Ang Lee
Ang Lee | ||
---|---|---|
李安 | ||
Born | Chaozhou, Pingtung, Taiwan | October 23, 1954|
Education | ||
Occupations |
| |
Years active | 1991–present | |
Spouse | ||
Children | 2, including Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Ān | |
Bopomofo | ㄌㄧˇ ㄢ | |
Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Lii An | |
Wade–Giles | Li3 An1 | |
IPA | [lì án] | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Yale Romanization | Léih Ōn | |
Jyutping | Lei5 On1 | |
IPA | [lei˩˧ ɔːn˥] | |
Southern Min | ||
Hokkien POJ | Lí An |
Ang Lee
Born in Pingtung County, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. He rose to prominence directing films such as Pushing Hands (1991), The Wedding Banquet (1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), which explored the relationships and conflicts between tradition and modernity, Eastern and Western; the three films are informally known as the "Father Knows Best" trilogy.[7] The films were critically successful both in Taiwan and internationally.
His breakthrough in Hollywood was the costume drama Sense and Sensibility (1995), which was also his first entirely English-language film. Lee went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director twice for the romantic drama Brokeback Mountain (2005); and the survival drama Life of Pi (2012). He directed films in a broad range of genres, including the drama The Ice Storm (1997); the martial arts drama Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); the superhero blockbuster Hulk (2003) and the erotic espionage drama Lust, Caution (2007).
Early life and education
"the formation of an individual decides their world perception, especially the things that happen before one is 20, so since he did not go to the US until he was 23, "whatever I do, whatever I absorb outside [Taiwan], my nature remains very Taiwanese... The basic me was growing up here, mixed with a lot of other things. Taiwan is like this. Wherever I shoot my film, it is a Taiwanese film"
-Ang Lee, speaks of his attachment to Taiwan. Sabine Cheng & Lilian Wu, October 1, 2016[8]
Ang Lee was born in a
Lee studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School (now National Tainan First Senior High School) where his father was the principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Republic of China. But after failing the exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, the National Arts School (now reorganized and expanded as National Taiwan University of Arts), and graduated in 1975. His father had wanted him to become a professor, but he had become interested in drama and the arts in college. This early frustration set his career on the path of performance art. Seeing Ingmar Bergman's film The Virgin Spring (1960) was a formative experience for him.[11]
After finishing his
During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, Shades of the Lake (1982), which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. His own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, Fine Line (1984), won NYU's
Life after graduation
Lee's NYU thesis drew attention from the William Morris Agency, the famous talent and literary agency that later represented Lee. At first, though, WMA found Lee few opportunities, and Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin, a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. This arrangement put enormous pressure on the couple, but with Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in film but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time.[14]
In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, to a competition sponsored by Government Information Office of R.O.C., and they came in first and second, respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Hsu Li-kong (Chinese: 徐立功; pinyin: Xú Lìgōng), a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had a strong interest in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct Pushing Hands, a full-length feature that debuted in 1991.[citation needed]
Career
1991–1994: International films
The 'Father Knows Best' trilogy
In 1994, Hsu invited Lee to return to Taiwan to make
The three films show the Confucian family at risk and star the Taiwanese actor Sihung Lung to form what has been called Lee's "Father Knows Best" trilogy.[7]
1994–2012: Breakthrough and acclaim
In 1995, Lee directed
After this, Lee continued directing in Hollywood. He made The Ice Storm (1997), a drama set in 1970s suburban America, starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, and Tobey Maguire. The film competed at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for the Palme d'Or. It received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay. Angie Errigo of Empire praised the film writing, "Ang Lee seems incapable of making a less than outstanding movie" adding, "The real beauty of this film is the way in which Ang Lee shifts his story from sex farce to youth drama to tragic despair with the help of a perfect ensemble cast".[19]
Lee made another film, the revisionist Western drama Ride with the Devil (1999), set during the American Civil War. The film which starred Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, and Jeffrey Wright received mixed reviews and was a box office bomb. Entertainment Weekly described it as "oddly unengaging" and the "waxy yellow buildup of earnest tastefulness seals off every character from our access. These Americans aren't action figures; they're collectible figurines."[20] For a time this interrupted Lee's unbroken popularity – from both general audiences and arthouse aficionados – since his first full-length movie. However, in the late 1990s and 2000s, The Ice Storm had high VHS and DVD sales and rentals and repeated screenings on cable television, which has increased the film's popularity among audiences.
