It is safe to say that Ang Lee and his son Mason are taking the upcoming biopic of Bruce Lee seriously, as Mason has been training for no less than FIVE YEARS to prepare for his role as the kung-fu legend.
Bruce is one of the most iconic martial artists of all time and starred in various kung-fu movie classics like Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Game of Death.
In 1973, he tragically died in Hong Kong in what was later deemed "death by misadventure". He had swelling on the brain and had allegedly taken a bad reaction to some pain medication he was provided.
In 2022, Ang Lee announced he was developing a new movie about him, titled Bruce Lee.
READ MORE: Neve Campbell comments on whether she could return for Scream VII
“Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionized both the martial arts and action cinema,” he told Deadline.
“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.”
Ang is, of course, no stranger to the martial arts genre, as his movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon remains the most successful non-English language movie in the United States.
Mason Lee will play Bruce Lee
After an extensive search for an actor to play Bruce, Ang Lee eventually selected his son, Mason, who has certainly been busy getting in shape.
"The advantage that we had to Mason , this project's been being developed closely for many years, and we were able, for five years, to train Mason and turn him from the early days where he's a very fine actor, but clearly the son of a very successful Hollywood director, to a stone-cold killer," producer Lawrence Grey explained to Collider.
"I mean, anyone who can fight like Bruce Lee is a maniac, is a killer. And through that process of training, through reading all of Bruce's material, training in the various martial arts he trained in, we were really able to hone that in."
Grey reveals that Mason was always considered for the role, but he and Ang were wary of nepotism allegations.
"Early on, Ang introduced me to his son, Mason Lee, who's a very accomplished actor—particularly works a lot in China, although he's been in some very successful American films—and he is a spitting image of Bruce," he recalled.
"We had that in our pockets, and said, 'Okay, we don't wanna be producers who succumb to nepotism. We'll put that aside.'
"And then, we did a worldwide search all across Asia and North America, and we didn't find anyone as compelling as Mason,"
Comments (0)