrient Film Festival of Oregon, the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, the 2007 D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival, and the 11th Annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
Fast & Furious [edit]
Lin returned to the franchise to direct the fourth in the Fast and Furious series, titled Fast & Furious which opened on April 3, 2009. On its first day of release the movie grossed $30.5 million, and peaked at the top spot of the weekend box office with $70,950,500. It held the title for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever in April at that time. As of May 24, 2009 the film has grossed a total of US $345,755,411 worldwide.
Fast Five [edit]
Lin directed and released the film Fast Five in 2011, which holds the title for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever in April, with an estimated $83.6 million, and of any car-oriented film. The prior record was held by Cars, which grossed $60.1 million. Fast Five also broke box office records for being the second highest spring opening weekend, and surpassed Fast & Furious (2009) to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Fast Five has grossed over $625 million worldwide, making it number 63 on the all-time worldwide list of highest-grossing films (in unadjusted dollars), and the seventh highest-grossing film of 2011.
TV Work [edit]
Justin Lin has also directed several episodes of the NBC comedy series Community, including "Modern Warfare", which aired on May 6, 2010, as well as "Interpretive Dance", and "Introduction to Statistics".
Other Work [edit]
In 2009, he founded the popular Asian American blog: www.YouOffendMeYouOffendMyFamily.com (YOMYOMF).
Documentaries and Short Films [edit]
In 2000, Lin wrote and directed a documentary, Crossover, which focused on the 70-year-old phenomenon of the Japanese American Basketball Leagues, which were established in the 1930s.
Lin also directed a short film that also premiered at the Sundance Global Short Film Project, La Revolución de Iguodala! (2007), about one individual's message as that individual travels through time and becomes embodied in different races.
Planned projects [edit]
On April 27, 2011, he was announced as the director for the next installment of the Terminator series, with the CAA as being the new distributors and potentially Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the role as The Terminator.[9] Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures won the rights to this Terminator film and the next installment as well.[10] On September 2011 Lin exited the project because production for the film has been moved up to late 2012 and Lin was already scheduled to be at work on Fast and Furious 6 since the film is set to be released on May 24, 2013. Lin said that he is willing to return to direct Terminator 5 if producer Megan Ellison waits to start production after he is finished with Fast and Furious 6.[11]
Lin was also in talks to direct a reboot of the 1986 film Highlander, but exited the project due to scheduling conflicts with Fast and Furious 6 aka Fast Six.[12] However, Lin will remain as an Executive Producer on the film.[13]
He has also been in talks to direct the feature film adaptation of David Henry Hwang's play, Chinglish.[14]
In March 2012, it was announced that Lin was attached to possibly direct the live-action Hollywood remake of Lone Wolf and Cub. [15]
In August 2012, it was announced that Lin may possibly direct a film based on the 1992 L.A. Riots entitled "L.A. Riots" for Universal Studios, with Brian Grazer producing.[16]
In November 2012, it was announced that Lin planned to direct a sci-fi film entitled "Hibernation".[17]
In February 2013, it was announced that Lin would helm a film adaptation of a thriller novel entitled "The Breach" by Patrick Lee.[18]
Recurring collaborators [edit]
| Actor | Shopping for Fangs (1997) |
Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) |
Annapolis (2006) |
FF: Tokyo Drift (2006) |
Finishing the Game (2007) |
Fast & Furious (2009) |
Fast Five (2011) |
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) |
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| Jordana Brewster |  |
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| Chris Bridges | |
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| Zachery Ty Bryan | |
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| John Cho | |
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| Vin Diesel | |
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| Roger Fan | |
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| James Franco | |
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| Gal Gadot | |
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| Tyrese Gibson | |
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| Dwayne Johnson | |
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| Sung Kang | |
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| Elsa Pataky | |
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| Michelle Rodriguez | |
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| Brian Tee | |
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| Jason Tobin | |
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| Paul Walker | |
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Filmography [edit]
- Shopping for Fangs (1997)
- Interactions (2000)
- Crossover (2000)
- Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
- Spotlighting (2005)
- Annapolis (2006)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
- Finishing the Game (2007)
- La Revolución de Iguodala! (2007)
- Fast & Furious (2009)
- Community (2010) (TV)
- Fast Five (2011)
- Fast and Furious 6 (2013)
- The Leading Man (TBA)
References [edit]
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=justinlin.htm
- ^ Carroll, Larry (June 15, 2005). "No Ludacris, No Diesel, No Walker, But '3 Fast 3 Furious' (Joke) Has Justin Lin". MTV.
- ^ Beth, Accomando. "Indie Directors Going Mainstream". KPBS (Public Radio). Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ Justin, Lin. "End of an Era". Justin Lin/alivenotedead.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ Richard von Busack, Metroactive, When The Moon Is Full, Lycanthropy is a metaphor for assimilation in 'Shopping for Fangs', http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/shopping-fangs-9822.html
- ^ Variety, Top 10 Directors to Watch, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117936391?layout=features2006&content=jump&jump=story&dept=sundance&nav=FSundance&articleid=VR1117936391
- ^ Annapolis, Business, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417433/business
- ^ Ito, Robert (5 August 2006). "50 Guys, All Trying to Look Like Bruce Lee". New York Times.
- ^ Mike Fleming. "'Terminator' Back With Arnold To Star: Schwarzenegger In Package Shopping Now; 'Fast Five's Justin Lin To Direct". Deadline.
- ^ "Justin Lin's Terminator finds a financier". Asia Pacific Arts. 2011-05-13.
- ^ "Justin Lin exits Terminator 5".
- ^ Jason Barr, Collider, FAST FIVE’s Justin Lin No Longer Directing HIGHLANDER Reboot; Will Stay on As An Executive Producer, http://collider.com/justin-lin-highlander-reboot/108941/
- ^ Borys Kit, Director Justin Lin Exits Summit's 'Highlander' Remake (Exclusive), http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/justin-lin-exits-summits-highlander-222325
- ^ Dave McNary, Variety, Justin Lin to helm, produce Chinglish, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118053042
- ^ http://collider.com/lone-wolf-and-cub-justin-lin/155407/
- ^ Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline, Justin Lin Boards Universal's 'L.A. Riots', http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/justin-lin-boards-universals-l-a-riots/
- ^ Tatiana Siegel, Justin Lin to Direct Sci-Fi Thriller 'Hibernation' (Exclusive), http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/justin-lin-direct-sci-fi-385881
- ^ Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline, Justin Lin, Michael De Luca Team At Warner Bros On Patrick Lee Thriller Novel, http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/justin-lin-michael-de-luca-team-at-warner-bros-on-patrick-lee-thriller-novel/
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Justin Lin |
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- 1971 births
- American people of Chinese descent
- American film directors of Asian descent
- Living people
- People from Orange County, California
- Artists from Taipei
- Taiwanese emigrants to the United States
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- Film directors from California
- Taiwanese film directors
- American television directors
