Pre-Production News from Ang Lee’s Bruce Lee Biopic

Ang Lee has made no secret of the fact that he has always wanted to make a biopic feature film about Bruce Lee. The acclaimed filmmaker has previously won awards for Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Life of Pi. Elizabeth Gabler, co-project overseer, said

“Bruce Lee is a long-time passion project for Ang”.

He has cast his son, Mason Lee, in the title role. The Guardian reported that he has been in training for the last three years. Mason Lee began his Hollywood career in The Hangover Part II. He also has Dead Pigs and Limbo in his portfolio and made a walk-on appearance in Ang Lee’s 2016 drama Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. However, septics are still questioning whether Mason Lee can master the Kung Fu icon that was Bruce Lee. Only time will tell, but it is unlikely Ang Lee would risk his dream if he were not confident of his 32-year-old son’s abilities.

However, Ang Lee will be hoping that the new film will be better received than his most recent one. The 2019 action thriller Gemini Man with Will Smith was not a success either commercially or critically. It lost $111 million and only scored 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sony is confident in Ang Lee’s vision for the Bruce Lee biopic as Sony 3000 Pictures back it. The script is being written by Dan Futterman. Ang Lee will be joined by other creative professionals for the production of the film. Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon, will also contribute to ensuring the movie’s integrity.

At the moment, there is no release date. However, fans of Bruce Lee can still watch his films which remain masterpieces to this day. Enter the Dragon from 1973 was the breakthrough movie that brought martial arts to the world’s attention. Although, before its release, very little was known about any martial arts, now more than 20 million Americans are actively involved. Previous attempts have been made to make a film about his life, but none have hit the spot.

However, martial arts have been featured in many other films, including The Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda. Furthermore, there have been numerous animated and live-action TV series. Bruce Lee, specifically, has even been featured in several games for Xbox, like Quest of The Dragon, and an online slot game, Bruce Lee Dragon Quest, that can be played at any trusted online casino UK site.

Bruce Lee was a Kung Fu master, having studied under the legendary Yip Man. However, he also had a passion for acting. Performance was in his genes. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen, was both an actor and opera performer.  Bruce Lee landed the role of Kato in the TV series Green Hornet, but serious acting roles for a Chinese American were few and far between. Born in California and raised in British Hong Kong, so much about Bruce Lee was a fusion.

While Lee portrayed a master of Kung Fu in his films, he was also a seasoned actor. He was a combination of discipline, performance, high-flying kicks and chops. Unfortunately, his career and life were short-lived. He died of cerebral oedema (brain swelling) at the age of 32.

Like many people who die early, such as James Dean or Amy Winehouse, their posthumous acclaim bestows an immortal status on them. At least seventeen films have been made about Lee. There is no denying he has mythological and legendary status.

Elizabeth Gabler says that Ang Lee’s biopic promises to be,

“A deeply emotional story depicting the triumphs and conflicts of one of the foremost real-life action heroes of our time.”

The story of his life and career was the subject of a 50-episode TV series in 2008 called The Legend of Bruce Lee. More than 400 million Chinese viewers tuned in. He was also portrayed in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 black comedy, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Although, his daughter Shannon was not impressed with the portrayal and spoke out about it. This is probably why the producers are keen to have her on board for the new biopic.