PREMIERE MAGAZINE ARTICLE ON "BLT" (Taken from Justin Lin's Myspace Blog)

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

By Sean M. Smith

IF JUSTIN LIN's parents hadn't made a pit stop in LA on their way from Taiwan to Paraguay and gotten suckered into buying a fish 'n' chips shop, if he hadn't grown up as just about the only Asian-American in the suburb of Buena Park (and certainly the only one on his school's basketball team), and if he hadn't seen Tucker: The Man and His Dream as a kid and thought, Whoa, he wouldn't be sitting in this Park City restaurant, talking about his film, Better Luck Tomorrow- one of the most hotly debated projects at the festival. But life's full of little twists of fate like that. "I knew this was not a feel good movie," the 30 year old director says, smiling. "We made it, hopefully, to start discussions."

Boy, did it. A hilarious, supercool, and ultimately violent tale, BLT tracks a group of Asian-American teens who decide to score some cash by selling test answers to their dumber peers. As their status in the high school food chain soars, they become addicted to their own buzz, and the cheating escalates into drug-dealing and death. While the film got a raucous ovation at its premiere, it wasn't long before audience members began arguing with its perceived message.

During a Q&A session after the third screening, a white man stood up and yelled at Lin, "Why would you make a film that is so empty and immoral for Asian-Americans?" Before Lin could respond, his young cast, who had been toiling in tiny roles as Chinese-food delivery boys and the like for years, battled back. And then Roger Ebert stood up. Pointing to the man who had lobbed the question, the critic snapped, "What I find condescending and offensive about your statement is that nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, 'How can you do this to your people?!'" As cheers rang out, Ebert concluded: "Asian-American characters have the right to be whoever the hell they want to be. They do not have to 'represent' their people."

Lin, oddly, took the whole thing in stride. "I enjoyed it," he said later. "If this [first] guy felt it was important enough to stand up and scream what he believed, that's what it's all about. I wanted him to finish, but people kept jumping in. It was pretty emotional in there." And it would continue to be: The next day, another audience member voiced the same outrage. This time, New York Times critic Elvis Mitchelle rose to the film's defense.

All that heat would seem to bode well for a quick sale, but it had the opposite effect. Although two companies- Lot 47 and Fox Searchlight - did bid on the film, one's offer was deemed too low, and the other asked Lin to consider changing the film's controversial ending. He said no. "At this level, the film is what it is," he says. "If you get it, you get it." MTV Films did, and bought the movie after the festival for just under $1 million. They even signed Lin to direct another picture for them. "They never wavered," Lin says. "We were all blown away by their enthusiasm." But it's been such a whirlwind that Lin hasn't had time yet to celebrate. "I'm just so glad I'm going to be able to pay rent," he says, laughing. He does have his eye on a new Saab, though. "I sold my Ford Ranger, which I really loved, to finish this film. My friend gave me his old car, just to drive around." He can have it back now.