Quotes from Justin Lin

After I made 'Better Luck Tomorrow' and started taking meetings in Hollywood, I quickly learned that Asian Americans weren't even in the conversation as a minority, since there wasn't even a significant enough audience, and especially an audience for Asian American content.

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

For me, I always loved summer movies. I love indie movies, foreign films, but there's definitely a part of me that loves summer movies, ever since I was a kid.

As soon as I saw 'Chinglish' on Broadway, I began to envision this smart and insightful cross-cultural comedy as a film.

I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but feel incredibly lucky to be in the position I am now and to be able to play a small part in trying to support talented, aspiring young filmmakers out there through a program like 'Interpretations' who, like me, had the desire and passion, but no connections to the industry.

You hear nightmare stories from young filmmakers working in Hollywood, being told what to do.

I'm extremely proud to be part of the 'Fast' franchise, it is an experience I will always treasure.

Working with actors is actually something I treasure a lot.

Growing up, my parents had this little fish and chips restaurant in Anaheim in the shadows of Disneyland, and they didn't close until 9 P.M. As a family, we didn't eat dinner until 10 P.M., and we would watch the original Star Trek every night at 11.

Growing up, I felt there was nothing my dad couldn't do, but didn't get the chance to do when we moved. I think he latched on to 'Trek' because of the sense of exploration and discovery, and hope. I think that's what he connected to.

I grew up, from ages 8 to 18, watching reruns of 'Star Trek' with my dad and my mom when they got home from work.

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.

All of my definitions of family were heavily influenced by my 'Star Trek' experience.

All my friends were 'Star Wars' kids but I didn't go to the movies, so I was the 'Star Trek' kid.

Star Trek' is not just about literal exploration, but also the exploration of ourselves.

That's in the mission statement when you're part of 'Trek.' It's our job to try to be bold and push forward. You have to be conscious of that.

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.

I love Kubrick.

He was never a kung fu guy. Now, he's Mr. Kung Fu. Oh, man. Even Chow Yun-Fat gets typed!

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.

The great thing about a big studio movie is that you get to work with the best, the most talented craft people in the world. But you have to be able to communicate, trust, and empower everybody.

I feel like every time you get to make a sequel, it's a privilege. It means that people have embraced it and want the journey to continue.

There's an anxiety of wanting to please the studios. You want to prove to them that you can do it and sometimes you might jump at a project that you're not totally passionate about.

I loved basketball and grew up with the Lakers and Magic Johnson. That was a big part of me.