Now here is a movie that sounds different and interesting. ‘Life of Pi’ is based on a novel by the same name written by Yann Martel. It is a coming of age survival tale. The film adaptation is being developed at Fox 2000 and Ang Lee is currently in talks top direct the film. The following is a description of what the book is about:

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional–but is it more true?

What a great little film this would make! The story sounds simple yet incredibly interesting and character driven. This seems like the perfect project of Ang Lee to tackle, it’s right up his ally. Ang Lee just completed his ‘Taking Woodstock’ film.