Ang Lee

The live action remake of 'Mulan' could have been directed by Ang Lee! That would've been one hell of a movie but, alas, he passed on the opportunity because he is wanting to work on an altogether different project. Mind you, we think Alex Graves is well up to the job too.

Ang Lee swaps 'Mulan' for boxing movie

The esteemed director of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Life Of Pi' is currently promoting his latest movie 'Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk', but with more projects in line just waiting to be completed, he couldn't find the time to deviate from his schedule for Disney's 'Mulan'.

Continue reading: Ang Lee Rejected Disney's 'Mulan' Remake For Boxing Movie

Netflix are teaming up with the Weinstein Company to produce the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon titled, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny. For the first time ever, the movie will be released simultaneously online and in IMAX cinemas, next August.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 's Michelle Yeoh

The film marks Netflix’s first foray into movie making after the success of original series' such as ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’. The sequel to Ang Lee’s 2000 Academy Award nominee will this time see Woo-ping Yuen behind the camera, while former Bond actress Michelle Yeoh return in the role of Yu Shu Lien.

Continue reading: Netflix Announces First Original Movie With ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ Sequel

The Chinese government has paid six major Hollywood studios in full, following a lengthy dispute over box-office payments, the Motion Picture Association of America announced on Tuesday, reports the Wall Street Journal.

"We are pleased to hear that the Chinese government has addressed the matter and all money due will be paid in full. It is our understanding that the payment process has recommenced," said Chris Dodd, head of the MPAA.

The dispute concerns a 2 per cent luxury tax that China wanted to impose on box-office receipts. According to The Wrap, that tax was not part of the new more Hollywood-friendly trade agreement the sides had hammered out last year and the major studios saw it as a violation of the pact.

Continue reading: China Finally Pays Hollywood Studios For 'Life Of Pi' And Others

Eva Longoria suffered a wardrobe malfunction at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (May 18, 2013) though managed to have a pretty good laugh about the whole thing. The former Desperate Housewives actress stepped onto the red-carpet for the premiere of Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indians and accidentally flashed too much skin for waiting fans and photographers.

The 38-year-old had tugged up the bottom of her sea foam green Atelier Versace gown in order to avoid tripping while climbing the stairs of the theater. Unfortunately for Longoria, she was sans underwear and exposed her bottom half. The embarrassed actress quickly noticed mistake and pulled herself together to pose for photographs. She laughed off the incident the following night, "Here's my dress for tonight!" she wrote, alongside a photo of herself in a black gown. "No wardrobe malfunctions tonight!"

Everything Seemed To Be Going Swimmingly For Eva Longoria At Cannes, Until She Reached The Dreaded Stairs

Continue reading: Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction Draws Laughs At Cannes Film Festival

The Oscar-winning visual effects team behind Life of Pi had their awards acceptance speech cut short on Sunday night (February 24, 2013), it sparked further outrage amongst beleaguered visual effects workers in the film industry. Bill Westenhofer, who led the special effects team (along with Guillaume Rocheron. Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott) had intended to speak about the plight of Hollywood’s visual effects industry, in the wake of the bankruptcy of the very company winning the award. A protest outside the awards ceremony had already taken place, with The Guardian reporting that over 400 people had congregated in support.

Rhythm & Hues, the company behind the special effects in Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently – shortly after winning a Bafta award. Around 250 staff members had been laid off, amidst “mounting losses,” LA Times reports. So, when Westenhofer’s speech was cut short (with the music from the soundtrack to Jaws, no less), the award-winners, along with hundreds of supporters were outraged.

After the awards, Westenhofer was given the opportunity to say what he would no doubt have liked to have said in front of the much vaster audience watching the ceremony itself. “At a time when visual effects movies are dominating the box office, visual effects companies are struggling,” he explained, “I wanted to point out that we aren't technicians. Visual effects is not just a commodity that's being done by people pushing buttons. We're artists, and if we don't find a way to fix the business model, we start to lose the artistry. If anything, 'Life of Pi' shows that we're artists and not just technicians.” 

Continue reading: Jaws Cut-Off Music Angers 'Life Of Pi' Oscar Winners And Visual Effects Protestors

Ang Lee is no stranger to awards. His movies have received 38 Academy Award nominations and won 12, but to win Best Director for Life of Pi was nothing short of a shock for most. Its stunning visuals set it up for a win in the cinematography category, but Best Director (without wanting to belittle our expectations of Lee or of the movie itself) certainly seemed a toss up between Steven Spielberg for Lincoln or Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty.  

However, we were all wrong, and gladly so. In his acceptance speech Lee thanked the cast, the crew, Fox, and Taiwan itself, all components of which came together to make one of the most beautiful films to watch of all time. "Suraj, where are you?" He said, the Telegraph quotes. "You're a miracle. He [carries] the movie. Every one of you in the cast... You're the golden statue in my heart." 

Lee is well deserved of the award. While yes, indeed, the cast, the crew and the country all came together to make it work, it was Lee who brought all those components under one roof, as it were. It was Lee's vision that made the unfilmable, filmable; the impossible, possible. And that is something that should always be commended. 

Is this a shock? It kind of is. Ang Lee has taken the Best Director Oscar for Life of Pi, ahead of Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, who was the hot favorite to win the award.

Not to worry, Speilberg, you’ll bag best film, everyone knows it. But this was Ang Lee’s day, and he delivered his speech with the eloquence and grace that he’s become known for. “Thank you so much. Thank you movie god,” he said, looking up to the sky and receiving a titter of laughter from a knowing crowd. “I really need to share this with everyone who worked with me on Life of Pi. I want to thank you for believing the story and sharing this incredible journey. I need to thanks Yann Martell for writing this incredible, inspiring book.” This award was perhaps distorted by the fact were both Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino both, inexplicably, missed out on nominations, effectively making the Academy voter’s decisions a whole lot easier.

Continue reading: Oscars 2013: Ang Lee Beats Steven Spielberg To Best Director

As awards season kicks off, today with the BAFTA nominations and tomorrow with the Golden Globe award ceremony, actors, actresses, directors and producers everywhere will be biting their nails and praying for a win from at least one of the big three coming up, the aforementioned two, of the Oscars, nominations for which will also be released tomorrow. 

There are very few surprises in the BAFTA nominations as this year has some clear stand-out offerings to the trade, and as announced by Alice Eve and Jeremy Irvine, here's the low down on the biggest prizes. 

Nominations for best film are the big five: Argo, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty. Despite BAFTA being a British institution, there's not a British film in sight (except Les Mis, but the majority of leads aren't from the fair isle). Luckily, however, there's a whole separate award for Brits. In that list, the contenders are Anna Karenina, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (that was 2012? it seems so long ago), Les Miserables, Seven Psychopaths and a much deserved Skyfall. 

Continue reading: British Awards Season Begins With The Unsurprising Nominations At The Baftas

A range of intelligent blockbusters, inventive foreign films and beautifully crafted storytelling made 2012 a good year at the cinema...

1. Life Of Pi
Ang Lee's clever, thoughtful adaptation of Yann Martel's acclaimed novel is an unexpected work of art. It's also one of the richest, most challenging, most visually spectacular movies we've ever seen.
Starring: Suraj Sharma & Irrfan Khan
Read the review of Life Of Pi Here!

2. Rust & Bone
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard follows up his amazing prison drama A Prophet with this startlingly edgy, tough-minded romance about two deeply wounded people who find each other.
Starring: Marion Cotillard & Matthias Schoenaerts.
Read the review of Rust And Bone Here!

Continue reading: The Ten Best Films Of 2012