Kerry was to meet Venezuela's foreign minister on the sidelines of an Organization of American States meeting in Guatemala to explore ways to repair relations. The encounter comes at Venezuela's request and is to occur just hours after Venezuela released from prison an American filmmaker who had been jailed on espionage charges, removing at least one irritant in the relationship.

U.S. officials with Kerry said the secretary was hopeful, but not certain, that Timothy Tracy's release could be a sign that the Venezuelans are interested in a rapprochement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The discussion between Kerry and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jose Jaua will be the first at cabinet level between the two countries in at least several years and the first substantial contact since Venezuela's disputed April 14 election to replace the late populist president Hugo Chavez. Chavez protege Nicolas Maduro claimed victory at the polls, but the opposition is still contesting the results.

Washington is willing to work with Maduro's new government but has said opposition questions about the electoral process must be addressed. The Obama administration has been eager to mend ties with Venezuela after Chavez's death in March. Chavez delighted in tweaking the United States and pursued policies that U.S. officials regarded as hostile. However, until Wednesday there has been little to show for its outreach.

U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been especially tense in recent months. Maduro expelled two U.S. military attaches in March the same day Chavez died, accusing them of trying to foment instability, and Tracy's arrest came amid domestic political turmoil over the election.

The Obama administration has backed opposition candidate Henrique Capriles' call for a full recount.

U.S. officials with Kerry said he wanted to look at areas like counternarcotics and counterterrorism where cooperation could be improved with Venezuela. But they stressed that the U.S. was not going to stop expressing concerns about democracy and human rights in the country, particularly after the election.

The two countries haven't had ambassadors posted in each other's capitals since 2010 but U.S. officials said they were not sure if this subject would be raised in the meeting between Kerry and Jaua.

Shortly before the two men were to meet, Venezuela released Tracy who had been jailed for what authorities said were attempts to destabilize the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama called that allegation "ridiculous." Family and friends say the 35-year-old Hollywood producer and actor had been making a documentary about Venezuelan politics when he was arrested on April 24 at the Caracas airport as he tried to leave the country to attend his father's 80th birthday in suburban Detroit.

In a speech to the 35-member OAS annual general assembly, Kerry did not mention the developments with Venezuela, but reiterated U.S. concerns that some countries in the hemisphere are backsliding on their commitments to democracy and seeking to weaken OAS institutions that monitor and report on human rights.

"We must keep this organization's focus on its core objectives," Kerry said, calling for the OAS to redouble its efforts on protecting basic freedoms, improving rule of law and fighting corruption. "The Americas present a vivid example to the world that diversity is a strength, that inclusion works, that justice can overcome impunity, and that the rights of individuals must be protected against government overreach and abuse."

Kerry is pushing the candidacy of the US nominee for the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, James Cavallaro, a Stanford University law professor who is one of six people in the running for three spots on the panel that will be chosen later this week. Some OAS members are opposed to the U.S. having a presence on the commission because it is not also a member of the organization's human rights court.

"None of our countries is perfect, and we continue to draw strength from scrutiny and the opportunity to review our human rights practices," he said. "We are all diminished when we fail to defend the very institutions we created to safeguard the noble ideals (of) peace, democracy, development, liberty, and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of women and men."

San Francisco's leading wide receiver underwent surgery Wednesday, though the team is optimistic he will return at some point in 2013. Crabtree was operated on at Stanford by Dr. Tim McAdams one day after suffering the injury during 7-on-7 drills in an organized team activity.

"Michael Crabtree underwent surgery to repair his Achilles tendon that he tore yesterday," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Surgery was successful and we do not anticipate it will be season-ending for Michael. It was completely torn, and completely repaired."

Harbaugh would not speculate when Crabtree might return to play.

The 25-year-old Crabtree, the team's 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Texas Tech, had career highs last season with 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns for the NFC champion Niners, who lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.

USA Today first reported that Crabtree was hurt during Tuesday's OTA, citing an unidentified source.

Harbaugh said Crabtree went in motion, planted to begin a route and "felt like somebody kicked him in the Achilles, which sometimes people say that feels like." Having the operation right away was considered the best option so Crabtree has the chance to return this year unlike with running back Kendall Hunter last season, who had the same injury but the decision was made to wait some time before surgery.

"Good news is he woke up from the surgery and the first thing, asked the doctor how it went," Harbaugh said. "(The doctor) talked about the success of the surgery and he didn't anticipate he'd be out for the year. His comment to that was, 'Got no choice but to be back.' Every day now is a healing day, and that starts today."