In 1999, Hsu Li-kong, Lee's old partner and supporter, invited him to make a movie based on the traditional "
In 2003, Lee returned to Hollywood to direct the
Lee took on a small-budget, low-profile independent film based on Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-finalist short story, Brokeback Mountain. In a 2005 article[22] by Robert K. Elder, Lee was quoted as saying, "What do I know about gay ranch hands in Wyoming?" In spite of the director's distance from the subject at hand, Brokeback Mountain showcased Lee's skills in probing the depths of the human heart. The 2005 movie about the forbidden love between two Wyoming sheepherders immediately caught public attention and became a cultural phenomenon, initiating intense debates and becoming a box office hit.
The film was critically acclaimed at major international film festivals and won Lee numerous Best Director and Best Picture awards worldwide. Brokeback Mountain was the most acclaimed film of 2005, winning 71 awards and an additional 52 nominations. It won the
His next film was
Lust, Caution captured the Golden Lion from the 2007 Biennale Venice Film Festival, making Lee the winner of the highest prize for the second time in three years (Lee is one of only four filmmakers to have won the Golden Lion twice). When Lust, Caution was played in Lee's native Taiwan in its original full-length edition, it was very well received.[citation needed] Staying in Taiwan to promote the film and to participate in a traditional holiday, Lee got emotional[citation needed] when he found that his work was widely applauded by fellow Taiwanese. Lee admitted that he had low expectations for this film from the U.S. audience since "its pace, its film language;– it's all very Chinese."[25] The film was submitted by Taiwan for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards, but the Academy ruled that an insufficient number of Taiwanese nationals had participated in the production, thus disqualifying it from further consideration; it was not nominated for any other category.
Lee was chosen to be president of the jury for the 2009
2013–present: Career fluctuations
In 2013, he was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[29] In March 2013, it was announced that Lee would direct a television pilot for the drama series Tyrant, created by Gideon Raff and developed by Howard Gordon and Craig Wright. Production was scheduled for the summer of 2013 for the FX series.[30] However, Lee decided to quit the project to take a break from his hectic schedule.[31]
Lee next directed the war drama
In April 2017, Ang Lee began discussions with Skydance Media to helm an action thriller film, Gemini Man, that follows a senior DIA official being hunted by a young clone of himself right as he is about to retire from the agency.[33] Will Smith was cast in the lead role.[34] In January 2018, Clive Owen and Mary Elizabeth Winstead had been cast as the antagonist and female lead respectively. The film was released on October 11, 2019 to negative reviews and flopped at the box office. Alissa Wilkinson of Vox wrote, "If Gemini Man is the future of big-budget filmmaking, I hope someone in Hollywood is getting worried."[35] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "it was the script that never lived up to the promise of its premise."[36]
Upcoming projects
In 2013, Ang Lee began development on a film dramatising Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali's heavyweight title fight, known as the Thrilla in Manila. The film was to be produced by Universal with a screenplay written by Peter Morgan, but Lee later put it on hold in 2014 in order to make Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.[37][38][39] In December 2015, it was announced that the project, tentatively titled Thrilla in Manila, now with Studio 8, would be his next film after Gemini Man.[40] David Oyelowo and Ray Fisher were reportedly Lee's top choices for the leading roles of Frazier and Ali, respectively, and he hoped to film in 3D.[41] Ang Lee announced in November 2022 that he is working on a biopic on the life of Bruce Lee starring the director's son, Mason Lee.[42]
Personal life
Lee lives in
Filmography
Lee has been involved in the process of filmmaking in various capacities, though the highlight of his career and legacy is his directorial work. The following are Lee's various credits.
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Pushing Hands | Yes | No | Yes |
1993 | The Wedding Banquet | Yes | No | Yes |
1994 | Eat Drink Man Woman | Yes | No | Yes |
1995 | Siao Yu | No | Yes | Yes |
Sense and Sensibility | Yes | No | No | |
1997 | The Ice Storm | Yes | No | No |
1999 | Ride with the Devil | Yes | No | No |
2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Yes | Yes | No |
2003 | Hulk | Yes | No | No |
2005 | Brokeback Mountain | Yes | No | No |
2007 | Lust, Caution | Yes | Yes | No |
2009 | Taking Woodstock | Yes | Yes | No |
2012 | Life of Pi | Yes | Yes | No |
2016 | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | Yes | Yes | No |
2019 | Gemini Man | Yes | No | No |
Lee also directed the commercial Chosen (2001).
