tonado Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2...tent_526661.htm Giant and gent: Taiwan lauds Oscar contender Ang Lee(AFP)Updated: 2006-03-05 09:39 He failed his college entrance exam, then emigrated to the United States and spent years as a house-husband, but filmmaker Ang Lee will be hailed a hero in Taiwan if he wins Oscar gold at Sunday's 78th Annual Academy Awards. He failed his college entrance exam, then emigrated to the United States and spent years as a house-husband, but filmmaker Ang Lee, seen here in January 2006, will be hailed a hero in Taiwan if he wins Oscar gold at Sunday's 78th Annual Academy Awards. [AFP]The director's controversial gay cowboy film "Brokeback Mountain" leads the pack with eight nominations including best film and best director for Lee, who missed out in both key categories when "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" took home four statuettes in 2001. Despite living and working in the United States for most of the past three decades, Lee is regarded as not only the island's cinematic giant, but also one of its true gents. "Lee has always stressed that he is from Taiwan even though he works in the United States and his achievements certainly encourage and inspire film makers in his home country where the industry is sluggish," said critic Steven Tu. "Looking at his films, one can feel the characteristics in his personality. To sum up, a gentleman. He is sincere and humble," said Liang Liang, a leading film critic in Taiwan. "He has been like this all the way through. He has kept himself in low-profile and easy going," Liang said, recalling the 51-year-old's return to his native Taiwan to a hero's welcome in January after "Brokeback" won Golden Globe awards for best drama and best director. Lee was in Taipei to promote the release of his film which proved an instant hit at the box office, taking more than 11 million Taiwan dollars (340,000 US) on its opening weekend. Born in 1954 in Pingtung, southern Taiwan, Lee studied at a school where his father was the principal, but he failed to pass Taiwan's tough national college entrance examination. Instead he studied at the National Taiwan College of Arts, a decision that surprised his father. "My mind was not in the textbooks ... Instead, I spent a lot of time watching movies," Lee once told a local cable television. After graduating, Lee studied film in Illinois and New York, where he settled and married Jane Lin, a microbiologist also from Taiwan, in 1983. He spent the next five years as a househusband raising their two sons. His spare time was spent reading scripts, dramas and books in what he has said was a slow process of digesting Western culture. His efforts paid off eventually. "Ang Lee is the best Chinese-language film director capable of exquisitely blending elements from the East and West in his films. And his experience in New York of course was crucial," critic Liang said. Lee got off the ground in 1991 when "Pushing Hands" won him best script-writing award in an official competition in Taiwan. He turned it into a movie the following year. His first major success was 1993's "The Wedding Banquet" about a Taiwanese American man who tries to hide his homosexuality from his parents by feigning a marriage. Like his follow-up "Eat Drink Man Woman," it was nominated for a best foreign film Oscar in 1994. After directing big budget Hollywood films, including an adaptation of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" which was also in the running for a best film Oscar, Lee finally became a household name with "Crouching Tiger." The martial arts epic received 10 Oscar nods -- a rare feat for a foreign language film -- and took home four. "Lee was jobless before making 'Pushing Hands' but he made many efforts to prepare himself. Filmmakers here should learn from his experience that success doesn't come right away," critic Tu said. His fame has spread in Taiwan where the film industry -- which used to turn out 200 films a year in its 1970s heyday -- has been in the doldrums in recent years. "Lee is definitely my hero as he can direct movies in his second language in a foreign county and let the world know that Taiwanese can be good directors," said Huang Shang-fen, a graduate school student in Taipei. Link to comment
dstarsboy Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 I don't follow the news/current events often and I have a gay friend, so this is how the conversation went. Gay Friend: "Hey, lets go see Brokeback Mountain."Me: "Sounds lame, what's it about?"Gay Friend: (pause) "um.... its... um... a war, action movie, you'll love it."Me: "Oh, Ok, I guess." I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't tricked into going, however, I must say Ang Lee is a great director. I did find it hard to relate or understand emotionally, my friend, however, was crying through the whole last half of the movie and I really had no idea why. Link to comment
mercator Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 (edited) I hope that isnt just what Ang Lee is remembered for. He's done some great work, Crouching Tiger being one very good example. Edited March 6, 2006 by mercator (see edit history) Link to comment
tonado Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 He also directed the film "Hulk". Link to comment
tonado Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 He just won the best director. Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 He just won the best director.196017[/snapback]Great director, but my homophobia is preventing me from going to see his film... Link to comment
jemmyell Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 He just won the best director.196017[/snapback]Great director, but my homophobia is preventing me from going to see his film... 196116[/snapback]You're not going to buy Willie Nelson's latest iTunes release? http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1620186 -James Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 He just won the best director.196017[/snapback]Great director, but my homophobia is preventing me from going to see his film... 196116[/snapback]You're not going to buy Willie Nelson's latest iTunes release? http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1620186 -James196118[/snapback]Nope. Methinks Willie's been a little off for a while now.... Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Chinese Newspaper Praises Director Ang Lee BEIJING (AP) -- China heaped praise Tuesday on Taiwanese director Lee Ang for winning this year's best director Oscar with his gay romance "Brokeback Mountain." "Ang Lee is the pride of Chinese people all over the world, and he is the glory of Chinese cinematic talent," the official China Daily newspaper said in a front-page news article. Lee hails from self-governed, democratic Taiwan, which the communist government in Beijing considers Chinese territory and has repeatedly threatened to attack if the island declares formal independence. The two split amid civil war in 1949. China's leaders recently stepped up their rhetoric against Taiwan after its President Chen Shui-bian shut down a Taiwanese government body devoted to seeking unification with the mainland. Another front-page China Daily article Tuesday quoted Chinese lawmakers, now holding their annual legislative session, making scathing remarks about Chen. A top Chinese army official on Monday said the military is ready to step up training and warned Taiwan against attempting to declare independence. Link to comment
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