This is a tough blow for the two-time defending NFC West champions after Crabtree's breakout 2012 season. He was one of the big reasons the franchise returned to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years, clicking with quarterback Colin Kaepernick after his promotion to starter in November over departed 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick Alex Smith.

"It's a setback, but Michael's young, he's strong. Everything will be a positive approach to healing and we'll anticipate great things," Harbaugh said. "Another thing right now is if you look at the young receivers on our team that will emerge because they have to emerge. I'm excited to watch them compete for that spot."

Harbaugh wouldn't say whether the 49ers would look outside the organization for a replacement with Crabtree out, or even if the team would consider bringing back Randy Moss.

"We're excited for the young receivers that we have, and feel that somebody's going to emerge there," he said. "Competition will create that, and we'll look forward to watching that."

Anquan Boldin, acquired in a trade with the Ravens this spring, will be counted upon to carry a bulk of the load. Boldin missed Wednesday's practice for what Harbaugh called "some prior commitments for this week."

Boldin had 65 catches for 921 yards and four touchdowns for the Ravens last season.

Kaepernick and Crabtree were eager to get back on the field together after falling just short in New Orleans back in February.

"It's an injury. Nobody wants it to happen no matter who it is," Kaepernick said.

Kaepernick's fourth-down throw into the end zone in the closing moments sailed over Crabtree. Harbaugh and the 49ers argued that Crabtree got held, bumped by cornerback Jimmy Smith with safety Ed Reed trailing the play.

Crabtree also had five TDs and 30 catches on third-down plays last season both stats among the top five in the NFL.

Kaepernick offered an easy explanation as to why they clicked so well: "He got open."

He has bounced back the past two seasons from several injuries.

After a 71-day contract stalemate as a rookie, Crabtree was sidelined during the 2010 preseason with a neck injury. Again a year later he was out with a broken foot sustained while working out in Alex Smith-organized practices during the NFL lockout.

In 2011, Crabtree led the team in catches (72) and yards receiving (874), but San Francisco came up short of a Super Bowl.

While he had four catches for 25 yards and a 4-yard touchdown reception in a 36-32 victory against Drew Brees and the favored Saints in the NFC divisional playoffs, it was the NFC championship game Crabtree remembers as a most disappointing day.

San Francisco's receivers had just one catch for 3 yards yes, it was by him and Crabtree was targeted four times in a 20-17 overtime loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Crabtree said that performance helped fuel him last year.

"Obviously he's a great player, he's done a lot for this team," Kaepernick said. "We just have to have someone step up. He's not happy about it, he's just trying to get healthy now. Crab's going to work, he's going to be back."

Notes: The 49ers signed fourth-round draft pick WR Quinton Patton to a four-year contract. ... The team also claimed tight end/long snapper Kyle Nelson off of waivers from the San Diego Chargers and waived P Anthony Santella. ... Also gone Wednesday were S Darcel McBath, who Harbaugh said was ill; LT Joe Staley, C Jonathan Goodwin, CB Tarell Brown and LB NaVorro Bowman.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session's losses, as tepid economic data eased concerns the Federal Reserve would begin to gradually scale back its policy of stimulating growth.

The day's gain put the S&P 500 on track to end the month about 3.6 percent higher, while the Dow was up 3.3 percent for the month so far. The Nasdaq was up 4.9 percent.

Stocks have been volatile recently and closely tied to alternating views of the future of the Fed's loose monetary policy. Shares tumbled on Wednesday on concern the Fed would curb its bond-buying because of signs the economy was strengthening. U.S. Treasury bond yields rose to the highest in 13 months the same day, also influenced by concern about possible Fed tapering.

"It won't be until around September before we really hear about possible changes in Fed (policy), but the market is volatile because at these levels, profit-taking is part of a hedging method to protect against possible downsides," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

"After the profit-taking, the market moves right back up because it's a great buying opportunity, like today."

The Dow Jones industrial averagewas up 21.73 points, or 0.14 percent, at 15,324.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Indexwas up 6.05 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,654.41. The Nasdaq Composite Indexwas up 23.78 points, or 0.69 percent, at 3,491.30.

Data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose in the latest week while the government's latest reading on first-quarter gross domestic product came in slightly below forecasts.

Loose monetary policies by central banks around the world have helped drive both the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs. The S&P 500 is up more than 16 percent this year so far.

