On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 55/94 |
Shane Jenkins |
Looooong, and feels longer. Would have been a much better film with 45 minutes removed. |
| 135/214 |
Max Braden |
I could barely stay interested when I watched this at 2x speed. It's too long. |
Ang Lee recovered nicely from the bump on his career road that was The Hulk. After that heavily hyped project earned only $132.1 million after an opening of $62.1 million, a final box office multiplier of 2.13, people wondered what the director’s next move would be. Given the historically unprecedented atrocious legs and word-of-mouth of such a large scale blockbuster, skeptics wondered if Lee’s career would ever recover. When reports came out involving the subject matter of Brokeback Mountain, not many people were ready to change their opinions. In addition, the drop in budgets from $139 million for The Hulk to $15 million for Brokeback Mountain reflected how much of a pariah he was considered to be by Hollywood money men. Now who’s laughing? Ang Lee’s gay cowboy drama earned a factor of ten back in worldwide receipts, $150.5 million, from its production budget. The movie also dominated the end-of-year awards season for 2005, earning three Oscars, including Best Director for Lee. Redemption is sweet.
Back on top of the world again, Lee is returning to his roots. The Taiwanese native’s parents both moved from their native China in 1949. Their exodus almost exactly coincided with the departure of famous author/essayist Eileen Chang from China to America. On both continents, the woman was beloved as one of the finest writers of her generation. Lee has embarked upon a cinematic adaptation of one of her finest works: Lust, Caution. Her tale focuses upon World War II-era Shanghai, and it’s an espionage thriller. Tony Leung stars as one of the most powerful politicians of the era. His female co-star is a complete unknown, first time actress Wei Tang. Lee’s friend Hui-Ling Wang, who previously wrote the screenplays for Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, will handle the adaptation of Chang’s short story. (David Mumpower/BOP)
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