Ang Lee has pacted with Focus Features to direct LUST, CAUTION, an espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai. Bill Kong, who previously produced Lee's CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, will produce. Focus Features ceo James Schamus will exec produce.
The Chinese-language feature is being scripted by Wang Hui-Ling, who previously co-wrote Lee's EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. The new film is being adapted from a short story by the late Chinese author Eileen Chang. Focus will hold worldwide rights to the film, excluding Asia. Overseas sales and distribution will be handled by Focus Features Intl. Production is anticipated to begin in the fall.
Schamus said, "I'm delighted that Ang is back with all of us here at Focus, and he's going to be making a very exciting film that's unlike anything he's done before. He and I glad to reteam with Bill and Wang again after our great success together on CROUCHING TIGER. Like that picture, LUST, CAUTION is a uniquely Asian story which, in Ang's hands, will surprise and attract audiences around the world."
Focus Features (www.focusfeatures.com) is a motion picture production, financing and worldwide distribution company. Focus Features is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Ent., NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric and 20%-owned by Vivendi.
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