Even if U.S. economic data signals strength, "the stock market has yet to fully embrace the notion that the economy has reached take-off velocity and is ready to contend with a removal of stimulus," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

Pending home sales rose 0.3 percent in April to the highest since April 2010, but analysts had expected a 1.1 percent rise.

In company news, Costco Wholesale Corp , the largest U.S. warehouse club chain, reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations by a penny, though sales were below forecasts. Shares fell 0.9 percent to $111.88.

Semiconductors were higher after chipmaker Avago Technologiesforecast current-quarter revenue largely above expectations. Avago shares jumped 9.8 percent to $37.82 while the PHLX semiconductor indexclimbed 1.5 percent.

NV Energy Incsurged 22.5 percent to $23.62 after a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incagreed to buy the electric utility for $5.6 billion. Berkshire class B shares rose 1.6 percent to $114.84.

Shares of EMC Corp , the data storage equipment makers, rose 5.4 percent to $24.93 after instituting a quarterly dividend and increasing its stock buyback program to $6 billion from $1 billion.

Volume was roughly 6.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, slightly above the average daily closing volume of about 6.4 billion this year.

Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE 1,756 to 1,208. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,728 to 772.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

The 13-year-old from Bayside Hills, N.Y., correctly spelled "knaidel," a word for a small mass of leavened dough, to win the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. The bee tested brain power, composure and, for the first time, knowledge of vocabulary.

Arvind finished in third place in both 2011 and 2012, and both times, he was eliminated on German-derived words. This time, he got one German word in the finals, and the winning word was from German-derived Yiddish, eliciting groans and laughter from the crowd. He spelled both with ease.

"The German curse has turned into a German blessing," he said.

Arvind outlasted 11 other finalists, all but one of whom had been to the National Spelling Bee before, in nearly 2 hours of tense, grueling competition that was televised nationally. In one round, all nine participants spelled their words correctly.

When he was announced as the winner, Arvind looked upward at the confetti falling upon him and cracked his knuckles, his signature gesture during his bee appearances. He'll take home $30,000 in cash and prizes along with a huge cup-shaped trophy. The skinny teen, clad in a white polo shirt and wire-rimmed glasses pushed down his nose, was joined on stage at the Washington-area hall by his parents and his beaming younger brother.

An aspiring physicist who admires Albert Einstein, Arvind said he would spend more time studying physics this summer now that he's "retired" from the spelling bee.

Arvind becomes the sixth consecutive Indian-American winner and the 11th in the past 15 years, a run that began in 1999 when Nupur Lala captured the title in 1999 and was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound."

Arvind's family is originally from Hyderabad in southern India, and relatives who live there were watching live on television.

"At home, my dad used to chant Telegu poems from forward to backward and backward to forward, that kind of thing," said Arvind's father, Srinivas. "So language affinity, we value language a lot. And I love language, I love English."

Pranav Sivakumar, who like Arvind rarely appeared flustered onstage, finished second. The 13-year-old from Tower Lakes, Ill., was tripped up by "cyanophycean," a word for a blue-green alga. Sriram Hathwar, 13, of Painted Post, N.Y., finished third, and Amber Born, 14, of Marblehead, Mass., was fourth.

The field was whittled down from 42 semifinalists Thursday afternoon, with spellers advancing based on a formula that combined their scores from a computerized spelling and vocabulary test with their performance in two onstage rounds.

The vocabulary test was new. Some of the spellers liked it, some didn't, and many were in-between, praising the concept but wondering why it wasn't announced at the beginning of the school year instead of seven weeks before the national bee.

"It was kind of a different challenge," said Vismaya Kharkar, 14, of Bountiful, Utah, who finished tied for 5th place. "I've been focusing my studying on the spelling for years and years."

There were two multiple-choice vocabulary tests one in the preliminaries and one in the semifinals and they were administered in a quiet room away from the glare of the onstage parts of the bee. The finals were the same as always: no vocabulary, just spellers trying to avoid the doomsday bell.

There was a huge groan from the crowd when Arvind got his first German-derived word, "dehnstufe," an Indo-European long-grade vowel.

Milking the moment, he asked, "Can I have the language of origin?" before throwing his hands in the air with a wry smile.

"I had begun to be a little wary of German words, but this year I prepared German words and I studied them, so when I got German words this year, I wasn't worried," Arvind said.

He appeared to have more trouble with "galere," a word for a group of people having a marked common quality or relationship. He asked for the etymology twice French and old Catalan shifted his body back and forth and stroked his chin before getting it right with seconds to spare.

