Ang Lee’s son to play Bruce Lee in the director’s epic film – Deadline

exclusive: Sony 3000 photos He finished a pact that would get him an Oscar Ang Lee directly Bruce Leea film starring the director’s son Mason Lee In the role of the iconic martial artist. Dan Futtermanwhich includes his work Cabot And the foxesworking on a script that has seen previous versions by Jane Castelli, Alex Low, and Mabel Cheung, and most recently, Tower of Wales.

Lawrence Gray, Shannon Lee, Ang Lee, Ben Everard, and Brian Bell are producing, and Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva are overseeing the studio project. The project will see Gabler, Paiva, and Tom Rothman reunite with the director, having previously worked together Hyatt Bay.

The director who left his mark on the martial arts genre with the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 (still the highest-grossing international film in the US) has long wanted to delve into the story of legend-making. Lee came to the United States and became a masterful mentor to actors like Steve McQueen and more. He approached it like a scholar, mixing and matching the best qualities of all kinds of styles that he incorporated into Jeet Kune Do.

While the handsome and meek Lee became one of the first Chinese-American actors to break into prime-time television when he played sidekick Kato in Green hornetMuch of his early career was marked by the frustrations he endured as a pioneer who was not content to be a friend. Setbacks included when white actor David Carradine was tapped to play a Chinese monk Kung Fu over Lee in 1972—some have said they devised the concept—because television executives felt audiences were not ready for a series led by an Asian actor. Lee has achieved worldwide success in a series of highly successful Hong Kong films. It was on the cusp of a noticeable boom in the US market Enter the dragonHe died suddenly at 32 before the movie was released in 1973.

“Bruce Lee was not accepted as neither all-American nor all-Chinese, he was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a martial artist and an outstanding performance artist who revolutionized both martial arts and action cinema,” Ang Lee said. final date. “I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant and unique human being who craved to belong, who possessed tremendous strength within his 135-pound frame, and who, through relentless hard work, made impossible dreams a reality.”

Lee has been quietly working on this for a long time, and that includes getting his son ready for the job. Mason Lee has trained for the role in Asia for the past three years, all through lockdown. Lee is 32 years old, and he appeared on Billy Lynn’s long run in the first half, The Tailings part twoand most recently starred in the Taiwanese romantic comedy stand by meHong Kong Drama Limbo And the Who Killed Rooster Robin (Mo Ji Zi). He was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor for both films.

“Bruce Lee is Ang’s long-running passion project and a deeply emotional story that depicts the triumphs and struggles of one of the real-life action heroes of our time,” Gabler said. “All of us at Sony and 3000 Pictures are proud to have helped Ang and his directorial team create what we believe will be an extraordinary theatrical event.”

Ang Lee is represented by CAA and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham. Futterman is represented by UTA and Frankfurt Cornet Solicitors. Gray Matter is represented by UTA and Lichter Grossman attorney Jamie Feldman.