[新聞] 李安:Pi是對信仰的測試

[twyes1688 (twyes1688)]

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Ang Lee on Why Oscar Nominee ‘Life of Pi’ Was ‘A Test of Faith’

Ang Lee received an Academy Award nomination this morning for directing “
Life of Pi,” the 3-D epic based on Yann Martel’s novel. Lee, 58, won in
this category in 2006 for directing “Brokeback Mountain,” but to him, “
Life of Pi” was a much more difficult film.

Directing “Brokeback Mountain” “was quite breezy,” the director said in
an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Even though they were high up in
the mountains, it wasn’t an uphill climb the way “Life of Pi” was to Lee.
“It was actually easy to make, from beginning to end that movie was all good.
”

“Life of Pi,” however, was the opposite. It took Lee four years to make,
and he built a water tank in a former airport in Taiwan and hired 3000 people
to work on the film. “It was the hardest movie I made,” he said and,
tapping into one of the themes of the film’s storyline, said “it was like a
test of faith.”

“Life of Pi” received 11 nominations Thursday morning, including Best
Picture and Best Cinematography, in addition to Best Director. Lee talked
with the Journal shortly after the announcement to discuss “Life of Pi,”
 and the possibility of directing “Cleopatra” next.

Congratulations on your nominations.

It’s a good morning for us. Thank you.

How did you hear the news?

I was awakened by my assistant. That early, I thought it might be good,
because I was having a dream actually.

Were you dreaming you were nominated?

No, no, about something else. I don’t remember, then I woke up [laughs]. I
just arrived in L.A. last night for the Broadcasting Critics Award tonight.
So I’m in a hotel.

You won the Best Director Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain.” How did directing
“Life of Pi” differ from that experience?

This movie [“Life of Pi”] seemed like everything was uphill. I worked for
four years. It was the hardest movie I made. “Brokeback” is probably the
easiest [laughs], or easier at least. This was really hard and 3000 people
worked on it. It’s like a test of faith. Everything was uphill. Difficult
elements, turning a philosophical book into an expensive movie. A lot of
pressure. I carried it [to] the only place I think I could do it, my
hometown, Taiwan, to create a new facility to make it. First acting boy,
tiger, 3-D, water. It was all difficult. And how to put it together? To be
viable commercially?

How long did “Brokeback Mountain” take?

Two months shooting, and everything went well. The script was great, the
actors brilliant. You can do the easiest thing but it turns out to be
difficult. But that one just happened. Everything went smoothly. From the
first cut on, people just melted over that movie [laughs]. Actually, after “
The Hulk” I thought I would do something easier, and I thought that was
going to be strictly arthouse. When it hit the shopping mall, I got worried.

What did you have to learn or perfect specifically for “Life of Pi”?

Well, India. Religion. It’s about God, not necessarily religion, but I still
needed to get into it somewhat. Water. A lot of study about how to do water,
except you’re paying for it. You’re not studying and doing research, and
then the work. You’re doing the work while you’re learning. So, that
actually turned out to be the most painful part. 3-D is new to me. It’s a
new cinematic language, new to everyone. Nobody can really give you advice.
So, we were groping along the way.

How did you study religion? Through texts?

Yeah, texts. I’m not like Pi, practicing all the religions [laughs]. I
talked to people, to the faithful. Particularly India, the Hindus I’m not
familiar with, so I had to get into it. Visiting temples.

I half-expected Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, to get a nomination.

[Laughs]

Was that one of the most challenging aspects?

Yeah, to have the tiger not only be realistic but to behave like a tiger.
That took a lot of work. Our visual effect guys really did some
groundbreaking work.

You also built a water tank at a former airport near Taichung.

I wanted to simulate the open ocean. I wanted to control it somehow. A big
part of the movie is out on the ocean, and I wanted the water to be a
character. It’s an adrift movie without Tom Hanks, so you gotta visually
grab them somehow [laughs]. The water has to speak. I have to have some kind
of control. If I go out to the real ocean or the conventional way, of just
showing the wave and it bounced back from the wall and go up and down, up and
down, it just wouldn’t work. So I had to create something new.

What are you most proud of with “Life of Pi?”

It’s something quite abstract, like everything. Just the sheer chance that
people took a leap of faith on this one, whether the filmmakers or Fox. Even
when I was doing it I thought god, what are we doing? I think that part is
most special.

Are you going to direct “Cleopatra”?

I don’t know. They say they’re going to send me the script. I think okay,
good, I’ll read it. They have not sent the script. It’s a very attractive
idea.

Have you and Angelina Jolie ever discussed working together before?

Not face to face but we exchanged emails a little bit.

How was it filming in your hometown, Taiwan?

I was born in Pingtung. My mother is in Tainan. I reconnected to Taiwan.
Since I left I had not spent that much time working, reconnecting to society.
The help I got was just incredible, from government to just everybody in
Taiwan.

Will you film there again?

Oh yeah, yeah. It’s my hometown.

Each of your films is so different. Is there a type of film, like a musical
or a biopic, you’d like to do in the future?

Well, the elements of a project have to grab me. Normally that grabs me
before genre. Then I choose genre to fit the subject matter. I don’t have a
checklist. I’m not a movie buff type of filmmaker.

--
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推 KuoJia:你們看 媽的 我早在#1Gl5-H-w篇就講清楚了 一堆人腦袋只想
→ KuoJia:吃老母 完全不懂電影的精華
→ KuoJia:電影是電影 小說是小說 別又拿小說來擋
→ elqqaapple:樓上很派 先知
推 owlonoak:我還特別去看那篇文章  根本就是浪費我的時間 樓下別看
→ kzzoz80:啊有些人的信仰就是吃老母
推 tyshmanq:看瞴
→ vickhus:同樣不覺得有講什麼測試
推 theskyofblue:原來我之前看過一樓那篇文章了 完全沒有記憶點的文章
→ twyes1688:那句話應該是標題,李安也沒說
推 kurtsgm:....................不要不看內文就在那邊跳針啊
→ kurtsgm:李安是說拍少年PI是很艱鉅的任務 對他來說是信仰的測試
→ kurtsgm:壓根沒討論什麼電影的內涵 不知道一樓在高潮什麼
→ kurtsgm:It’s like a test of faith. Everything was uphill.
→ kurtsgm:Faith是指李安對於自己拍好少年PI這片的信念
→ wentasu:這篇李安又再次提到台灣 也提到了和安潔莉娜裘莉有通email
→ wentasu:看來新豔后很有機會執導 不過我想將是兩三年以後的作品了
推 kzzoz80:希望李安得獎 再上台說一次台灣
推 MrRedHair:Taiwan!!!Taiwan!!!Taiwan!!!Taiwan!!!Taiwan!!!Taiwan!
→ wentasu:然後就變成萬古罪人韋禮安
→ MrRedHair:韋禮安梗又來囉XDDDDDDDDD
推 zukidelko:我想1F完全不懂這篇的精華
推 r0se:有笑有推啦~
推 peruman:不是千古罪人而已嗎 變萬古罪人了哪 罪孽加深了嗎 XDDDD
→ wentasu:都雙熊雙獅又拿雙人 叫人家怎麼追趕 億古罪人都不為過
推 spittz:真的跟AJ通e-mail哦....Orz
推 jamcla:翻成測試很怪