Justin Lin Quotes

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Justin Lin

Profession : Director

Birth : October 11, 1971

Annapolis' is a very personal journey about this working-class kid trying to find out who he is, and every time he steps into the ring we get a sense of who he is as a person.

Justin Lin

Boxing is a big part of American cinema.

Justin Lin

As an Asian immigrant coming in, for the longest time I still had problems getting in the lot because they're just not used to seeing someone like me who's directing these films. I do think ultimately there's a point where we can kind of just shed that label and become filmmakers.

Justin Lin

Sometimes, I think it's important to be a filmmaker first and be able to talk about whatever you want to after that.

Justin Lin

Like, action to me is no fun if it's not built around character.

Justin Lin

When I did my first student film, it was a ten minute film and it cost $U.S.4,000. I worked three jobs to pay for that and I haven't really slept since.

Justin Lin

They never complained, that's what I love about my parents and it's something that inspired me.

Justin Lin

My brothers and I would try to talk our dad into letting us stay up and watch 'Star Trek.' I remember watching it and feeling that a family is not just by blood, a family is a shared experience and that really stuck with me.

Justin Lin

If you watch 'Fast and Furious 6,' you do see that it's a culmination of something and I think it's the end of a chapter.

Justin Lin

I always found it interesting when you went off to college, people would talk about how you go and search for your own identity. A lot of suburban middle-class kids would be shopping for identities and they would co-opt identities from other cultures.

Justin Lin

There was something so pure about 'Better Luck Tomorrow' because money wasn't the currency. It was passion. The fact we were trying to do something even though no one was asking us to. It meant a lot.

Justin Lin

Every time you try to do something different, you have to expect obstacles.

Justin Lin

For filmmakers that want to have certain control, there are certain things you can't do in VR.

Justin Lin

You sometimes get the sense that when people make sequels, they get conservative. If something worked, they do it over and over and over again.

Justin Lin

I remember when I was a kid, I'd watch 'Kung Fu Theater' on TV, and all the movies would star guys named things like 'Bruce Lai' - you'd never get the real Bruce Lee films. So when I finally saw 'Enter the Dragon,' I was like, 'Holy cow, who is this guy?'

Justin Lin

Studio films are driven by marketing. The currency is literally money. But in the indie world, the currency is passion.

Justin Lin

If I make a film like 'Better Luck Tomorrow' or 'Finishing the Game,' I'll protect it with everything I have.

Justin Lin

I'm so sick of independent films being co-opted by Hollywood. You're making a project that's small, really personal, and the first thing anyone asks in any meeting is, 'Who's in it?' I'm like, 'Are you kidding?'

Justin Lin

Space is a big place.

Justin Lin

I get that a lot of people love 'Star Wars' - and I could see that you can love both and they can coexist in our lives. But the DNA of 'Star Trek' is different in as far as it's human beings, it's us in the future.

Justin Lin