Justin Lin
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

Justin Lin stunned the movie world with his independent hit Better Luck Tomorrow about overachieving Asian-American students who decide to start committing crimes.

Now he’s moving on to much bigger studio projects. His latest flick is Annapolis which stars James Franco as a townie type guy who gets a coveted admission spot to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. He thought his dreams had come true until he discovers that he may not be up for it until he decides to take a chance in the Annapolis boxing tournament.

I got a chance to talk with Lin from the set of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, about the trials of making his first studio film and his upcoming remake of Park Chan Wook’s Oldboy.

Check out the official site for Annapolis

Daniel Robert Epstein: With the success of Better Luck Tomorrow, I’m sure you considered a lot of projects, what made you choose Annapolis?

Justin Lin: As a filmmaker coming out of Sundance, a lot of the projects that were coming my way were very genre oriented like horror. But nothing really attracted me. I was working on some of my own projects that were also independent and then this came along. When I read the script for Annapolis it really attracted me on a personal level. Annapolis is actually a very personal journey of a working class kid trying to define himself. That just spoke to me. The other big thing about this project is that I love the whole notion of sports. Sports is a big part of my life and it is always interesting to me. It is one of those few things in our society where you can trash talk and say how great you are but as soon as you step on the court or get in the ring that’s who you are and if you suck you’re going to get hit. Another thing that I learned was about the filmmaking process and always trying very hard to work with the best people. That was a task in itself. Nina Jacobson, the head of Disney, was great and she let me make my movie. You hear all these horror stories about young filmmakers because they often don’t even get to make their film. That didn’t happen with me.

DRE: Certainly the idea of James Franco’s character going to the Navy Academy directly across the bay from his hometown felt very personal. Did you relate to that at all?

JL: That’s was fitting for me because I grew up in Buena Park and I was a working class kid. My parents owned a fish and chips restaurant so I knew nothing about the film business or filmmaking but I was interested in it. I lived 30 minutes away from LA and Hollywood but at the same time I might as well be a world away. I had no idea how to get into the business so that was definitely something I could relate to.

DRE: Do they make you run the obstacle course?

JL: [laughs] I did it and it was cool. I actually got to box and do the obstacle course. This movie had an extra challenge because he extras had to be in shape too. You can’t just get extras to come off the street; you have to hire extras to go through boot camp because they have to act like midshipmen. Scott Carson, the technical advisor, had 1000 extras in formation. I walked in front of them while they were doing all these marches. I felt like I was Mussolini or something [laughs].

DRE: [laughs] Gay or straight, Jordana Brewster is just one of the most beautiful people on earth.

JL: That’s just the beginning. Working with her is unbelievable because she’s also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I mean she was stuck in Philadelphia with all us guys but we always had fun. Her being that beautiful doesn’t hurt.

DRE: Annapolis certainly wears its influences on its chin. I saw bits from Raging Bull, Top Gun, Officer and a Gentleman. Were you aware of things like that while you were making the film?

JL: I grew up seeing those movies but stylistically and storywise I wanted to service the character. We’re not reinventing the wheel. There’s no crazy twist at the end and at the end of the day I wanted to, at least, communicate sincerity to the viewer.

Raging Bull is one of my favorite movies but it’s actually very detached visually and stylistically. I was trying to be very intimate. This is very different from Top Gun. I didn’t want to make a movie where a kid would see it and say, “I want to join the Academy and wear cool clothes and go kill people.” I loved Officer and a Gentlemen but that’s definitely more of a romance, even though we do have elements of that. A lot of times you get compared to other films and that’s totally valid, but with this film, I felt that if we could come across like we’re not taking anything for granted then we’re not wasting our viewers’ time.

DRE: Why do you think the Navy decided not to approve the film?

JL: I understand where they’re coming from. It’s a brand to them. When we talked with the bureaucrats we showed them the script and they said “You can’t do that because there’s no racism in the Navy.” I was like “What are you talking about? I went through the Academy for research and within two hours someone called me a gook.” But I understand that in this day and age everyone’s trying to protect their brand. I don’t think I’m trying to attack the Navy, I’m just trying to make it realistic because I feel like the ideals of Annapolis is what I was trying to get across. I’m not making a commercial for Annapolis and it’s not perfect by any means. I met some amazing people when I was doing my research and I’ve met a lot of idiots too, but that’s our world.

DRE: This is a very different world now than when you started making Annapolis. I’m not saying that your film is pro-war but it’s certainly pro-military; which is not where the country is leaning towards. We’re pro the people in the military. How do you feel about releasing Annapolis in today’s climate?

