Quotes from Justin Lin

Boxing is one of the very few things left in life that you know who you are as soon as you step into the ring.

Sports is one of those few things left in our society where, as soon as you step on the court, or get in the ring, you are who you are.

There's a respect factor in filmmaking, like in sports, where certain things are kept in the locker room.

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

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.

When I go on set, it's very important, the lenses I choose, what I choose to frame or not frame and that's how I make my movies.

Film is similar to a basketball game. When that buzzer sounds, win or lose, the only thing you can control is how much effort you put into it.

Technology has grown so much that there's a whole idea of gluttony. Sometimes you get carried away because you can have a camera go through the window, but do I need a camera go through the window? Those choices are up to the director.

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?'

Definitely the hardest thing is to find time to be grounded with real life, but without it, I don't think I'd be able to continue to grow as a filmmaker.

I kind of approach action/non-action very much similarly. It has to be character-based and it has to kind of come off the theme and the overall arc.

It's dangerous to buy the American Dream without questioning. We need to ask, 'Why do I want this dream?'

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.

When I was making the 'Fast and Furious' movies, I wasn't trying to make a 'Fast and Furious' movie.

That's the thing I truly enjoy, when you can work with good people who are very talented.

After 'Furious 6,' that was a natural break for me. It was a good time to step away.

I wanted to have fun after 'Annapolis,' and make a Western.

We came over when I was 8 from Taiwan. That was my life: going to school, working at the restaurant, playing basketball.

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.

Without 'Annapolis,' I wouldn't have gotten 'Tokyo Drift' - I wouldn't be here today. And, so, it's part of who I am.

I think within the ideology of what 'Trek' is, that it actually makes the daunting task of making something new more manageable, because it's part of 'Trek's' very design to tackle new worlds and characters.

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?'

For the longest time, the Asian-American community would talk about representation, but I think it's also about the freedom to really shape, create, and explore issues that are important to us, regardless of whether it's positive or negative, as long as it's three dimensional.

I'm the child of immigrants.