Acting credits
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | The Wedding Banquet | Wedding guest | Cameo |
1998 | The Candidate | Hsu Giu Jing's childhood friend | |
2007 | Hollywood Chinese | Himself | Documentary |
Awards and honors
In 2003, Lee was ranked 27th in The Guardian's 40 best directors.[6] In August 2007, Lee was named the 41st greatest director of all time in a poll by Total Film magazine.[49] Lee has also received awards from the French Government including becoming a Knight of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2012).[50] and a Knight of the French Legion of Honor (2021)[51][52] In 2020 he received a BAFTA Fellowship for his Outstanding Contributions to British Cinema.
Lee has been nominated for nine
On November 30, 2021, Lee received the Presidential Culture Award in the arts and culture category from Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen.[54]
Year | Title | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | ||
1993 | The Wedding Banquet | 1 | 1 | ||||
1994 | Eat Drink Man Woman | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
1995 | Sense and Sensibility | 7 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
1997 | The Ice Storm | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | 10 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
2005 | Brokeback Mountain | 8 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
2007 | Lust, Caution | 2 | 1 | ||||
2012 | Life of Pi | 11 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Total | 38 | 12 | 49 | 14 | 23 | 9 |
Recurring collaborators
Ang Lee has had a career-long collaboration with producer and screenwriter James Schamus[55] and editor Tim Squyres. He has also worked several times with music composer Mychael Danna and a few times with Danny Elfman.[note 1]
Year | Title | James Schamus | Tim Squyres | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Producer | Writer | Editor | ||
1991 | Pushing Hands[56] | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1993 | The Wedding Banquet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1994 | Eat Drink Man Woman | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Yes | No | Yes |
1997 | The Ice Storm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1999 | Ride with the Devil | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2003 | Hulk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2005 | Brokeback Mountain | Yes | No | No |
2007 | Lust, Caution | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2009 | Taking Woodstock | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2012 | Life of Pi | No | No | Yes |
2016 | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | No | No | Yes |
2019 | Gemini Man | No | No | Yes |
Notes
- ^ Mychael Danna was originally hired to score Hulk, but he was removed from the project, apparently at the request of the studio, and another composer completed the final score. Ang Lee spoke publicly about this in 2012 at a director's roundtable, calling it the moment he regretted most in his career. Danna subsequently received his first Oscar nomination and went on to win that award for scoring Life of Pi, his first reunion with Lee since that time.
References
- ^ a b "戰爭人性與電影科技 李安:視覺對我是信仰 [Humanity during War and Film Technologies: Interview of Ang Lee]". 中天的夢想驛站 (in Chinese). November 12, 2016. Event occurs at 23:20. CtiTV. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021.
我很想跟他們講其實我也沒有入美國籍,我拿的還是綠卡。(I was willing to tell them that I am not naturalized as U.S. citizen. I still hold the green card.)
- ROC passport, and he never apply to naturalize himself as American citizen. Surely Lust, Caution is originated in Taiwan"... It was learned that Ang Lee has been a US permanent resident for years without a citizenship by naturalization]
- ^ Williams, Sarah (February 20, 2013). "'Life of Pi's Ang Lee Conquers Anti-Asian Bias". Voice of America. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
Like many Asian-Americans in Hollywood's film industry, Chinese-born American film director Ang Lee struggled for acceptance early in his career.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (November 20, 2012). "Ang Lee's Life of Pi: Storm and Fang, Water and Wonder". Time. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
The Chinese-born American director mastered the nuances of 19th-century English manners in Sense and Sensibility, set martial-artist adversaries to dancing on tree tops in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and sold the mainstream audience on the love story of two cowboys in Brokeback Mountain.
- ^ "Life of Pi – film that transcends global emotions". The Times of India. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "40 best directors | Features | guardian.co.uk Film". www.theguardian.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Nationhood, Gender(Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1997), p. 242.
- Focus Taiwan.
- ^ Ho Yi. Family and friends praise Ang Lee's quiet dedication. Taipei Times. March 7, 2006.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ "Interview from Studio 360". Archived from the original on August 11, 2008.
- ^ HBO Directors Dialogues: Ang Lee. October 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ISBN 978-1-61448-536-0.
