More than just a dramatist and storyteller, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain”) is an innovator in the vein of James Cameron and has always been quick to test new filmmaking technologies. Lee has been eager to experiment with early motion capture technologies, as he did the mo-cap himself for his movie “The Hulk” and the exceptional 3D and CGI used in his acclaimed “Life of Pi.” More recently, the filmmaker embraced things like 3D and high frame rates in his films “Gemini Man” and “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” However, in a recent interview with IndieWire, the director said he’s soured on the technologies and won’t return to them anytime soon, specifically 3D.

Continue reading Director Ang Lee Sours On 3D After Experiences With ‘Billy Lynn’ & ‘Gemini Man’: “The Whole Ecosystem Is Bad” at The Playlist.

After the release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the filmmaker’s depiction of Bruce Lee. In the film, you may remember, it’s shown that Brad Pitt’s character is able to beat up Lee in a fairly quick manner. But it wasn’t only the fight that people took issue with, it was just how Tarantino chose to paint Lee.

Continue reading Donnie Yen Calls Quentin Tarantino’s Depiction Of Bruce Lee In ‘Once Upon A Time’ “Cartoonish”: “He Was Making Fun Of Bruce” at The Playlist.

Ang Lee has finally found his next big film. And you better believe, there will be a lot of people anxiously awaiting what he has coming. You see, Ang Lee has enlisted his own son to star in a biopic about the legendary action star, Bruce Lee. 

According to Deadline, Sony has signed Ang Lee to direct an untitled Bruce Lee biopic. Going a step further, Ang Lee has already found who he wants to play Bruce Lee in the film, and the filmmaker didn’t have to look far at all.

Continue reading Ang Lee To Direct A Bruce Lee Biopic Starring The Filmmaker’s Son at The Playlist.

The Quentin Tarantino discourse isn’t great right now. Following his disparaging remarks about Bruce Lee in the recent podcast conversation he had on the Joe Rogan show about his “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” novelization and his whole career, people are angry and upset. The short version: you’ll remember upon the time of the release, people complained about the treatment of Lee in Tarantino’s film, depicting him as cocky and arrogant.

Continue reading Tarantino Slams Bruce Lee’s Widow’s 1978 Claim That ‘Kung Fu’ Was Stolen From Lee’s ‘Warrior’: “She A F*cking Liar” at The Playlist.

While there are always a lot of news that comes up regarding Quentin Tarantino films, particularly when it comes to his dialogue and use of gore and violence, after the debut of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” there was a bit of a surprising controversy surrounding the filmmaker’s depiction of Bruce Lee. In a film that seems to celebrate filmmaking and actors of decades gone by, many people noticed Tarantino didn’t necessarily showcase Bruce Lee in the best light, as he came off as an arrogant asshole (Lee’s widow, Linda Lee, criticized the film and Tarantino, at the time).

Continue reading Quentin Tarantino On The Bruce Lee Controversy In ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’: Other Than The Family, People Can “Suck A D*ck” at The Playlist.

Ahead of Bruce Lee’s (would-be) 80th birthday, Be Reel marvels at the spinning kicks, inimitable shrieks, and star wattage of the global icon. 

LISTEN: Alison Brie Talks ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘Promising Young Woman’ & Making Art That Matters [The Fourth Wall]

This week, we dive into the Dragon’s fascinating life and numerous afterlives with the help of Lee biographer Jeff Chang (“Can’t Stop Won’t Stop”) and sociology professor / Tae Kwon Do black belt Lory Dance. 

Continue reading Bruce Lee At 80: The Dragon’s Unmatched Films, Influence & Afterlives [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

Cinemax just announced the return of their action-packed drama series “Warrior” for a second season this October. The show, based on the writings of Bruce Lee, just debuted the first teaser for its second season, and it brings even more slow-motion fight scenes in the rain.

READ MORE: ‘Warrior’ Tackles Issues Of Ethnic Identity In Cinemax’s Impressive New Action Series From The Mind Of Bruce Lee [Review]

The drama series will return with ten new episodes this October.

Continue reading Cinemax’s ‘Warrior’ Season 2 Teaser: The Series Based On Bruce Lee’s Writing Returns For More Even More 19th Century Action at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

After last week’s backbreaker, we’ve got a lighter load of must-buys and must-streams – unless you count every title in this week’s big box set as an individual recommendation, in which case, well, we’re back up to ten or so.

Continue reading The 6 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Marriage Story,’ ‘The Assistant’ & More at The Playlist.

