(from cbr.com)
Director Ang Lee is keeping things in the family for his next project as the two-time Oscar-winner has cast his son, Mason Lee, as Bruce Lee in an upcoming biopic on the iconic martial artist.
"Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema," Ang Lee told Deadline. "I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound-frame, and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality."
The director is well-acquainted with the martial arts genre, having helmed 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The Taiwanese feature won Best Foreign Language Film (now known as Best International Film) at the 73rd Academy Awards and remains the highest-grossing international film in the United States. Lee was nominated for his directorial work on the film, going on to win the coveted statue twice (for 2005's Brokeback Mountain and 2012's Life of Pi). He made history with his Oscar for Brokeback Mountain as the first Asian filmmaker and first person of color to win Best Director.
Lee is said to have been working on a biopic of Bruce Lee for some time and has prepped his son Mason to play the lead role. The actor has been training for the last three years to play the martial arts master. His previous acting experience includes appearances in his father's 2016 film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, 2011's The Hangover Part II, the Taiwanese films Stand By Me (2019) and Who Killed Cock Robin (2017), and the Hong Kong feature Limbo (2021). At 32-years-old, he is also the same age Bruce Lee was when the latter unexpectedly passed in 1973.
Bruce Lee rose to prominence as Kato in The Green Hornet (1966) but became best known for his work in Hong Kong martial arts films like Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). Today he is considered a trailblazer who helped break down the barriers in the North American market for other Asian actors. In addition to his acting work, Lee trained actors like Steve McQueen and James Coburn in Jeet Kune Do, a form of martial arts that Lee created.
The famous martial artist has been the subject of documentaries and biopics in the past in films like 1993's Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, 2016's Birth of the Dragon, and 2020's Be Water. Director Quentin Tarantino famously included a fictional version of Lee (played by Mike Moh) in 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lee's inclusion in the film became a source of controversy after the actor's daughter, Shannon Lee spoke against Tarantino's depiction of her late father and of the filmmaker's comments defending his interpretation. Sharon Tate, who Margot Robbie played in Tarantino's film, was also a famous student of Lee's. Unlike Tarantino's film, Shannon Lee has given her stamp of approval on Ang Lee's upcoming biopic as she will also serve as a producer on the project.
No release date is set for Ang Lee's Bruce Lee, and little else is known about the plot or the rest of the cast, but the film will see the director re-team with his Life of Pi producers Marisa Paiva, Elizabeth Gabler and Tom Rothman at Sony's 3000 Pictures. Writer Dan Futterman (Capote, Foxcatcher) is penning the most recent draft of the script.
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