Amber, an aspiring comedy writer and crowd favorite, bowed out on "hallali," a huntsman's bugle call. She said, "I know, I know," when the clock told her time was running out, and she knew she had missed it, saying "That's not right" as she finished her effort.

The bee's growing popularity is reflected in an ESPN broadcast that gets more sophisticated each year. In the semifinals, Amber got to watch herself featured on a televised promo that also aired on the jumbo screen inside the auditorium.

She then approached the microphone and, referring to herself, deadpanned: "She seemed nice."

Vanya Shivashankar, at 11 the youngest of the finalists, fell short in her bid to become the first sibling of a previous winner to triumph. Her sister, Kavya, won in 2009. Vanya finished tied for 5th after misspelling "zenaida," which means a type of pigeon.

___

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(Reuters) - GameStop Corp raised the lower end of its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday after beating fourth-quarter estimates, counting on a boost from new gaming consoles due later this year and further growth in digital and mobile sales.

The videogame industry, which has struggled with declining sales as gamers migrate to mobile and social media platforms, is hoping for a strong finish to 2013 with the release of new titles like Take-Two Interactive Software's "Grand Theft Auto V" and Electronic Arts Inc's "Battlefield 4."

New gaming consoles like Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony Corp's Playstation4 are expected to launch in coming months. Investors hope the advent of new gaming hardware will give the video game industry a shot in the arm.

GameStop raised the lower end of its full-year earnings forecast to $2.90 to $3.15 per share, from $2.75 to $3.15 per share previously.

"The expectations are that we're going to have a tough first half until we see titles like Grand Theft Auto and new consoles," Chief Financial Officer Robert Lloyd told Reuters.

Sony Corp said in February it would release its next-generation PlayStation this year, its first videogame console in seven years. And on Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, its first new gaming console in eight years, making its strongest push so far to dominate consumers' living rooms with an array of exclusive media and video game content.

GameStop shares, which have risen about 46 percent in the last three months, were trading flat at $36.20 in the afternoon.

Analysts say there remained confusion over whether Microsoft planned to take a cut on revenue for used games played on the Xbox One, following news reports that suggested the software company may charge used-game users a fee.

"It appears that Microsoft will assign a unique ID to each game disk loaded onto the Xbox, which could require a second user to pay Microsoft a fee to access Xbox services," R. w. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said in a note on Tuesday.

GameStop executives said they would wait for the software company to communicate that.

"The majority of how the stock is going to trade is going to be the market interpretation of how "Xbox One" is going to handle used-game sales," National Alliance Securities analyst Mike Hickey told Reuters.

Total U.S. sales of videogame hardware and software in April saw a 25 percent drop, following a downward trend that has continued month over month since last year, according to a report by market research firm NPD.

Quarterly profit of the world's largest video games retailer fell to 46 cents per share, but beat analysts' estimates of 40 cents per share.

The company, which said its year-to-date market share of PS3 and Xbox 360 software in the United States was 47.7 percent, reported first-quarter revenue of $1.87 billion. Mobile sales rose 290 percent to $46.8 million.

Analysts on average were expecting sales of $1.82 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Quarterly profit fell to 46 cents per share, but beat analysts' estimates of 40 cents per share.

For the second quarter, GameStop expects earnings of 1 cent per share to 7 cents per share. Analysts are expecting a profit of 8 cents per share.

(Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore and Malathi Nayak in San Francisco; Editing by Roshni Menon and Alden Bentley)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry urged Egypt to act swiftly on economic reforms to secure a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, saying the measures were needed to get further aid from the U.S. Congress, an American official said.

Kerry met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi for about an hour on the sidelines of an African Union summit on Saturday, discussing Syria's civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, human rights in Egypt and the country's faltering economy, the official said.

Egypt's Islamist-led government has been resistant to introducing the austerity measures needed to win the IMF funding, including raising taxes and cutting fuel subsidies, fearing such painful reforms could provoke social unrest.

However, an IMF deal could help shore up investor and donor concerns after two years of political instability since the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak in early 2011. The instability has depressed tourism, a crucial industry for Egypt.

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kerry had made the argument that the reforms were necessary to persuade American lawmakers to proceed with further economic support for the country, which borders U.S. ally Israel.

"He urged action on making reforms happen now to move towards requirements to get the IMF package," the official said.

During his first visit to Cairo as secretary of state, on March 3, Kerry told Mursi the United States would provide the first $190 million of $450 million in pledged budget support because of Mursi's commitment to see the IMF process through.

