After his 2012 3D film Life of Pi earned him an Oscar nod for Best Director, Ang Lee has understandably decided to continue working in 3D. His next project, as yet untitled, will feature classic boxing matches and rivalries from the 1960’s and 70’s including the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The 3D depiction of the fights will be tied together with a narrative penned by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, Rush). No other details have been disclosed about the nature of the story.
Lee hopes to use his momentum from Life of Pi to continue exploring film in 3D in much the same way as James Cameron is digging into cutting edge technologies with his Avatar sequels. It will be interesting to see how Lee builds upon his latest visual achiement using this brand new subject matter.
Lee will produce the film along with James Schamus. Lee and Schamus have worked together in a writing and producing capacity on many films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm.
The film will be backed by Universal, with more details sure to come.