- ^ "Ang Lee: A Never-Ending Dream". gotoread.com. February 26, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The 66th Academy Awards (1994) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- BAFTA Guru. November 24, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (December 13, 1995). "FILM REVIEW;In Mannerly Search of Marriageable Men". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "The Ice Storm review". Empire. January 2000. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon': THR's 2000 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. December 8, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "Lee sees his 'Brokeback Mountain' as a unifying force". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 2015.
- ^ "Presidential Office mulling honor for Ang Lee". Focus Taiwan News Channel. February 23, 2013.
- ^ AFP (September 11, 2007). "Ang Lee bows to China and self-censors award-winning film". Yahoo! News.
- ^ Min Lee, Associated Press (September 23, 2007). "Ang Lee: Don't expect much from 'Lust, Caution'". USA Today.
- ^ "Ang Lee to head Venice festival". BBC News. February 27, 2009. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
- ^ "Life of Pi". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ "'Life of Pi' beats other Hollywood hits at overseas box offices | Latest | FOCUS TAIWAN – CNA ENGLISH NEWS". focustaiwan.tw. January 7, 2013.
- Reed Business Information. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (March 14, 2013). "Ang Lee to Direct FX Drama Pilot 'Tyrant'". FX press release. TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ^ "Ang Lee walks away from debut TV project". msn.com. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (February 10, 2017). "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk review – war on terror satire that plays it safe". The Guardian. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Cabin, Chris (April 22, 2017). "Ang Lee Eyed to Direct Twisty Actioner 'Gemini Man' for Skydance". Collider.
- ^ Lee, Ashley (July 6, 2017). "Ang Lee's 'Gemini Man' Gets October 2019 Release". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, spells catastrophe for the future of movies". Vox. October 9, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "Film Review: Will Smith in 'Gemini Man'". Variety. September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "Ang Lee's Next Film Is A 3D Drama About Boxing History". August 8, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "The Unfortunate Reason Ang Lee's Groundbreaking Ali/Frazier Biopic Might Not Happen". September 15, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "Ang Lee's Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier 3D Thrilla in Manila Film Back on as Jeff Robinov's Studio 8 Answers Bell". December 8, 2015.
- ^ "Screenwriter Peter Morgan gives Newsweek an update on Ang Lee's 3D 'Thrilla in Manila' movie". Newsweek. October 28, 2016.
- ^ "Ang Lee's 3D 'Thrilla in Manila' Boxing Movie Is Back On". ScreenCrush. December 9, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Blaine Henry (November 30, 2022). "Bruce Lee Biopic in the works starring Mason Lee and directed by Ang Lee". doublehammerfist.com.
- ^ Frey, Jennifer (November 25, 2007). "A Chicken Coop, but No Tigers". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (October 4, 2007). "Taiwan breaking the arthouse mold". Variety.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Abramowitz, Rachel (August 27, 2009). "Ang Lee, hippie?". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Ang Lee 'very satisfied' new film shown in entirety". The China Post. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0231167734.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (November 17, 2012). "Ang Lee: Of water and Pi - Interviews". Roger Ebert. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Film, Total (March 5, 2010). "Greatest Directors Ever – Part 2". TotalFilm.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ AFP (November 27, 2012). "Les Arts et Lettres pour Emmanuelle Béart et Ang Lee". lefigaro.fr. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ "Le réalisateur taïwanais Ang Lee fait Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur par la France". taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ "Taiwan director Ang Lee conferred with France's highest distinction". Taiwan news. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ AFP (May 10, 2013). "Oscar-winning Ang Lee receives Taiwan medal". The Bangkok Post.
- ^ "Ang Lee receives Presidential Culture Award – Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw (in Chinese). November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ "Lee, Schamus Discuss Film Collaborations". Archived from the original on March 27, 2009.
- ^ "Tui shou". IMDb.
Further reading
- Dilley, Whitney Crothers. The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen. London: Wallflower Press, 2007.
- "Taking Stock of 'Taking Woodstock'" Rushprnews October 5, 2008
- "Ang Lee's movie has a backstory of pure serendipity" by Dan Bloom, Taipei Times. October 11, 2008
- Cheshire, Ellen. Ang Lee. London: Pocket Essentials, 2001.
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
- Ang Lee 64th Venice Film Festival press conference
- DGA Quarterly interview
- Ang Lee: A Life in Pictures at BAFTA
- A Never-Ending Dream – A short essay by Ang Lee on his road to success
External links
- Ang Lee at IMDb
- Ang Lee at the TCM Movie Database