We’re one step closer to getting another cinematic Bruce Lee. According to The Wrap, Sony’s 3000 Pictures imprint has closed the deal for Ang Lee to direct his own son, Mason Lee, in a biopic of the iconic, peerless martial artist/movie star.
“Accepted as neither fully American nor Fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Gung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema,” Ang Lee said in a statement. “I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound-frame, and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality.”
The film will be shot from a script by Dan Futterman, who wrote Capote and Foxcatcher and, perhaps more importantly, played Val in The Birdcage — a rare perfect movie.
Bruce Lee has been played by several actors in multiple projects, including Jason Scott Lee in the hero-worshipping Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and, more recently, by Mike Moh in a cringe-worthy scene in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It would be impossible to get Bruce Lee right by any metric. He simply means too many things to too many people. Still, Mason Lee has his work cut out for him in taking on the highest profile starring role of a career marked by supporting performances and a handful of leading man turns in popular Chinese films.
On the other hand, he’s been working in movies with his dad since he played “Baby” in 1993’s The Wedding Banquet, so this seems like a role he was literally born to play.
(via The Wrap)