Taiwan’s Ang Lee (李安) called it “a miracle” that he could make Life of Pi (少年PI的奇幻漂流), a film that occupied him for four years before it hit the big screen and culminated with his win for best director at the Oscars.
Lee claimed his second directing Oscar on Sunday night in an upset over Steven Spielberg, who had been the heavy favorite for Lincoln. Lee won the same award in 2005 for Brokeback Mountain.
“It was a very sweet moment for me,” he said backstage.
Photo: Reuters
Overall Life of Pi, a shipwreck story told in 3D, won the most Oscars with four, claiming the awards for musical score, cinematography and visual effects, as well as best director.
“It’s a miracle that I could make this movie,” Lee said. “I carried the anxiety for a very long time, four years. It’s a philosophical book and expensive movie, a scary combination.”
The surprise blockbuster about a youth trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger made Lee want to work in 3D again, calling it “a very new cinematic language.”
“The bad news is it’s too expensive. It’s very hard,” he said. “Once it gets cheaper and easier, more filmmakers are going to dive into it. I see there’s quite a brilliant future in it. I will try again if I can afford it.”
Lee thanked his home country, where he said 90 percent of the film was shot.
“They gave us a lot of physical help and financial help,” he said. “I’m glad that Taiwan contribute this much to the film. I feel like this movie belongs to the world.”
Lee recalled how he only spoke broken English when he made Sense and Sensibility in 1995, his first mainstream Hollywood film.
“You can overcome cultural barriers, but you have to be diligent,” he said.
“This is a great night for me and everybody who liked the movie, particularly in Asia,” he said. “I wish them a happy new year of the snake, everybody gets lucky.”
Lee became the 19th director to win multiple directing Oscars. He was nominated in 2000 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Besides Spielberg, Lee beat out nominees Michael Haneke (Amour), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild).
Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage drama Argo won the coveted best film Oscar, while Daniel Day-Lewis won a record third best actor trophy for Lincoln and Jennifer Lawrence was crowned best actress for Silver Linings Playbook.
Spielberg, whose presidential drama had the most nominations with 12 nods, went home from Hollywood’s biggest awards show with only two awards, best actor and a technical prize for production design.
Affleck paid tribute to Spielberg in his acceptance speech.
“Steven Spielberg, I want to acknowledge, I feel is a genius and a towering talent among us,” said Affleck, who was not nominated for best director or best actor at the Oscars, in a perceived snub.
In an unexpected move, the best picture winner was announced by US first lady Michelle Obama, addressing the Oscars show — and final presenter, legend Jack Nicholson — by videolink from the White House.
“I was hallucinating when that was happening. I was just asking ... ‘Was that Michelle Obama?’ The whole thing overwhelmed me. It was an enormous honor. It was very cool,” Affleck said backstage afterwards.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS