Ang Lee to Direct ‘Life of Pi’ Adaptation?

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  02.23.09 | 11:25 AM ET

The movie version of the bestselling novel, which follows the story of a young boy adrift on a life raft with a Bengal tiger after a Pacific Ocean crossing gone wrong, has been in the works for years. Now, after a series of ups and downs, it looks as though the film may be moving forward: Ang Lee, the Oscar-winning director of “Brokeback Mountain,” is in “the final stages of talks” to sign on as director, the Globe and Mail reports. Said the book’s author, Yann Martel: “If Fox closes a deal with Ang Lee, I’ll be very happy. He’s a superb director with a varied and dazzling output ... He’d do a great job with ‘Life of Pi.’”

Tags: Literature, Movies, Pop Culture Travel, Literary Travel

Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum. She is an associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and her writing has also appeared in Reader's Digest Canada, NationalGeographic.com, the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet's Up! Magazine, among other publications. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


3 Comments for Ang Lee to Direct ‘Life of Pi’ Adaptation?

Julia Ross 02.23.09 | 12:57 PM ET

Let me note here that the Taiwanese have great affection for ‘Life of Pi’ because it is one of the few English language novels to feature a Taiwanese character. So Ang Lee’s interest isn’t surprising. Looking forward to it.

Sophia Dembling 02.23.09 | 1:06 PM ET

I resisted reading that book for ages. It didn’t sound like something I would like—I tend to avoid anything described as “lyrical.” When I finally succumbed, I was knocked out. Sounds like an excellent book/director pairing.

Eva Holland 02.23.09 | 3:48 PM ET

Thanks, Julia. I never would have guessed Life of Pi was huge in Taiwan!

And Sophia - I felt the same way. Avoided it due to the hype, but eventually read and enjoyed it. I didn’t love love love it, but I *do* love love love Yann Martel (my Canadian compatriot) for his “What is Stephen Harper Reading?” campaign, in which he attempts to educate our non-book-loving Prime Minister:

http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/

Check it out, it’s pretty hilarious.

Re: the movie, this’ll be a tricky one to pull off, but with Ang Lee on board they’re off to a good start.

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