Justin Lin: I Lose Money Creating Asian American Films

From Justin Lin, director and producer of Asian American movies like Better Luck Tomorrow and Finishing the Game: “Here are the facts: there’s no defined audience and the numbers just are not there. Also, very rarely do Asian American films get picked up for traditional distribution … which is still the standard of measure for any film. And because of that, there hasn’t been enough Asian American films deemed profitable to establish a pattern for a business plan. Whether we like it or not, a thriving business will inevitably be connected to any thriving cinema.”

And therein lies the elephant in the room: with all this talk about cultural accommodation, our tastes in entertainment are completely assimilated. We listen to Jay-Z and Grizzly Bear and talk about Monique’s performance in Precious and Avatar winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, but when is the last time you drove to an indie concert to watch an Asian American perform a two-hour set?