Ever wonder how Taiwanese director Ang Lee does it, in Hollywood, doing deals with the glitterati and the LA moguls, to make fine films there? One of his producers and basically his screenwriting pal, James Schamus, is his go-to guy there. Together, they buy properties and develop them from books into films.
Recently, the US publishing firm Random House announced another big step beyond traditional publishing with the creation of long-term “creative and strategic filmmaking partnership” with Focus Features, the division of NBC Universal run by David Linde and yes, James Schamus, Ang Lee’s James Schamus, who also teaches screenwriting at Columbia in New York.
Together the companies will develop, co-finance and co-produce “a substantial slate of feature films for theatrical release” based on books published by Random House, where “rights are available and can be acquired.” The films will be jointly owned by the two companies, with Focus controlling worldwide sales and distribution rights. Focus’s book-derived films so far include ANG LEE’s ‘‘Brokeback Mountain’’.
For a Tainan native, growing up in south Taiwan, Ang Lee’s done pretty well for himself. [I wish he’d do an updated version of Eat Drink Man Woman one of these days and come back to his Taiwanese roots.]
[quote=“Cola”]I wish he’d do an updated version of Eat Drink Man Woman one of these days and come back to his Taiwan roots.[/quote]That bit in the Hulk when he says “I’m getting angry” and kicks the baddie through the wall is well cool.
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While I won’t be rushing out to see it, I think it is damned time one was made.
I won’t be rushing out to see it cuz I don’t dig cowboy movies.
[quote=“AWOL”]
I wish he’d do an updated Did the desire to do Brokeback Mtn stem from a ‘personal’ interest?[/quote]
Ang Lee is married with children.
He just like the short story after his producer James Schamus showed it to him. Then they asked Larry McMurtry the novelist and screenwriter (LAST PICTURE SHOW) to write the screenplay.
There was The Wedding Banquet in which many of the extras were from China Times when it was still in NYC. There was a reason of course, he spent much of his day time studying there.
The banquet scene was filmed at a restaurant in Flushing Meadows Park and various locations in Manhattan.
My dad played the photographer in this one, which is funny because he actually was in real life, and many of his coworkers and friends took the roles of the other extras.
Ang Lee mentioned in his biography (Chinese) that these Chinese folks had been a huge help. The budget’s really tight so these Chinese folks helped him for free.
