The Oscar-winning director of Brokeback Mountainis in town scouting talent for The Life of Pi
Post Slumdog Millionaire, which put India on the international map, the West has started scouting India for more setups. After Julia Roberts who shot Eat, Love and Pray in Delhi, the Academy Award-winning director of Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution, Ang Lee, has landed in town to cast for his next. Ang Lee's next is based on Yann Martel's Booker Prizewinning tour de force The Life of Pi. It's an adventure story of an Indian boy, in his early twenties, from Pondicherry who is stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a giraffe and a tiger. The filmmaker has landed in Mumbai to cast for the film and scout locations.
A source informs, “Ang Lee is in town to lock the cast for his film. He is staying at Taj Land's End and is accompanied by an entourage. The filmmaker also made a quick trip to Pondicherry a few days ago. The whole trip has been kept highly guarded.”
The source further adds, “Ang Lee had hired a few casting agencies to shortlist actors for the film and is now deciding the final cast. The auditions have been going on full swing for a few weeks but in a very hush-hush manner as the Asian-American filmmaker wants the whole thing to be very secretive. Ang Lee met the shortlisted actors at Mehboob Studios yesterday.”
Another source reveals, “The film will have an international release and is touted to be much bigger than Slumdog Millionnaire, both in terms of budget and cinematic ambition.”
The hotel authorities confirmed Ang Lee's presence at their hotel along with his entourage and even tried to connect us to his room. They however refused to give out his room number, merely confirming that he has a booking there till the 17th.
