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Ang Lee's The Life of Pi Adaptation is Closer Than We Thought?

by Ethan Anderton
April 28, 2010
Source: indieWIRE

The last we heard about the long-gestating adaptation of Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi was that director Ang Lee had finally cracked the structure of the story, but still had to figure out exactly how he was going to shoot it. At that time there didn't seem to be any rush because Lee said the project was still two years away. Well, it looks like there's a chance he might get to work a little sooner and in 3-D no less. indieWIRE reports that Gil Netter, who produced The Blind Side is already scouting locations in Taiwan and Pondicherry, India for what will be a $70 million fantasy adventure with plenty of VFX, including a plethora of CG animals.

The story in the book follows a young Indian boy who's the lone survivor of a sunken freighter and winds up sharing a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger. Aside from his companions in the lifeboat, there are apparently some whales, fish, and meerkats, and the film will be taking place in the wide open ocean, so there's more than a fair share of visual effects needed for a large portion of the film. Rights holder, Fox 2000's Elizabeth Gabler, also explains that despite the effects bonanza, there's definitely some substance and heart found in this story. "It has elements of Cast Away when the kid is alone in the boat. You don’t need language to convey what’s on the screen. We need to make the movie for the whole world.”

Though Gabler is hoping for an August start date with a release in sometime in 2012, casting has not yet begun, and a greenlight from Fox is still needed (that decision is expected in about a month). I guess we'll find out if now truly is the time for The Life of Pi soon enough. Anyone still looking forward to this?

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