Variety reports that George Nolfi, director of The Adjustment Bureau and writer for The Bourne Ultimatum and Oceans Twelve, will direct Birth of the Dragon, a biopic of legendary Chinese-American actor/martial-artist Bruce Lee. The film will be produced by QED International and Groundswell Productions (Milk). Shooting will begin in spring 2015.
Birth of the Dragon will follow Steve Macklin, one of Lee’s students, and focus on the fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, which took place in 1965 shortly before Lee’s film career began. All three will eventually team up to take on a gang of Hong Kong Triads in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Lee would go on to have a supporting role in the short lived Green Hornet TV series before rising to prominence with films like The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, and Enter the Dragon. His work has been credited with introducing martial arts films to American audiences and improving roles for Asian-Americans in Hollywood. Lee’s career was cut short by his untimely death in 1973 when he was 32 years old.
Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele will write the screenplay. Bill Block, Michael London, and Janice Williams will produce.
Leave a Comment