Life of Pi (film)
Encyclopedia
Life of Pi is an upcoming 3D fantasy adventure film based on the 2001 novel of the same name
by Yann Martel
. The film is directed by Ang Lee
based on an adapted screenplay by David Magee
. Suraj Sharma, who has no previous acting experience, will play Pi. Life of Pi is scheduled to be released on , 2012.
based on a screenplay by David Magee
. The screenplay is adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name
written by Yann Martel
. Before Lee, the project had numerous directors and writers attached, and the Los Angeles Times
credited Fox 2000 Pictures executive Elizabeth Gabler with keeping the project active. Gabler in February 2003 had acquired the project to adapt Life of Pi into a film. She hired screenwriter Dean Georgaris to write an adapted screenplay. In the following October, Fox 2000 Pictures announced a partnership with M. Night Shyamalan
to direct the film. Shyamalan was attracted to the novel particularly because the author also came from Pondicherry (Puducherry) in India. The partners anticipated for Shyamalan to direct the film adaptation after completing The Village
. Shyamalan also replaced Georgaris as the screenwriter, writing a new screenplay for the film. Ultimately, Shyamalan chose to film Lady in the Water
after The Village, and Fox 2000 Pictures decided to find another director. In March 2005, they entered talks with Alfonso Cuarón
to become the new director. Shyamalan said in 2006, "I was hesitant [to direct] because the book has kind of a twist ending. And I was concerned that as soon as you put my name on it, everybody would have a different experience."
Cuarón decided to direct Children of Men
instead, and in October 2005, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Jean-Pierre Jeunet
to direct the film. Jeunet began writing the adapted screenplay with Guillaume Laurant, and filming was scheduled to begin in mid-2006 and partially in India. Jeunet eventually left the project, and in February 2009, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Ang Lee to direct the film. In May 2010, Lee and producer Gil Netter proposed a reported budget of , at which the studio balked, placing the project's development on hold for a short time. David Magee was hired to write the screenplay, and Lee spent several months looking for someone to cast as Pi. After auditioned, Lee chose to cast Suraj Sharma, a 17-year-old student and an acting newcomer, in October 2010. Filming began in Taiwan and India in January 2011.
Life of Pi
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age...
by Yann Martel
Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.-Early life:Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain where his father was posted as a diplomat for the Canadian government. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada...
. The film is directed by Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
based on an adapted screenplay by David Magee
David Magee
David Magee is an American screenwriter who was nominated for a 2004 Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Finding Neverland. Along with Simon Beaufoy he wrote the screenplay for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, which was released in 2008.His screen...
. Suraj Sharma, who has no previous acting experience, will play Pi. Life of Pi is scheduled to be released on , 2012.
Synopsis
Pi is a youth who is the only person to survive the sinking of a freighter. He finds himself on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger.Cast
- Suraj Sharma as "Pi" Patel
- Shravanthi Sainath as Pi's Girlfriend
- TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
as Pi's mother - Adil Hussain as Pi's father
- Irrfan Khan as the adult "Pi" Patel
- Gerard DepardieuGérard DepardieuGérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
as The Chef - Tobey MaguireTobey MaguireTobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
as The Interviewer
Production
Life of Pi is directed by Ang LeeAng Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
based on a screenplay by David Magee
David Magee
David Magee is an American screenwriter who was nominated for a 2004 Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Finding Neverland. Along with Simon Beaufoy he wrote the screenplay for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, which was released in 2008.His screen...
. The screenplay is adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name
Life of Pi
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age...
written by Yann Martel
Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.-Early life:Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain where his father was posted as a diplomat for the Canadian government. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada...
. Before Lee, the project had numerous directors and writers attached, and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
credited Fox 2000 Pictures executive Elizabeth Gabler with keeping the project active. Gabler in February 2003 had acquired the project to adapt Life of Pi into a film. She hired screenwriter Dean Georgaris to write an adapted screenplay. In the following October, Fox 2000 Pictures announced a partnership with M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
to direct the film. Shyamalan was attracted to the novel particularly because the author also came from Pondicherry (Puducherry) in India. The partners anticipated for Shyamalan to direct the film adaptation after completing The Village
The Village (2004 film)
The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
. Shyamalan also replaced Georgaris as the screenwriter, writing a new screenplay for the film. Ultimately, Shyamalan chose to film Lady in the Water
Lady in the Water
The soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard. The last four tracks are non-soundtrack songs from singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost, Indie rock band A Whisper in the Noise, and rock 'n' roll revivalists Silvertide. Each of the four songs was written by Bob Dylan...
after The Village, and Fox 2000 Pictures decided to find another director. In March 2005, they entered talks with Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
to become the new director. Shyamalan said in 2006, "I was hesitant [to direct] because the book has kind of a twist ending. And I was concerned that as soon as you put my name on it, everybody would have a different experience."
Cuarón decided to direct Children of Men
Children of Men
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
instead, and in October 2005, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
-Life and career:Jean-Pierre Jeunet was born in Roanne, Loire, France. He bought his first camera at the age of 17 and made short films while studying animation at Cinémation Studios. He befriended Marc Caro, a designer and comic book artist who became his longtime collaborator and...
to direct the film. Jeunet began writing the adapted screenplay with Guillaume Laurant, and filming was scheduled to begin in mid-2006 and partially in India. Jeunet eventually left the project, and in February 2009, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Ang Lee to direct the film. In May 2010, Lee and producer Gil Netter proposed a reported budget of , at which the studio balked, placing the project's development on hold for a short time. David Magee was hired to write the screenplay, and Lee spent several months looking for someone to cast as Pi. After auditioned, Lee chose to cast Suraj Sharma, a 17-year-old student and an acting newcomer, in October 2010. Filming began in Taiwan and India in January 2011.