Justin Lin is a Taiwanese-born American film director whose films have grossed $1.2 billion worldwide. He began writing, directing and producing numerous award-winning short films at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he earned his BA and MFA in film directing. Early in his career, Lin served as the production coordinator at the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. During his tenure there, he created several educational television pilots and documentaries such as Passing Through, which was featured on PBS.
Lin's solo directorial debut, the critically acclaimed Better Luck Tomorrow, premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and garnered a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize. At the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards, the film, which he also co-wrote, co-produced and edited, was honored with a John Cassavetes Award nomination. Better Luck Tomorrow went on to make box-office history as the highest-grossing (per-screen average) opening weekend film for MTV Films/Paramount Pictures when it was released in April 2003.
In 2006, Lin directed Annapolis for Touchstone Pictures and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift for Universal Pictures. He then ventured back into the independent film world to make the '70s period-piece comedy Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee, which was released by IFC Films and The Weinstein Company after its successful premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. In 2009, Lin directed Universal's Fast & Furious, followed by the wildly successful Fast Five in 2011.
In 2011, Lin founded Barnstorm Pictures and Perfect Storm Entertainment with the intent of producing films with a global perspective. Lin partnered with Google and YouTube to form the YOMYOMF channel to give a new outlet for creative filmmakers. Lin is presently developing and producing several new film and television projects including the feature films L.A. Riots, for Universal Pictures and The Breach, for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Universal Pictures