The remainder, however, would depend on the economic reforms, a point Kerry made again in the Ethiopian capital.

"He said ... we need to be able to show Congress that you have taken the necessary reforms," said the official. "I have been a strong advocate of support for Egypt. I continue to support aid for Egypt, but ... we need to see reforms in place that will encourage my former colleagues back at home to act."

Kerry served in the U.S. Senate for nearly 30 years before becoming the country's top diplomat on February 1.

Egypt has in recent years received about $1.3 billion in military aid from Washington, support that dates back to its signing of a peace treaty with Israel more than 30 years ago. That assistance, however, is not seen as contingent on Egyptian economic reform.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Pravin Char)

Scores: England 354 (J.Root 104, J.Bairstow 64, T.Boult 5-57) and 287-5 dec (A.Cook 130, J.Trott 76, K. Williamson 3-68); New Zealand 174 (G.Swann 4-42 S.Finn 3-36) & 158-6 (R.Taylor 70, G Swann 4-61) (Compiled by Justin Palmer; Editing by John Mehaffey)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Fast & the Furious 6" is widely expected to dominate the Memorial Day box office and potentially become the highest grossing film in the lucrative franchise's history.

For a franchise keep growing as it enters its second decade and sixth installment is nearly unheard of in Hollywood, where sequels tend to burn hot and fast, dying out quickly. Yet Universal Pictures has adroitly managed the car racing series by tapping into international markets, catering to under-appreciated moviegoing audiences and recognizing the power of Diesel fuel - Vin Diesel that is.

Here are six takeaways from the "Fast & the Furious" franchise's success for rival studios trying to engineer their own box office Maserati's.

Vin Diesel Is an A-Lister, Get Used to It

He may not wield the clout or boast the magazine covers of a Depp or a Pitt or a Smith, but make no mistake, Diesel is a star. After getting lost on the C-list in the mid-aughts and seeing his once white-hot career fizzle out with bombs like "Find Me Guilty" or artistic embarrassments like "The Pacifier," Diesel cannily returned to the franchise that made him a powerhouse with 2009's "Fast & Furious."

In the process, he helped the series consistently build its audience with each new film, allowing the franchise to gross nearly $1.6 billion globally. With this September's "Riddick," Diesel will see if he can revive another of his action franchises that has run out of steam. If he can pull it off, that will give him two massive tentpole roles in his quiver. Few actors other than Robert Downey Jr. with "Sherlock Holmes" and "Iron Man" can match that kind of track record.

The U.S. Is Nice, But Foreign Countries Are King

Though "The Fast & The Furious" started out as a depiction of L.A. street racing, few franchises have done a better job of embracing the global marketplace. Starting with 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," the third film in the franchise, the series has traipsed around the globe, conveniently stopping in many of the movie business' most important emerging markets. Along the way, the crew of car racers and thieves have evaded the law in exotic settings like Brazil, Mexico and, in the latest iteration, Spain and the United Kingdom.

With 70 percent of box office revenue coming from abroad, an international flavor is not an longer exotic icing on any big-budget confection. It's an essential ingredient to making the sprawling community of moviegoers feel like they are watching their dreams and lives reflected back to them on the big screen.

The reward for this cosmopolitanism? "Fast & Furious 6" is off to a white-hot start at the foreign box office; its opening in the U.K. and Ireland last Friday gave Universal the studio's biggest opening day ever in that market with $4.6 million. "Fast Five," the previous film in the franchise, more than doubled the largest foreign gross in the franchise's history and most box office analysts predict the latest adventure will eclipse the last film's $416 million international take.

Newsflash! Latinos Go to Movies

Latino audiences have pushed "The Fast & The Furious" series into rarified blockbuster terrain. Thanks to stars like Michelle Rodriguez, and a healthy amount of Spanish dialog, the films have gone out of their way to court this too often neglected demographic.

Pay heed studios! Latinos represent just 17 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for 26 percent of ticket sales, according a study by the Motion Picture Association of America. In the case of "Fast Five," catering to this crowd resulted in a monster turnout, with Latinos representing 33 percent of its opening weekend U.S. audience.

...Oh, And So Do Women

Casting women as more than scantily clad helpmates and arm candy has further broadened "The Fast & The Furious" franchise's appeal.

Women represent 51 percent of the U.S. population and 52 percent of the moviegoing public, but according to a 2012 study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, only 11 percent of the protagonists in top grossing films are female.

