'Fast & Furious 6' director Justin Lin responds to James Franco's 'Annapolis' criticism

By Greg Gilman

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Fast & Furious 6" director Justin Lin doesn't understand why James Franco would ever bad mouth their 2006 collaboration, "Annapolis."

"He's going on publicly about stuff and I honestly don't understand it," Lin told the Huffington Post in an interview published Tuesday. "I think James is a good guy, but I don't know. I wish he would just not say anything."

While promoting "Spring Breakers" in March, Franco referred to Lin's naval academy boxing drama as "a really bad movie." He told Badass Digest that he "ended up not liking the experience and not liking the movie."

Lin, however, sees it differently.

"The crew had a great experience; we were all very young and we were all doing the best we can," Lin said. "And for someone to kind of lay judgment, you know, it is hurtful. And I think it's very disrespectful."

"Annapolis" was a box office flop and slammed by critics when released, but Lin isn't letting those details influence his pride in his work.

"I wish James could keep it to himself because I don't know the point," Lin continued. "We make movies and we all try our best and sometimes we connect with the audience, sometimes we don't."

Lin has connected with audiences through the "Fast and Furious" franchise -- a four-picture gig that began with directing "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

Although Lin wasn't able to rejuvenate Universal's racing franchise until directing the fourth installment, "Fast & Furious," Lin recognizes the important role both "Annapolis" and "Tokyo Drift" played in his now-booming career.

"Without 'Annapolis,' I wouldn't have gotten 'Tokyo Drift' - I wouldn't be here today. And, so, it's part of who I am," Lin said. "I will always be proud of it. And for someone to be a big part of that and to publicly go and start talking trash? You know, I just don't think that's cool."

Despite Franco's criticism of both his and Lin's work, they remain on good terms. Still, Lin cites "a respect factor in filmmaking" that Franco ignored when his negative opinion of "Annapolis" was not "kept in the locker room."

"James Franco is not perfect. I'm not perfect. I'm really proud to be here now, but I'm just as equally proud as when that movie opened and nobody would take my call," Lin added. "Because that makes me who I am. And that experience made me who I am. And I would hope it's the same for him as opposed to him judging the rest of us."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fast-furious-6-director-justin-lin-responds-james-000758716.html

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