Justin Lin
Biography
Justin Lin was an action film director and producer who was best known for directing films in the internationally successful "The Fast and Furious" action franchise. A graduate of UCLA Film School, Lin made his very first movie right out of college called "Shopping with Fangs." Co-directed with his former classmate, Quentin Lee, the film became a cult classic in the Asian-American community and immediately signaled Justin Lin as a young director to watch.
Lin's next film, "Better Luck Tomorrow," was an even bigger hit, winning the approval of legendary film critic, Roger Ebert, while also earning a nomination for the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Then in 2006, Lin took over the directing reins of one of the biggest action franchises with the third installment of "The Fast and the Furious."
That film, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006), became one of the highest-grossing films of the year while lifting Lin's reputation into an internationally recognized director seemingly overnight. Lin would go on to direct the next three installments in the franchise, including 2013's "Fast & Furious 6," which quickly became the highest-grossing movie in the series. Lin went on to another successful franchise as director of "Star Trek Beyond" (2016).
In addition to his film work, Lin was also a prolific TV director, having directed episodes of "Community" (NBC, 2009-15; Yahoo!, 2015) and "True Detective" (HBO, 2014- ), thus further cementing his status as one of the most versatile directors to have worked in Hollywood.
