New Bruce Lee Biopic Being Planned
Bruce Lee is one of the most iconic martial artists that ever lived, and he had such a profound and positive effect on the world. I'm happy to report that there is another biopic being planned for the legend. According to Deadline, his daughter Shannon Lee has partnered with Last Vegas producer Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, and veteran producer Janet Yang to develop what they call the "definitive biographical film on Lee."
In 1993, Universal Pictures made a biopic called Dragon, which is a film that I still enjoy watching to this day. Shannon explains that there is plenty of ground that has been left uncovered, and "voluminous writings by the man to fuel a new movie to enlighten a new generation to Lee’s trailblazing accomplishments and his evolution from a brawling student to a teacher of sophisticated philosophies and his own martial art form." She went on to say:
“There have been projects out there involving my father, but they’ve lacked a complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry. They haven’t captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling. The only way to get audiences to understand the depth and uniqueness of my father is to generate our own material and find amazing like-minded partners to work with…many don’t know that Bruce Lee was also a prolific writer and a creator of his own unique art and philosophy. That’s what we want to show, not just his kick-ass physicality, but the depth of his character and beliefs.”
They are going to go after the best talent to develop this film. Grey said, “We will bring on a world class filmmaker and writer, who’ll work with Shannon and myself and then we will talk to American and foreign partners."
Lee talked about the focus on the movie, revealing that it will center on the "intellectual approach that Lee brought to overcoming obstacles, and forming his own martial arts style, Jeet Kune Do. Those obstacles ranged from being told not to teach the art to non-Asians, to the difficulties he had getting work onscreen despite his movie star looks and unparalleled skills."
As you know, Lee had a lot of failed attempts landing lead roles in Hollywood because he was Chinese. He did get his big break as the sidekick in Green Hornet, but after losing the lead role in Kung Fu to white actor David Carradine, he went to China to makes movies, and that's where his career really blew up. After The Big Boss and Fist of Fury became huge hits, he was able to make his epic film, Enter the Dragon. Shannon added:
“In hundreds of years, how many people created their own martial art, something he used to break tradition because he believed in humanity and that the world was one brotherhood. His approach to business an nutrition was revolutionary, mixing Eastern and Western philosophies. My father wrote thousands of pages of thoughts on his life. They based Dragon on a book my mom wrote in the 70s, but they didn’t work in partnership with us to create that film and it didn’t have the depth or essence of my father that it might have. There is a lot that hasn’t been told yet, and many lessons that deserve to live on.”
I'm excited that another Bruce Lee biopic is being made, and I can't wait to see how it turns out!