JL: I didn’t make it with any agenda of pro-military or pro-war, because I have my own very strong feeling about those issues. But as a liberal, I think at the heart of this there are human beings involved. That’s all it is for me. I wanted to try to understand why someone, at age 18, would sign up for the Academy instead of partying and getting drunk. I don’t know if this movie is even pro-military. I know that anytime you see a uniform on characters, these issues come up. But even though the climate has changed these issues are universal.

DRE: I’ve heard a couple rumors of rumors about the Oldboy remake. That the main character will eat tacos instead of squid. Is that correct?

JL: [laughs] We’re just playing around. We went from tacos to burritos but right now we’re so far away from it being a reality. I love that film and the only reason I wanted to explore that avenue is because it really spoke to me. I didn’t sign on to make a Xerox copy of the original because it’s a masterpiece. I wanted to explore other themes within it. If I was going to come close to making a Xerox I hope I have enough sense to stop that process. Oldboy is one of those projects where structurally it’s so solid and it brings up so many great themes that you could give it to ten different filmmakers and it would be interesting to see what comes out of each of them.

So far Universal has been very open to anything. I told them that I’m not signing on unless we’re not going to water down the ending. It has always been important to make sure that it’s understood up front what we’re trying to accomplish.

DRE: Is Nicolas Cage still attached?

JL: We don’t have formal attachments. It’s a great movie and any actor in their right mind would want to be a part of it. I know he said publicly he’d be interested in it. I just don’t think we’re at that stage yet so hopefully after I wrap this movie I’ll have a little bit more time to play around and see what comes up.

DRE: As you said you’re a young guy and you came out of Sundance. I know that when you were at Sundance, you weren’t going, “I hope Better Luck Tomorrow does well so that I get to make a sequel to Fast and the Furious. I’m sure you took the movie because you knew it would be fun.

JL: It is so much fun on many levels. I feel like I’m getting a vacation making a big summer movie. But it’s also a great situation because for the second time a studio really let me make my movie. I’m a big Sergio Leone fan and I feel like I’m making a post-modern western. I’m having a lot of fun but at the same time this movie could have been something else but they’re letting me run with it. It will be very different from the two previous Fast and Furious movies. In doing this I’ve also learned a lot about the business and at the same time I still have my passion project. I’m learning, I’m growing and we’re in theaters in four months.

DRE: I’m sure you’re working with a ton of money. Are you surprised by how much the money doesn’t seem to help?

JL: Yeah I learned that really quick. Even on the first day of Annapolis I was on set and seeing all the trailers and the trucks and stuff. I thought “I’m spending the whole budget of Better Luck Tomorrow on the first day.”

But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re making a popcorn movie or something that you’re really passionate about. At the heart of it, if you want to have fun and you’re passionate, then I think your crew and cast wants to try and make a good movie. If you’re doing it for the wrong reasons then you’re going to be miserable. There’s a lot of bullshit that goes on, with these big movies. There’s a lot more politics, there’s a lot more at stake. There’s a lot more departments and studios I never knew existed [laughs]. But that’s reality and in four years I went from eating oatmeal everyday to having a trailer on my movie set. It’s a great ride and I hope to be able to continue this and make all types of different movies.

DRE: What’s compromise like for a guy that came from the independent world?

JL: I haven’t felt like I compromised too much. I think compromise only happens when you have a misunderstanding up front. Annapolis is my version of a Disney sports movie. But also I can’t wait to get back and make independent films also.

DRE: Do you see yourself going back and making another film with a primarily all Asian-American cast?

JL: I have a project that I’m very passionate about that does have a predominantly Asian-American American cast. I put Roger Fan in Annapolis because he plays the lovable asshole better than anybody that I know.
I don’t think there’s discrimination at the studio but for a movie like Annapolis they think of Caucasian and maybe African-American cast members. But when I did my research I’d go into the military I’d see people of all different backgrounds. I know that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team are the most decorated platoon in the history of American military and they are all Japanese-Americans but yet I’ve never seen that on screen. It was nice to be able to put someone of that background in the movie and not make a big deal out of it.

DRE: What scene are you shooting today?

JL: We’re actually toward the end of the shoot. We’re a week and a half from wrapping and we’re a week ahead of schedule so we’re having a lot of fun. Today we’re wrapping up with a lot of effects and stuff like that. So we’re wrecking like two cars a day.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Justin+Lin/