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After Life of Pi, Ang Lee to direct Long Halftime Walk
The story of the film centres on a 19-year-old soldier Billy Lynn who survive a battle in Iraq that is captured by embedded news cameras, making him a hero.
Life of Pi helmer
has found his next directorial vehicle in the adaptation of Ben Fountain's satirical novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
Lee is reuniting with Tom Rothman for his TriStar Productions and Film4 for the project.
The story of the film centres on a 19-year-old soldier Billy Lynn who survive a battle in Iraq that is captured by embedded news cameras, making him a hero. Back home in the US, he embarks on a promotional tour that culminates at the halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day football game in Texas before they are returned to the war, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film will mark Rothman and Lee's fifth collaboration. They worked together on The Wedding Banquet when Rothman was with Sam Goldwyn Films. Their most recent venture Life of Pi, an India-set drama about a boy adrift in the ocean with a Bengal tiger, grossed $600 million at the worldwide box office.
"I've had a relationship with Ang for 25 years. He's easily turned down 100 movies since Pi. But that's where patience and persistence come into play," Rothman said.
The film will be produced by Lee, Ink Factory's Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell and by Film4, which originally optioned the book.
Slumdog Millionaire scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy penned the script of this film.
"I am very excited to be going back to work and to be collaborating with my old friend Tom Rothman. The most important thing to me is storytelling, and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a story that immediately gripped me. I look forward to starting the creative process with this extraordinary team of collaborators," Lee said.
