Ang Lee

Fox Moves LIFE OF PI Up to November 21; THE INTERNSHIP Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn Set for June 28, 2013

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 23rd, 2012 at 6:18 pm

Following the big release date shakeup of Paramount moving G.I. Joe: Retaliation to March 2013 and Ted taking the film’s June 29th slot, 20th Century Fox has announced two release date shifts of its own.  Briefly:

• Fox moves Ang Lee’s 3D adaptation of Life of Pi up from December 21st to November 21st.
• Director Shawn Levy’s comedy The Internship, starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, will open on June 28th, 2013

Hit the jump for more on each film.

20th Century Fox CinemaCon Recap: Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI, TAKEN 2, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, PROMETHEUS, and More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 26th, 2012 at 1:50 pm

At this morning’s 20th Century Fox CinemaCon 2012 panel, Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos (Co-Chairman Fox Filmed Entertainment) world premiered footage from all their upcoming releases and talked about what they have coming up in the future.  While I was excited to see more of Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus, and Liam Neeson kicking a lot of ass in Taken 2, the real surprise was Ang Lee‘s Life of Pi.  Called unfilmmable by anyone that’s read Yann Martel‘s 2001 novel about a boy and a tiger that get stranded at sea, the unfinished footage that Fox world premiered today was nothing short of stunning, and it was easily the highlight of their presentation.  While you might have wondered if Ang Lee could pull it off, based on what I saw today, Life of Pi is an early contender for Best Picture and all the other year end awards.  Hit the jump for more.

First Image from Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 25th, 2012 at 9:56 am

The first image from Ang Lee‘s 3D adaptation of the novel Life of Pi has gone online.  Yann Martel‘s highly acclaimed book tells the story of a boy named Pi (played by newcomer Suraj Sharma), who gets stranded at sea for 227 days with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan.  As always, December is going to be crowded with awards fare, but 2012 has some seriously fierce competition: Les Miserables, The Hobbit, Kathryn Bigelow‘s Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby, and Django Unchained.  Life of Pi is going to be tough sell, but it’s also probably going to be unlike anything we’ve seen in some time.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Tobey Maguire, Irrfan Khan (In Treatment), Adil Hussain (Calendar Girls), and Gerard Depardieu.  Life of Pi opens December 14th.

Casting Call: Tobey Maguire Joins Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI; Willem Dafoe in Talks for Stephen Sommers’ ODD THOMAS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 8th, 2011 at 4:07 pm

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you today, both involving adaptations of books. First up, Variety reports that Tobey Maguire is re-teaming with director Ang Lee for his adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. The story centers on a boy named Pi who gets stranded for 227 days with a tiger. Maguire will play the man who interviews the adult Pi about his experience. The cast for the 3D film now includes newcomer Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan (In Treatment), Adil Hussain (Calendar Girls), and Gerard Depardieu. The film is slated for a December 14^th, 2012 release.

Additionally, Willem Dafoe is in talks to join director Stephen Sommers’ (The Mummy) adaptation of the Dean Koontz supernatural thriller Odd Thomas. The film centers on a short-order cook who can commune with the dead. Heat Vision reports that Dafoe is in talks to play a local police chief. Anton Yelchin and Addison Timlin are poised to star in the film. Shooting is set to start in New Mexico later this spring. Hit the jump for a synopsis of both Life of Pi and Odd Thomas.

Gerard Depardieu, Irrfan Khan, and Adil Hussain Join LIFE OF PI; Tabu in Talks

by Kimberly Lucas    Posted: December 8th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Ang Lee’s next project, Life of Pi has been casting over the past few weeks. Its most recent additions include Irrfan Khan (In Treatment), Adil Hussain (Calendar Girls), and Gerard Depardieu (La Vie en Rose). The film, based on the novel by Yann Martel, is about a young boy who is stranded at sea in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a tiger. According to Variety, Khan will play the adult version of the lead character Pi, while Hussain will play Pi’s father, a zookeeper. Depardieu will play the part of the chef on the ship which they are traveling on. Though Depardieu is most known for playing Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac, I loved him in my childhood for his villainous role of Jean-Pierre in 102 Dalmations. Currently, the Bollywood actress Tabu (The Namesake), is being spoken to about playing Pi’s mother. Lee recently made an interesting choice in hiring newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi, who will have only a tiger to share the screen with for two-thirds of the film.

For more on this film, as well as a synopsis, continue after the jump:

Ang Lee Looking to Cast Bollywood Actors for LIFE OF PI

by Ramses Flores    Posted: December 1st, 2010 at 1:38 pm

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) had found the lead star for his upcoming 3D adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi with seventeen-year-old newcomer Surej Sharma.  The highly acclaimed novel tells the story of a boy named Pi, who gets stranded at sea for 227 days with a tiger. Now, with production set to start in January, Ang Lee is looking to cast the boy’s parents in the film.

According to TimesofIndia (via ThePlaylist), Lee hopes to cast popular Bollywood actress Tabu in the role of Pi’s mother, while Bollywood actors Sushant Singh and Sonu Sood are up for role of Pi’s father. By doing this, Lee will be following in the footsteps of Danny Boyle, who also chose to cast Bollywood actors in leading roles for Slumdog Millionaire.  Life of Pi is set to open on December 14, 2012.  You can hit the jump to read a plot synopsis for the novel.

Newcomer Suraj Sharma Cast as Lead in Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 25th, 2010 at 9:18 pm

It looks like the film adaptation of Yann Martel’s acclaimed novel Life of Pi is finally going into production.  Director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) joined the continually troubled project early last year, and after an exhausting worldwide casting search he’s found his star.  Seventeen-year-old newcomer Suraj Sharma beat out three thousand other young men who auditioned for the titular role of a boy stranded at sea for 227 days with a tiger.

Last we heard, Lee was at odds over the budget of the 3D film with Fox 2000.  One would assume that those details have been hammered out, as Variety reports that principal photography is set to begin in January in Taiwan and India in order to have the film ready for a Dec. 14, 2012 release date.  This will be Lee’s first time using 3D, from a script by David Magee (Finding Neverland).  For a description of the story, and a bit more on the flick, hit the jump.

Ang Lee’s 3D Adaptation of LIFE OF PI Struggles to Stay Afloat

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 28th, 2010 at 9:01 am

An adaptation of Yann Martel’s acclaimed novel Life of Pi has been in development for years now, but it seemed like its cinematic reality was imminent.  Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) was on board to direct to the would-be 3D picture with an allotted $70 million budget, and persistent producer Elizabeth Gabler was targeting an August shoot for a 2012 release.

And yet, 24 Frames reports that it appears the project has been put on hold.  Until Lee and producer Gil Netter can find a way to come up with a lower number, the adaptation will not move forward at the current budget.

Sustained by Gabler’s passion for the project, Pi has attracted an array of notable suitors over the years: M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet have all been attached at some point to depict the tale of a teenage boy stranded at sea with a Bengal tiger.  Hit the jump for a full plot synopsis.

RIDE WITH THE DEVIL Criterion Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: May 1st, 2010 at 3:49 pm

As they suggest on the commentary, Ride with the Devil was a film without a home. When Oscar season came it was ignored, and for a film like this to get any traction it would need boosters. The studio had also gone through some changes, so it was someone else’s film, and it doing well could make the new management look bad. So the tale of Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) and Jake Roedell (Tobey Maguire), two Missourian bushwhackers fighting in the civil war, was dumped and got lost in a great year of cinema. Through the Criterion Collection, it threatens and deserves to be reincarnated. My review of Criterion’s Blu-ray of Ride with the Devil follows after the jump.

