Boxoffice Pro

On Screen FILMMAKER INTERVIEW
influenced and inspired by him and my
mom. When I went to UCLA’s film school,
they don’t fund your movies. You can
do whatever you want, and they support
you as a filmmaker, but you had to figure
out how to [pay for] your movies. I had
three jobs: making smoothies, working
at an audiovisual service, and working at
Tiverton House hotel. It became this ritual
that I would put in my name to work on
Christmas and Thanksgiving. Not only to
honor my dad, but also just for survival!
I really do enjoy working on holidays.
It’s a little harder now, with a family and
a son. But they still allow me to go off and
do some work. Some of my best work is
done during holidays. The phone does not
ring, so I get to really focus.
Do you have a favorite car or vehicle
in this film?
One of the perks of the job is “casting”
the cars. We go through months of
deliberation, going back and forth.
Especially living in L.A., what we drive is
kind of an extension of us. On F9, I got to
put the Pontiac Fiero in there. In eighth
grade, my history teacher, Miss Grant,
would show up in her red Pontiac Fiero.
“For me, it’s more about
the process than the fame.
... It’s humbling to do these
tentpoles, but to me it’s all
about trying to get better
every day. I’m still learning,
I’m still growing.“
I always had this image of how cool it was
in eighth grade.
Do you have a favorite story from the
set?
People bring their families on set.
Whenever the kids show up, whether it’s
me or Vin or other cast or crew members,
we’re so proud. We’re going to do this big
stunt. And the kids are never impressed
by what we’re doing. They’re always most
impressed by the craft service. “Look at
all the candies we can have!” My son just
wanted to go to set to get Starburst.
You directed several episodes of the
NBC sitcom “Community,” as did
Avengers: Endgame co-directors
Joe and Anthony Russo. What about
that sitcom apparently translated to
directing the biggest blockbusters?
After Better Luck Tomorrow [Lin’s 2002
directorial debut], I didn’t stop working.
The only time I took off was when I had
my son in 2009. Two weeks into my selfimposed
break, Joe calls and says, “Hey,
we’re doing this show. We’d love for you
to do an episode.” I loved the script, but
comedy is probably the scariest genre to
64 Q2 2021