Have you ever wished that someone would make a comprehensive video detailing the career of my fellow Offender Justin? Well, luckily for you, someone did just that. The following video (see below following the jump) is from a dude named Tanner and it looks like he produced it for a film class project in 2008. And can I just say how completely awesome this is!
Forget A&E Biography or the E! The True Hollywood Story, Tanner was able to dig up information that I think I can safely say that even Justin himself probably did not know about his own life–like how he was born in the small Taiwanese town of “Tappy,” the proper pronunciation of the titles of his films, how he directed the documentary The Slanted Screen under the pseudonym of Jeff Adachi (I believe “Adachi” is Japanese for “I’m really Justin Lin”) and that he not only directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift but also starred in the film as “one of the main characters.” Here’s a photo of Justin from the movie:
All I can say is: Justin, you need to hire Tanner immediately as your publicist/life guru/one man entourage/assistant (sorry Bobby, but I don’t remember you ever taking the time to make a film about your boss). Here’s the video: Read more...
QUENTIN
Quentin Lee would like to think he’s a part-time drag queen and and full-time hustler moonlighting as a filmmaker. He went to UCLA Film School with fellow Offender Justin whom he co-directed his first feature SHOPPING FOR FANGS with. Subsequently, he made DRIFT, ETHAN MAO and the upcoming THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH. He also blogs as Film Hustler.
We made Shopping for Fangs in the summer of ‘96. And like everyone else, we had the dream of getting into the Sundance Film Festival. I was lucky enough to get a grant of 35K from the Canada Council for the Arts, and I scraped together another 50K from friends and relatives to complete the film. Justin and I canned Fangs under 40K on 35mm, which I thought was a pretty amazing feat.
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I grew up with Roger Ebert. And though he’s white and we’re not blood related, I always likened him to that fun uncle that came over every Sunday at 4:30 in the afternoon via the tele (vision). There I would sit, chugging a gallon of milk and stuffing my face with Twinkies, excited and laughing with Uncle Ebert and Auntie Siskel as they yelled at and berated each other on what movies were worth an up thumb or a down one. Little did I know that Uncle Ebert would play such an important role in my (our) life so many years later at the Sundance Film Festival. Were it not for Uncle Ebert hoisting his large frame atop a theatre seat to loudly exclaim his opinions on the double standard imposed upon “ethnic” cinema and race expectations sprouting from it, I wonder if I’d even be working in Hollywood today. I wonder if BLT would have had enough juice to stand above the larger, more well-funded, highly star-studded competition films. We owe Roger Ebert a lot. Perhaps more than he’ll ever know. We are entwined in so many unexpected ways…
