Ang Lee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ang Lee
李安
Lee in 2016
Born	(1954-10-23) October 23, 1954 (age 70) Chaozhou, Pingtung, Taiwan
Education	National Taiwan University of Arts (AA) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Film director producer screenwriter
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Jane Lin [zh] ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2, including Mason
Chinese name
Chinese	李安
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Ān Bopomofo ㄌㄧˇ ㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Lii An Wade–Giles Li3 An1 IPA [lì án] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Léih Ōn IPA [le̬i ɔ́ːn] Jyutping Lei5 On1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lí An

Ang Lee (born October 23, 1954) is a world-famous film director from Taiwan. His movies are known for being very emotional and exploring feelings that people often hide. Throughout his career, he has won many awards, including two Academy Awards for Best Director. In 2003, The Guardian newspaper listed him as one of the 40 best directors in the world.

Lee became famous for directing movies like Pushing Hands (1991), The Wedding Banquet (1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). These three films are often called the Father Knows Best trilogy. They explore the relationships between family members and the differences between old traditions and modern life.

His first big Hollywood movie was Sense and Sensibility (1995). He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the romantic drama Brokeback Mountain (2005) and the adventure film Life of Pi (2012). He has directed many types of movies, including the martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and the superhero movie Hulk (2003).

Early Life and Schooling

Ang Lee was born in Chaochou, a town in Pingtung County, Taiwan. His parents had moved to Taiwan from mainland China after the Chinese Civil War in 1949. His family believed that education was very important. When Lee was two, his family moved to Hualien, where his father became a school principal.

Lee went to a high school where his father was also the principal. Everyone expected him to pass a big exam to get into a university. However, he failed the exam twice. This was a big disappointment for his father. Instead, Lee went to the National Arts School and graduated in 1975. His father wanted him to be a professor, but Lee had fallen in love with acting and art.

After serving in the military, which was required in Taiwan, Lee moved to the United States in 1979. He studied theater at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He was interested in acting, but he found speaking English difficult, so he decided to focus on directing. In Illinois, he met his future wife, Jane Lin, who was also a student from Taiwan.

Later, he went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to study film production. One of his classmates was the famous director Spike Lee. For his final school project, he made a short film called Fine Line (1984), which won an award for best direction.

Life After College

After graduating, Lee had trouble finding a job as a director for six years. During this time, he stayed at home and took care of his children while his wife, Jane Lin, worked as a scientist to support the family. Even though it was a difficult time, Lee never gave up on his dream. He continued to write screenplays and think of new movie ideas.

In 1990, his luck changed. He entered two of his screenplays into a competition in Taiwan and won first and second place. This got the attention of a producer named Hsu Li-kong, who asked Lee to direct his first full-length movie, Pushing Hands.

A Career in Filmmaking

1991–1994: The "Father Knows Best" Trilogy

Pushing Hands (1991) was a big success in Taiwan. This led Lee to make his second film, The Wedding Banquet (1993). It won a top prize at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. This movie made Lee a rising star.

In 1994, Lee made Eat Drink Man Woman in Taiwan. The film is about family conflicts and relationships in the city of Taipei. It was also a hit and was nominated for many awards. These first three films are known as his "Father Knows Best" trilogy because they all feature actor Sihung Lung and explore family life.

1995–2012: Hollywood Success

Lee worked with screenwriter and actor Emma Thompson on Sense and Sensibility (1995).

In 1995, Lee directed his first English-language film, Sense and Sensibility, based on the classic novel by Jane Austen. The movie was a huge success. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.

He then directed The Ice Storm (1997), a drama about families in 1970s America. In 1999, he directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), a martial arts movie. Lee had always dreamed of making a film in this style. The movie was a massive hit all over the world, even though it was in Chinese with English subtitles. It became the highest-grossing foreign film in the U.S. and the U.K. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won four, including Best Foreign Language Film.

Lee at the Venice International Film Festival in 2009

In 2003, Lee directed the superhero movie Hulk. The film was a box office success but received mixed reviews from critics. After this, Lee thought about retiring, but his father encouraged him to keep making movies.

His next film was Brokeback Mountain (2005), a powerful story about a forbidden love between two sheepherders in Wyoming. The movie became a cultural phenomenon and won many awards. Lee won his first Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the first non-white person to win the award.

In 2007, he directed ..., Caution, an espionage drama set in China during World War II. The film won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. This was the second time Lee had won this award.

Lee's next major film was Life of Pi (2012), based on a popular novel. The story is about an Indian boy named Pi who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The movie was considered very difficult to make, but Lee used amazing 3D special effects to bring the story to life. Life of Pi was a huge success and earned 11 Academy Award nominations. Lee won his second Academy Award for Best Director.

2013–Present: Recent Films

Lee in Taiwan in 2009

After the success of Life of Pi, Lee directed Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016). The film is about a soldier's experiences during the Iraq War. It was filmed with a special high frame rate, which gives the movie a very clear and realistic look. However, the film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office.

His next film was Gemini Man (2019), an action movie starring Will Smith. Smith plays an older agent who is being hunted by a younger clone of himself. This film also used advanced technology but received negative reviews from critics.

In November 2022, Lee announced that he is working on a movie about the life of martial arts legend Bruce Lee. His own son, Mason Lee, will star in the film.

Personal Life

Lee lives in Larchmont, New York, with his wife, Jane Lin. She is a microbiologist. They met in 1978 while studying at the University of Illinois and got married in 1983. They have two sons, Haan and Mason, who is an actor. Lee is a permanent resident of the United States but has not become a U.S. citizen.

Filmography

Lee has directed, produced, and written many films. Here are some of his most famous works.

Awards and Honors

Ang Lee is one of the most celebrated directors of our time. He has won many of the film industry's highest honors.

• He has won two Academy Awards for Best Director, for Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi.
• He has won the Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, twice for The Wedding Banquet and Sense and Sensibility.
• He has won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, twice for Brokeback Mountain and ..., Caution.
• The government of Taiwan gave him the Order of Brilliant Star, one of the highest honors for a civilian.
• In 2021, he was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honor, a very high honor in France.
• In 2020, he received a BAFTA Fellowship for his great contributions to cinema.

See also

In Spanish: Ang Lee para niños