The Playlist

'Amour' & 'Rust And Bone' Top London Critics' Circle Awards

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 20, 2013 3:50 PM
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1 Comment

News

With the focus this weekend on Park City with the Sundance Film Festival now in full swing, it might be easy to forget we're still in the midst of the awards season. And even though we're nearing the finishing line, with the Golden Globes already handed out, and a few more major guild awards and the Indie Spirits to come before the Oscars are awarded, critics circles are still getting their two cents in. And the latest to hand down their verdict on the year in film of 2012 are from the U.K., with the London Critics' Circle Awards honoring their winners today. And a big favorite of the season made a considerable impression.

Ang Lee Now Reading Script For 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie, Says "It Just Feels Right To Me"

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 9, 2013 2:41 PM
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11 Comments

News

One could make the case that Ang Lee is a somewhat underappreciated director, simply because his film choices make him a bit of a chameleon. Where other filmmakers tend to stake their claim to a particular milieu, and don't deviate from it too much, Lee has tried it all. From a gay romance, a Civil War-era western, a Woodstock-set comedy, a churning '70s-set domestic drama, an erotic espionage tale and more, to an epic open-sea adventure in this year's Oscar-contending "Life Of Pi," Lee's career has been marked by variety, and a willingness to challenge himself. And that's not about to change.

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Directors Guild Award Nominations Include Kathryn Bigelow, Steven Spielberg & Tom Hooper But Not Quentin Tarantino

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 8, 2013 1:26 PM
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11 Comments

News

Last year, Steven Spielberg may have missed out for "War Horse," but this year his colleagues are making sure he's honored for his much better-received "Lincoln." The Director's Guild Award nominations have arrived this afternoon, two days before the Academy unveils their Oscar nominations, and generally speaking, they tend to be a good indicator of who will be honored next month at the Dolby Theater.

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Review: 'Life Of Pi' Is An Inspiring & Visually Stunning Tale Of Faith, Hope & Self-Discovery

By Rodrigo Perez
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November 20, 2012 4:37 PM
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2 Comments

Reviews

Taiwanese-born American film director Ang Lee’s career is difficult to pin down. He’s constructed nuanced and well-crafted dramas of various milieus and textures (from “The Ice Storm,” and “Sense and Sensibility” to the more erotic “Lust/Caution” and “Brokeback Mountain”) and orchestrated films of more action-oriented visual pizzazz and flair as well ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hulk"). Perhaps bridging all of his eclectic interests, Lee configures a lovely and winning formula for the dazzling and emotionally rich “Life Of Pi.”

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Retrospective: The Films Of Ang Lee

By The Playlist Staff
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November 19, 2012 12:01 PM
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15 Comments

Features

For a filmmaker who’s tackled a wide range of genres, from minor-key Chinese-language comedies to epic kung-fu action, from nuanced literary Americana to iconic CGI-driven superheroics, it’s actually relatively easy to spot an Ang Lee film if you know what you're looking for. Superficially, the Taiwanese-born, American-trained filmmaker has an deeply eclectic and diverse taste in subject matter, setting and even style (one could never imagine that “Sense & Sensibility” and “Hulk” came from the same director from the shooting techniques used alone), but all kinds of thematic links recur across the director’s work -- family, repression, duty, thwarted love or desire. Whether it’s 1940s Shanghai or Civil War-era Missouri, you can find the same humanistic concerns, even as the filmmaker finds new things to say about them.

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5 New 'Life Of Pi' Images Plus Ang Lee & James Cameron Talk 3D In New Featurette

By Edward Davis
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November 16, 2012 4:21 PM
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0 Comments

News

James Cameron is to 3D what Lyle Lanley is to monorails (sort of). Okay, he's not a total huckster per se. But is it just me, or is it semi-amusing that Cameron always surfaces in support of his beloved 3D when there's a good movie in theaters that uses the technology well (i.e. the last time he did this was when Scorsese did "Hugo")? I'm being glib and facetious, but Cameron isn't just going to endorse any old mediocre cash-grab 3D conversion (he hasn't been around to advocate Marvel films for example), but he'll always stop what he's doing to help get the word out when a real artisan is using the sterescopic tool -- hence appearing in this new featurette for Ang Lee's dazzling "Life of Pi."

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Watch: First Clip & Featurette For Ang Lee's 'Life Of Pi' Plus New UK Poster

By Cain Rodriguez
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October 19, 2012 10:16 AM
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0 Comments

News

With a stellar reaction at the New York Film Festival last month, Ang Lee’s 3D opus “Life Of Pi” is turning into a major awards contender and now the studio is amping up its marketing push, hoping to crossover from critical raves to actual box office success. 20th Century Fox has released both a behind-the-scenes featurette and a clip.

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NYFF: Ang Lee, Suraj Sharma & Yann Martel Discuss The Necessity Of Faith In Making 'Life Of Pi'

By Gabe Toro
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September 30, 2012 10:54 AM
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0 Comments

News

As the opening night film for the New York Film Festival, all eyes were on “Life of Pi,” the big-budget studio adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-seller from A-List director Ang Lee. And while some were focused on the spectacle of the film, from the enormous cost and logistical issues of filming to the colorful 3D that frames this story of survival, the one element that drove the filmmakers was the idea of faith.

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NYFF Review: 'Life Of Pi' Is An Inspiring & Visually Stunning Tale Of Faith, Hope & Self-Discovery

By Rodrigo Perez
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September 28, 2012 3:27 PM
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11 Comments

Reviews

Taiwanese-born American film director Ang Lee’s career is difficult to pin down. He’s constructed nuanced and well-crafted dramas of various milieus and textures (from “The Ice Storm,” and “Sense and Sensibility” to the more erotic “Lust/Caution” and “Brokeback Mountain”) and orchestrated films of more action-oriented visual pizzazz and flair as well ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hulk"). Perhaps bridging all of his eclectic interests, Lee configures a lovely and winning formula for the dazzling and emotionally rich “Life Of Pi.”

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Ang Lee Talks 'Life Of Pi,' Says, "I Just Want To Survive It"

By Drew Taylor
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September 7, 2012 11:50 AM
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1 Comment

News

One of the biggest question marks of the upcoming fall/winter movie season is Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," a costly literary adaptation (from the beloved novel by Yann Martel) with zero stars and an unconventional narrative (following a young boy as he's left adrift in the ocean with some animals). Whether or not it's going to connect at all is a huge question for Fox, who is releasing the 3D film on Thanksgiving. In a recent interview with The New York Times, it seemed to be getting to Lee.

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