Ang Lee has been developing this movie for some time now. Manoj Night Shymalan washed his hands of the famed book. The film was delayed because of budget concerns. This will be Ang Lee’s first 3 D film this sound really exciting.
Lee has also got an actor who will essay the main role in the film. Suraj Sharma is a 17 year old Delhi student who acted in a school play, but had the chops to beat out 3000 teenage boys who auditioned for the role.
Lee had this to say about the actor, “He read one complex scene, and by the end he was crying. We all were.” The script is written by David Magee who gave us the beautiful Finding Neverland and will feature plenty of CG animals accompanying Pin on his 227 day journey lost on the ocean in a lifeboat. The production will be slated to begin in January with shooting taking place in Taiwan and India.
The film will be shot natively in 3D as well and may result in the feeling of sea sickness. The high budget seems like a risk for such a hard story to be adapted to the big screen. It is certainly worth a risk anyway. Life of Pi will bring in its share of dictators and critics.