Yes, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are the top-billed stars in the series, but what's refreshing about "Fast & Furious 6" is that Rodriguez and co-star Gina Carano have roles that are integral to the action. In fact, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Universal Pictures co-president of production, told TheWrap that the most recent "Fast" film is the highest testing among women.

He added that the on-screen throw down between Rodriguez and Carano is a key selling point of the film and "trumps" the fight between Diesel and Dwayne Johnson that was a heavily promoted part of "Fast Five."

Don't Idle at the Starting Line

Beginning with the fourth film in the series, 2009's "The Fast & the Furious," Universal has rigidly adhered to a release schedule of one "Fast" picture every two years. The studio is accelerating the schedule with "Fast & the Furious 7," which will roar into theaters in 2014, roughly a year after the sixth film was unleashed on the summer box office.

At CinemaCon, the annual exhibition trade show in Las Vegas, Diesel told theater owners that the studio was able to rush into production on a follow-up to "Fast & the Furious 6" because they had carefully mapped out a direction for the series. In a digitally connected age where platforms like Twitter and Facebook have intensified the rate at which entertainment and media is anticipated, consumed and discussed, it is critical that studios move nimbly to exploit buzz before this morning's hot thing become that afternoon's tired idea.

Allow a Director to Grow With a Franchise

Justin Lin didn't have the kind of CV that would instantly make a studio feel comfortable about handing over the keys to one of its crown jewel franchises.

When Universal tapped the UCLA grad to inject new life into the "Fast" series, Lin was best known for the Sundance breakout "Better Luck Tomorrow" and the James Franco bomb "Annapolis." But whatever studio executives saw Taiwanese-born director has allowed the series to reach new heights.

Under Lin, the four "Fast" films he has directed have grown more global in scope, more financially successful, more technically audacious and more critically acclaimed. The decision to move up production on "Fast & the Furious 7," so it can open next year, means that he will have to yield the director's chair to James Wan ("Saw"), but studio executives and producers tell TheWrap that after the success of the "Fast" movies, Lin can write his own ticket.

"He's on the A-list," a rival studio executive enthused. "If he wants to do a Bond film, he can. If he wants to do a Chris Nolan-type 'Inception' movie or a smaller personal movie, he can. Everyone wants to work with him."

Face transplants are extraordinarily complicated and relatively rare procedures that in the past have required extensive preparation, typically months or years. But medical officials said the Polish patient's condition was deteriorating so rapidly that a transplant was seen as the only option, though now he still faces a high risk of infection.

The patient worked at stonemason's workshop, where in April a machine used to cut stone severely damaged his face and crushed his upper jaw. The man, identified only as Grzegorz, received intensive treatment at a hospital in Wroclaw, but an attempt to replant his own face failed, doctors said.

So he was taken to the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Gliwice, which is the only place in Poland licensed to do face transplants and has experience in facial reconstruction for patients disfigured by cancer.Doctors at the center said the 27-hour face and bone transplant was performed May 15 soon after a matching donor was found.

The surgery reconstructed the face, jaws, palate and the bottom of the man's eye sockets. Pictures show surgery stitches running from above the patient's right eye, under the left eye and around the face to the neck.The donor was also a young man.

The head of the team of surgeons and other specialists, Adam Maciejewski, said it was the world's first life-saving face transplant carried out so soon after the damage.

He and other doctors said the surgery was the patient's only shot at survival prior to the operation the man faced danger from infections because of the tremendous damage to his mouth area and the skull bone. The man also could not breathe on his own nor eat.

"We assume the surgery will allow the patient to return to normal life," Maciejewski said. "He will be able to breathe, to eat, to see."

However, surgeon Michal Grajek told The Associated Press that the patient still runs a risk of infection because the team did not have time to cure any potential infections in the donor tissue. For now, the patient is in sterile isolation to protect him from infection, but he has already started the rehabilitation process.

He will stay on immunosuppression drugs for the rest of his life to keep his body from rejecting the donated face.

A picture of the patient taken Tuesday, six days after the surgery, showed him giving a thumbs-up sign from his hospital bed.

More than two dozen transplants of the face or parts of the face have been performed around the world. The first one was a partial face transplant in a woman maimed by her dog in France in 2005.

University spokesman Colin Riley declined to provide the student's name or other identifying details.

The other two victims killed in the back-to-back blasts near the finish line of the storied distance race were Martin Richard, 8, and Krystle Campbell, 29, both from the Boston area. More than 170 other people were hurt by the two explosions.

(Reporting By Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Scott Malone)