Ang Lee’s Adaptation of LIFE OF PI Moves Forward in 3D

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 28th, 2010 at 10:38 pm

In February 2009, we reported that Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) wanted to direct an adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.  The project had already passed through multiple directors including Dean Georgaris, M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuaron, and Jean-Pierre Jeneut.  Then in October, we reported that Lee said Life of Pi would be his next film.  Today, Indiewire reports that the project is now scouting locations Taiwan and Pondicherry, will be a big-budget film with a price tag of over $70 million, and will be a “3D magical fantasy adfventure crammed with visual effects.”  This would be Lee’s first 3D film.

Life of Pi, in short, is about a child who shares a lifeboat with a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a hungry Bengal tiger.  Hit the jump to read the official synopsis of the book and you’ll wonder how screenwriter David Magee (Finding Neverland) has managed to crack the script.  Producer Elizabeth Gabler wants to begin filming this August for a 2012 release, but Fox hasn’t made a decision on whether to give the film the green light.

Ang Lee May Re-Team with James Schamus for a New, “Suicidally Depressing” Feature

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 21st, 2010 at 12:09 pm

Last summer’s Taking Woodstock was as close to a bomb as an “independent” movie could be, a fact that didn’t escape the attention of Focus Features CEO James Schamus: “My name is on that thing: I wrote it, I produced it… and I’ve got to take that bullet.” One person who apparently isn’t asking Schamus to eat hot lead over the failure of Woodstock is the film’s director, Ang Lee. Schamus recently revealed that he is in the process of writing another script for Lee to direct and that this time he’s “going back to the good old, tragic, suicidally depressing Ang!” Details – and handfuls of Celexa – are after the jump.

TAKING WOODSTOCK Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: December 16th, 2009 at 5:59 am

Ang Lee is an interesting filmmaker. He’s just one of those guys who tend to get fascinated by the right things, and even when he misses, there’s usually something there. And he’s definitely one of the most interesting voices of the 21^st century. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Lust, Caution are easily some of the better films to emerge over the last ten years. He can be seen as mercenary (his choice of material is often as commercial as art cinema can get, though sometimes that’s by smart marketing and catching a zeitgeist at the right moment), but he still has a way behind the camera. Taking Woodstock is one of his least, and my review of it comes after the jump.

A Fistful of News

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 30th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

We missed some stories this past week.  We’re sorry.  But we did not forget them.  We never forget.  We’re like elephants and people who hold grudges.  With that in mind, here are some stories that are a little late but they’re still great.  You can enjoy them all after the jump.

Exclusive: Liev Schreiber talks TAKING WOODSTOCK, SALT and REPOSSESSION MAMBO

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

Over his fifteen year career in the movie business, Liev Schreiber has played many parts. But in Ang Lee’s new movie “Taking Woodstock”, he definitely plays a role he’s never done before. That’s because Ang asked him to play a cross-dressing ex-Marine named Vilma, and he’s great in the role. If you aren’t familiar with Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock”, the film is based on the memoirs of Elliot Tiber (played by Demetri Martin) and it’s about his role in making 1969′s Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the famed happening it was. Anyway, after the jump you can watch my video interview with Liev where we talk about how he prepared for the role and what he has coming up. Take a look:

Jonathan Groff Exclusive Video Interview TAKING WOODSTOCK

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 10:23 pm

If you live in NYC and go to Broadway or attend plays in Central Park, you might have seen Jonathan Groff’s work. That’s because Jonathan has been in plays like “Spring Awakening”, “Hair”, and “In My Life” over the past few years and has even been nominated for a Tony Award. While he’s only twenty four years old, he’s definitely on the fast track.

Anyway, perhaps due to his rising stock on Broadway, Ang Lee cast Jonathan for a key role in “Taking Woodstock”, as he played Michael Lang – one of the people that made the festival happen. So after the jump, you can watch Jonathan tell me about what Ang made him due to prepare for the role and he reveals that he’s caught the film acting bug. Take a look:

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