Back in 2000, Ang Lee was the "it" director. He had already done a couple of well-received American films, but it was his wuxia masterpiece Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon that made him a household name. Then, he nearly destroyed his career with his adaptation of the Incredible Hulk, revitalized his career using gay cowboys, and, most recently, directed the heap of mediocrity that was Taking Woodstock. Needless to say, it's been an up-and-down journey for the Chinese director, but he's not jumping off the horse yet and he is ready for his next feature.
Digital Spy is reporting that Ang Lee will adapt Yann Martel's best seller "Life of Pi," though he has yet to bang out all of the details about the project. The book follows a young Indian boy named Piscine who, while sailing to Canada with his zookeeper father, is shipwrecked and stranded on a lifeboat with an orangutan named Orange Juice, a Royal Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker, an injured zebra, and a hyena.
Lee says that he has completed the first draft of the story and that he believes he has an idea for the film's structure. I have not read the book but I will say one thing: there better be a heaping dose of magical realism. Otherwise, that craft is going to get to shore with one passenger, and that passenger's name will be Richard Parker.
