Justin Lin And His Perfect Storm Entertainment Banner Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal For Film And TV With Universal Pictures And Universal Studio Group
After helping successfully relaunch Universal’s The Fast & Furious franchise for the studio, Justin Lin and his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner are making the studio their official home. Lin has signed a very lucrative multi-year overall production deals for film and TV with Universal Pictures and Universal Studio Group. Lin, whose popular films have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, has spearheaded innovative projects in both film and TV, and has been a core member of the Fast & Furious franchise, helming five of the nine installments.
“Universal gave me my shot when they offered me the Fast franchise a decade and a half ago. Over the course of these years together, we’ve become a family and I’m thrilled to be coming home. While our relationship started with Fast, we have a lot more stories we want to share with audiences around the world. We love working with the Universal Pictures and Studio Group teams and know that together we’ll continue to put forward the compelling, high caliber storytelling our audiences want,” said Lin.
Under the new deal on the film side, Lin and Perfect Storm Entertainment will have a first-look production agreement with the studio, which kicks off with Lin and PSE’s next film, F9, the ninth chapter in the Fast & Furious saga that has endured for almost two decades and has earned nearly $6 billion globally. On the TV side, the deal came in through Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and will cover Lin and PSE’s television activities for both internal and external networks, including NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock. It’s another level of reunion of sorts for Lin, who previously directed several beloved episodes of NBC’s Community; the entire series is currently available on the service.
“Justin has been an integral part of the Universal family for 15 years, and his creative vision helped propel the Fast & Furious series into one of the studio’s biggest and most beloved global franchises,” said Peter Cramer, President of Universal Pictures. “He’s raised the bar again with his incredible work on the upcoming F9, and we are thrilled to welcome him and his Perfect Storm team back to Universal. We know that Perfect Storm will be one of our key suppliers of high-quality, event films for global audiences in the years to come.”
With a varied slate ranging from blockbuster tentpoles to specialized fare, PSE tells authentic, character driven stories that reach across the globe and amplify exciting underrepresented voices. Lin directed Universal Pictures’ box-office blockbusters The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6 and Star Trek: Beyond, the final film in the modern Star Trek trilogy. His directorial debut, the critically acclaimed Better Luck Tomorrow, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Lin is passionate about championing aspiring Asian American Filmmakers and formed the digital company YOMYOMF as a platform to support and nurture those voices.
PSE’s film team is led by co-heads Elizabeth Urwin and Ernesto Foronda, and Deadline recently broke that next up for Lin is directing Abacus. Based on the Oscar-winning documentary Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, which PSE and Participant will produce from a script by Kenneth Lin and James Schamus.
“When it comes to entertaining global, multi-cultural audiences, Justin Lin is a master craftsman,” said Pearlena Igbokwe, President, Universal Television. . “He is an imaginative storyteller who never fails to delight audiences and we’re excited he is hanging his shingle at Universal Television.”
On the TV side, PSE and Lin produced the hit series’ Scorpion, S.W.A.T., and Magnum P.I. for CBS and Universal Television, and the critically acclaimed Warrior for Cinemax about to premiere its second season. Under TV president Andrew Schneider along with executive Caitlin Langton, PSE continues to develop television projects for both broadcast and streaming platforms, with the consistent aim to raise and amplify diverse global voices and experiences.
Lin is represented by CAA, and Sloane, Offer, Weber, Dern.
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