“Life of Pi,” the latest 3-D film by world-renowned Taiwan director Ang Lee, earned 11 major category nominations Jan. 10 for the 2013 Academy Awards.
The film is up for best picture, cinematography, directing, film editing, original score, production design, screenplay, song, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.
“I am deeply honored and frankly a little overwhelmed by all of the nominations that ‘Life of Pi’ has received this morning,” Lee said in statements carried by U.K.-based wire service Thomson Reuters and U.S.-headquartered entertainment website TheWrap.
“So many talented people gave everything they had to this film, both in front of and behind the camera, and to see all of them receive this kind of recognition is something I am incredibly grateful for,” Lee added.
At a news conference in Taipei City Nov. 10, 2012, Lee said that 90 percent of the movie was shot in Taiwan and every member of his 150-strong team from 24 countries felt the nine-month stay on the island was substantial and a delight.
The US$120 million ‘Life of Pi’ is based on Canadian author Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. First published in 2001, it describes how Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel survives while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger.
In 2006, Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” earned eight nominations at the 78th Academy Awards, winning for best directing, original score and screenplay. The 2013 ceremony will take place Feb. 24 in Hollywood, Los Angeles. (JSM)
Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw