Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee has been picked to direct a biopic on one of Hollywood’s most fascinating and enigmatic figures,Bruce Lee, with his own son Mason Lee tapped for the lead role.
Bruce Lee, who died unexpectedly at just 32 years old in 1973 became a martial arts andactioncinema icon who at the time gained unprecedented levels of recognition both in Hong Kong and the United States, with that being one of the main qualities that drew Ang Lee towards the project. Naturally, the Bruceploitation phenomenon that was unleashed after his death means this will be far from the first movie based on or at least partly inspired by Bruce Lee’s life, asDragon: The Bruce Lee Story,The Legend of Bruce Leeand Birth of the Dragon all came before.
RELATED:The Headbutting Heroes Trope, Explained
As for this particular picture,Deadlinereports that Ang Lee will rely on a script adapted by Dan Futterman (Capote) that itself derives from previous screenplays written by Jean Castelli, Alex Law and Mabel Cheung and Wells Tower. Upon the news being out, the director referred to Bruce Lee as “a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Gung Fu to the world”, saying he’s always been fascinated by his story, as well as the discipline and hard work philosophy the martial arts legend embodied.
While Mason Lee may not have quite the same resemblance to Bruce Lee as some of the other actors who have played him in the past, his movie resume does feature a mix of American and Hong Kong cinema, albeit almost exclusively starring in the latter, especially in the last few years as his last Hollywood credits came in his father’sBilly Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. This new Bruce Lee film, still without any working title will be produced by Sony’s 3000 Pictures.
Ironically, many of Bruce Lee’s most recognized works to this day came outonly after he died, asEnter the Dragon,The Green Hornetand bothGame of Deathfilms were released posthumously, with him only getting to relish the success ofThe Wrecking Crew,Fist of FuryandThe Way of the Dragon.Bruce Lee’s cause of death remains a mystery, but some recent research has gone as far as suggesting the cerebral edema that took his life may have been caused by a combination of drinking too much water and his extreme nutrition and fitness routines.
Hardly anyone should be worried about theLife of Pidirector being a proper fit to bring Bruce Lee’s life to film, as one of Ang Lee’s most recognizable and impactful works is anabsolute martial arts masterpieceCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