The first stop anyone should make as they journey through “Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits,” The Criterion Collection’s towering dedication to late martial arts master and international icon Bruce Lee, is “Water and Vessel,” critic and historian Jeff Chang’s load-bearing essay. For novices, the background Chang has gathered and woven into a tapestry of Lee is essential for contextualizing the five pictures assembled in the set: “The Big Boss,” “Fist of Fury,” “The Way of the Dragon,” “Enter the Dragon,” and “Game of Death.” Think of Chang’s piece as Bruce Lee 101, insight and knowledge procured by an author to whom the name means everything.

Continue reading ‘Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits’: Criterion’s Box Set Presents New Perspectives Of The Iconic Film Star at The Playlist.

1978 was a big year for Jackie Chan. After years of flailing about in serious kung fu films, with producers and directors attempting (as they did with so many of his contemporaries) to fashion Chan into the next Bruce Lee, he was loaned out to the independent production company Seasonal Films for two films. Their director, Yuen Woo-ping (who would later achieve international fame as the martial arts choreographer on the “Matrix” and “Kill Bill” films), gave Chan not only the freedom to direct his own fight scenes but to free himself of the stone-seriousness of those early efforts.

Continue reading Early Jackie Chan Titles On The Criterion Channel Showcase An Artist In Transition at The Playlist.

If you ask 100 film fans who the best kung-fu martial arts actor of all time is, they’d all likely say Bruce Lee. Over the years, Lee established himself as the most popular and most dynamic kung-fu actor, thanks to a variety of films that have gone on to become classics.

Thankfully, Criterion is ready to honor Lee the best way possible, with a new “Greatest Hits” release coming in July.

Continue reading ‘Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits’ Trailer: New Criterion Release Features Restored Versions Of Lee’s Greatest Films at The Playlist.

Quentin Tarantino couldn’t care less about appeasing China’s censors, even if it means not releasing “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” in the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

READ MORE: China Reportedly Cancels ‘Once Upon A Time’ Release Due To Quentin Tarantino’s Portrayal Of Bruce Lee

The Hollywood Reporter wrote on the cancellation of the October 25 Chinese release of the acclaimed movie last Friday, which is now believed to be due to Tarantino’s depiction of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee, who was of Chinese descent.

Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Says No to China’s Censors, Refuses To Recut ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ at The Playlist.

To date, there have been no Quentin Tarantino films released in Chinese theaters. However, on October 25, that was supposed to change as the National Film Administration in China gave the go-ahead for the filmmaker to show his latest, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” in the Middle Kingdom. However, according to new reports, that plan has been derailed as Bruce Lee’s daughter might have swayed the country into canceling the release.

Continue reading China Reportedly Cancels ‘Once Upon A Time’ Release Due To Quentin Tarantino’s Portrayal Of Bruce Lee at The Playlist.

If you’ve been reading The Playlist lately, specifically about Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” you know that there has been a back-and-forth between people associated with the film (Tarantino, actors, etc…) and Shannon Lee, the daughter of Bruce Lee, who feels that her father has been disrespected in the film. We thought that once Tarantino gave his side of the story, the discussion would end.

Continue reading Bruce Lee’s Daughter Says It “Would Be Really Nice” If Quentin Tarantino “Shut Up” About His Use Of The Martial Artist In ‘Once Upon A Time’ at The Playlist.

Normally, when it comes to fans debating about who would win in a fictional fight between two people in a film, the talk centers around superheroes and other completely unrealistic characters. However, most recently, the biggest “who would win in a fight?” debate revolved around Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and a scene depicting a tussle between Cliff Booth and Bruce Lee.

Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Defends Controversial ‘Once Upon A Time’ Fight Scene: “Bruce Lee Was Kind Of An Arrogant Guy” at The Playlist.

We are now entering the third phase of the controversy surrounding Bruce Lee’s inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” The first phase was the outrage shared by Lee’s daughter, who claimed that the film poorly portrayed her late father and made him look like an “arrogant asshole.” The second part was yesterday when we reported that the actor who plays Lee in the film, Mike Moh, explained how he thought the scene in question honored the legacy of the martial arts icon.

Continue reading ‘Once Upon A Time’: Brad Pitt Was Against Tarantino’s Original Ending Of The Controversial Bruce Lee Scene at The Playlist.

Back when “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, there was a lot of controversy about violence in the film towards women and the limited role that Margot Robbie, as Sharon Tate, played in the film. At the time, many wondered if this controversy would carry over when the film finally hit theaters. And it honestly didn’t. Instead, it would appear that the biggest controversy surrounding Quentin Tarantino’s latest film was his use of Bruce Lee in the film.

