As contemporary action movies have raised the level of skill and choreography performed on screen, the time seems right for a new biopic of Bruce Lee.
With no disrespect intended to 1993’s Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which took sort of a metaphysical turn imagining a childhood fear that haunted the martial arts star as an adult, a depiction of Lee’s life warrants a more straight-forward treatment — or at least a truer portrayal of his philosophies and teachings, which include his own martial arts style, Jeet Kune Do.
Shannon Lee, Lee’s daughter, agrees and intends to make what’s viewed as the definitive film on her father. The Lee family has teamed with producers Lawrence Gray (Last Vegas) and Janet Yang (The Joy Luck Club) to bring that story to life on the big screen.
Is it fair to say that we won’t see a reenactment of Lee’s legendary duel with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1978’s Game of Death? Because I’d kind of like to see that. Maybe with Greg Oden as Abdul-Jabbar?
http://youtu.be/t73LMDb9NTM
“There have been projects out there involving my father, but they’ve lacked a complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry,” Lee told Deadline’s Mike Fleming. “They haven’t captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling. The only way to get audiences to understand the depth and uniqueness of my father is to generate our own material and find amazing like-minded partners to work with.”
This new film would just be one project in a series of projects that the family’s company, Bruce Lee Entertainment, is developing. Those endeavors include a TV show based on an original concept by Lee, directed by Fast & Furious helmer Justin Lin, a series of novels based on Lee’s writings and a comic book series.
[Deadline]
