The team behind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) huddled yesterday in Los Angeles to gave itself a morale boost on the eve of the Oscar ceremony by hosting a wine party for all those who stand to be honored for one or more of the film's 10 nominations.
Director Ang Lee (
Although the award Lee hopes most to win is that for best picture. Lee said he knows walking away with the award will be hard to pull off, "After all, we are stepping into their territory this time," he said to Taiwanese reporters referring to the film's outsider status in Hollywood. "It is even possible that we will not win any of the awards, not even the Best Foreign-language film." Contenders in this category are also very strong, he said.
At the posh Hotel Sofitel on Beverly Hills Boulevard, most of Crouching Tiger's 12 nominees gathered for the low-key party. They include Bill Kong and Hsu Li-kong (
At the opening of his speech, Lee first expressed his thanks to Taiwan's Government Information Office (新聞局), which hosted the event. "Without the help of the GIO, my first film would not have been made and the past 10 years would look very differently," he said.
Ten years ago, Lee submitted his script for Pushing Hands to join the GIO's competition for "Script of the Year." He won the award and received grants from the government, boosting his recognition in Taiwan and in the US, where he lived at the time. Lee then worked with Hsu for the production of that film.
James Shamus, writer and co-founder of independent production company Good Machine International, also expressed his gratitude toward Lee's "Taiwanese supporters."
"I'd really like to thank Hsu Li-kong. He is a part of what made Good Machine what it is today. If it was not for him, today I would be probably mowing the lawns of this hotel in LA," he said.
Also at the party were musician Tan Dun (譚盾) who was nominated for the film's original score, Tim Yip (葉錦添), nominated for both art direction and costume design and Tim Squyres, nominated for editing.
Tan, a Chinese musician working in the US much like Yo-yo Ma (
"This not only proved that there are no national boundaries in music and other art forms. It also gives us [Chinese people] a chance to view the world not just from our own angle but from a world angle," said Tan.
Film editor Tim Squyres, who has worked with Lee since Pushing Hands, expressed wonderment at being nominated for best editor award alongside Dede Allen, who is nominated for the Wonder Boys. "[The nomination] already an honor for me," he said.
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