Continue reading Bruce Lee Actor Says He Knew ‘Once Upon A Time’ Fight Scene Would Be Controversial But Thinks The Film Honors The Late Star at The Playlist.

Whenever you use a fictitious version of a real person in a film, there are going to be those that disagree with the depiction. That’s just a fact. But in the case of Quentin Tarantino’s use of Bruce Lee in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” the late actor’s daughter isn’t saddened by the portrayal of her father, but instead, is upset with how the filmmaker used Bruce Lee in a way that would have never happened in real life.

Continue reading Bruce Lee’s Daughter Is Upset Quentin Tarantino Turned Her Father Into An “Arrogant A–hole” In ‘Once Upon A Time’ at The Playlist.

“Confucius said; a man in a brothel is nobody’s judge,” San Francisco courtesan, Ay Toy (Olivia Cheng) preaches to Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), or the “itchy onion” – a scrappy Chinese immigrant fresh off the boat. “Confucius never said that,” he tells her. “This is not China,” she warns, “It’s Chinatown. And our blood is cheap here, so you’d better learn to adapt.”

Based on the writings of Bruce Lee –and overseen by his daughter, Shannon Lee– Cinemax’s mindful and hard-hitting new series, “Warrior,” might not forge new narrative territory, but it impressively encapsulates the feeling of marginalized existence, exploring issues of ethnic identity by tapping into Western formula and injecting its tropes with a raw sense of racial identity.

Continue reading ‘Warrior’ Tackles Issues Of Ethnic Identity In Cinemax’s Impressive New Action Series From The Mind Of Bruce Lee [Review] at The Playlist.

You guys, Nicolas Cage knows about your memes. He knows about “Cage Rage.” And frankly, he’s a bit annoyed by it.

In a new interview with IndieWire, the Academy Award-winning actor discusses the memes that have gone out of control and how it affects his most recent film, “Mandy,” as well as explaining his artistic inspirations for his wild performances.

First, let’s talk about “Cage Rage.” The Internet is exploding at the seams with Nicolas Cage-inspired memes, where his often-manic-looking characters accompany some sort of silly out-of-context quote.

Continue reading Nicolas Cage Is Frustrated By Your Memes And Compares His Acting To James Cagney & Bruce Lee at The Playlist.

We have long-known that Bruce Lee was going to factor into the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Clearly, if you know anything about the filmmaker, he has a fondness for Lee and probably was just searching for a way to include the actor in his newest film. But we’ve been wondering who the director might nab to portray the action legend. Now, we know.

Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Adds To ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Cast With Actor To Portray Bruce Lee at The Playlist.

His only previous directorial credit being 2011’s “The Adjustment Bureau,” longtime screenwriter George Nolfi‘s (“Ocean’s Twelve,” “The Bourne Ultimatum“) latest directorial effort, “Birth of the Dragon,” finds him switching gears a bit. Inspired by the true story of young Bruce Lee‘s public face-off with a kung-fu master in San Francisco circa 1965, ‘Birth’ will likely feature significantly fewer hats than Nolfi’s last picture.

Continue reading New Trailer For Bruce Lee Pic ‘Birth Of The Dragon’ at The Playlist.

Maslansky previously produced a film version of the treatment, the 1978 film “Circle of Iron,” (which starred David Carradine), but now Maslansky’s son, Sasha Maslansky is writing a brand new script based off of Lee’s treatment.

Continue reading Bruce Lee’s ‘The Silent Flute’ aka ‘Circle Of Iron’ Gets Another Big Screen Treatment at The Playlist.

The actor and director has pretty much been keeping quiet since 2008’s “CJ7” and was for a brief moment attached to Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen’s “The Green Hornet” before pulling out of the production.

Continue reading Stephen Chow To Remake Bruce Lee’s ‘Way Of The Dragon’ In English With Anne Hathaway & Jack Black? at The Playlist.

A biopic of Ip Man — the first Chinese man to teach the martial art of Wing Chun openly, training many major level students, including Bruce Lee — the picture was set to star Tony Leung Chiu-wai (“In The Mood For Love”), but the actor’s arm was broken in an on-set accident by a martial arts trainer during rehearsals.

Continue reading Wong Kar-Wai Starts Shooting ‘The Grand Master’ In December; Zhang Ziyi Also To Star at The Playlist.