Dan Lin (; born April 8, 1973) is a Taiwanese-American film producer. He is the founder and CEO of Rideback (formerly Lin Pictures until 2018), a film and television production company that he formed in 2008 that has a first-look deal at

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. Lin produced Warner Bros.' ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'', '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', ''

The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...

'', ''

The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Dan Lin's Lin Pictures, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Lord Miller Pro ...

'', ''

The Lego Ninjago Movie ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated martial arts comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warn ...

'', '' The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'', and the horror film '' It'', which holds the record for highest-grossing horror film. Lin also produced

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's '' Aladdin'', a live action adaptation of the 1992 animated feature.

Early life

Dan Lin was born in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, the son of an executive in the international food industry. He moved to the United States at the age of five. In 1994, Lin received his undergraduate degree from the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and in 1999, he earned an M.B.A. from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

Career

Between his first and second year at Harvard Business School, Lin undertook a summer internship program with

Lorenzo di Bonaventura Lorenzo di Bonaventura (; born January 13, 1957) is an American film producer and founder and owner of Di Bonaventura Pictures. He is best known for producing the G.I. Joe and ''Transformers'' film series. The films he produced have earned over ...

, who was then an executive with

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

. In 1999, a day after Lin's graduation, the studio executive offered Lin a junior position at Warners. Lin worked his way up to Senior Vice President of Production and left in 2007 to form his own company. During his eight years at Warners, Lin oversaw the development and production of the Academy Award-winning film ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...

'', directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

. Other films Lin oversaw include '' 10,000 BC'', directed by Roland Emmerich; '' The Aviator'', directed by Martin Scorsese; ''

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

'', directed by

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

; '' TMNT''; '' The Invasion''; ''

Unaccompanied Minors ''Unaccompanied Minors'' (also known as ''Grounded'' in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a 2006 Christmas comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, ...

''; ''

Matchstick Men ''Matchstick Men'' is a 2003 black comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and based on Eric Garcia's 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman. The film premiered on September 2, 2003 at the 60th Venic ...

''; '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed''; and ''

Torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

''. In January 2008 he formed Lin Pictures, based at Warner Bros. He described the transition from development executive to producer as natural: "It’s a symbiotic relationship between the studio and the producers, we all work together towards the same goal – make the best movie possible." Lin currently serves on the board of directors for the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and is a mentor for both the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

and the

Center for Asian American Media The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco-based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the adv ...

. In September 2008, Lin was honored as one of Variety's "10 Producers to Watch." In April 2015, Lin was named to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

s list of 'The 30 Most Powerful Film Producers in Hollywood' In August 2022,

reported that he is in talks to take over DC Films and Television Superhero Arm. This has yet to be announced or revealed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

officially. In September 2022, he ended negotiations and parted ways with

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

Filmography

''He was producer for all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Dan Living people 1973 births American film producers Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Taipei Harvard Business School alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Film producers from California Taiwanese expatriates in Hong Kong Taiwanese emigrants to the United States American people of Chinese descent