It’s been 2019 since Ang Lee made Gemini Man. Now, after struggling to get his Bruce Lee biopic going, Old Gold Mountain has been announced.
With two Oscars to his name, and films as successful as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life Of Pi, Brokeback Mountain and Sense & Sensibility to his name, Ang Lee is one of the more revered filmmakers of his generation. And yet: he’s not been able to get a film off the ground for half a decade.
Granted, his last movie was hardly his best, the 2019 Will Smith-headlined Gemini Man, itself a film that was in development for eons, and in truth, probably should have stayed there. Following up the box office disappointment that was 2016’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, it seems that Hollywood has got less keen to give Ang Lee money. His planned biopic of Bruce Lee has been stuck in development the last few years, and he also seems to have abandoned his once-vaunted film of the legendary ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ boxing bout.
Now 70, Ang Lee has now been announced as directing a very different project, Old Gold Mountain. It’s based on a novel by C Pam Zhang, with Hansol Jung penning the screenplay.
The novel is called How Much Of These Hills Is Gold, and it’s a period piece about two orphan children travelling across 19th century America. Acclaimed and longlisted for the Booker Prize, it’s unclear whether Old Gold Mountain will be Ang Lee’s next project, but there’s a sporting chance it’s closer to getting to production than anything else he’s juggling.
We’re at a point where it seems it’s easier to get a remake of an Ang Lee film, The Wedding Banquet, made and in cinemas as opposed to a fresh movie. Hopefully, whether it’s Bruce Lee or Old Gold Mountain, whatever’s been blocking Ang Lee getting movies made is now unblocked.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
