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Justin Lin

Justin Lin 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. His 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 Sundance Film Festival. In 2009, Lin directed Universal's Fast & Furious.

Early in his career, Lin served as the production coordinator at the 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 also established Trailing Johnson Productions, his own production company, which has made distinguished projects such as the documentary Spotlighting, as well as the acclaimed Better Luck Tomorrow and Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee. Lin is presently in the midst of developing and producing several new film and television projects.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2011.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Justin Lin Facts

Birth Name Yipin Lin
OccupationDirector, Writer, Producer
BirthplaceTaipei, Taiwan

Selected Filmography

Not available.