Latest news with #LifeofPi
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ang Lee to helm 'Old Gold Mountain'
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee is all set to direct 'Old Gold Mountain', an adaptation of C. Pam Zhang's debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold. Hansol Jung penned the movie adaptation, which tells the journey of two orphaned immigrants, reported Deadline. The 2020 novel follows "Lucy and Sam, newly orphaned children of immigrants who suddenly are alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, the spectre of a ravaged landscape, as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry and glimpses of a different kind of future," as per the outlet. Ang Lee was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, which was held on February 8, 2025. Lee, the Academy Award-winning director behind masterpieces such as Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi, will become the 37th filmmaker in history to receive this distinguished honour. Lee's career began in the early 1990s with films like The Wedding Banquet, but he became a global sensation with his films 'Crouching Tiger', 'Hidden Dragon', 'Brokeback Mountain', and 'Life of Pi'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo The latter earned Lee an Academy Award for Best Director. A member of the DGA since 1996, Lee has earned multiple nominations and awards from the guild. He has been nominated for the DGA Award for Feature Film four times, winning the honour in 2000 for 'Crouching Tiger', 'Hidden Dragon' and in 2005 for 'Brokeback Mountain'.Lee's contributions to the film industry were also celebrated by the DGA in 2018 with a special recognition for his support of American culture through his work in film and television. Lee's contributions to the film industry were also celebrated by the DGA in 2018, and a special recognition was given for his support of American culture through his work in film and television. Jung most recently worked on the Apple TV+ series Pachinko, reported Deadline. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
Mint
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Ang Lee to direct Old Gold Mountain
Washington DC [US], June 6 (ANI): Acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee is all set to direct 'Old Gold Mountain', an adaptation of C. Pam Zhang's debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold. Hansol Jung penned the movie adaptation, which tells the journey of two orphaned immigrants, reported Deadline. The 2020 novel follows "Lucy and Sam, newly orphaned children of immigrants who suddenly are alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, the spectre of a ravaged landscape, as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry and glimpses of a different kind of future," as per the outlet. Ang Lee was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, which was held on February 8, 2025. Lee, the Academy Award-winning director behind masterpieces such as Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi, will become the 37th filmmaker in history to receive this distinguished honour. Lee's career began in the early 1990s with films like The Wedding Banquet, but he became a global sensation with his films 'Crouching Tiger', 'Hidden Dragon', 'Brokeback Mountain', and 'Life of Pi'. The latter earned Lee an Academy Award for Best Director. A member of the DGA since 1996, Lee has earned multiple nominations and awards from the guild. He has been nominated for the DGA Award for Feature Film four times, winning the honour in 2000 for 'Crouching Tiger', 'Hidden Dragon' and in 2005 for 'Brokeback Mountain'.Lee's contributions to the film industry were also celebrated by the DGA in 2018 with a special recognition for his support of American culture through his work in film and television. Lee's contributions to the film industry were also celebrated by the DGA in 2018, and a special recognition was given for his support of American culture through his work in film and television. Jung most recently worked on the Apple TV series Pachinko, reported Deadline. (ANI)
Los Angeles Times
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Life of Pi' roars to life at Segerstrom
When Richard Parker slinks into the room, it is difficult not to catch your breath. The Royal Bengal tiger puppet is the star of the stage production of 'Life of Pi' and the puppeteers who operate him — Aaron Haskell, Anna Vomacka and Anna Leigh Gortner — have mastered the feline form. They move the 35-pound puppet with realistic movements and sounds that mimic a real tiger, making you wonder how safe you are when he breathes into your lap. 'We really try not to Disney-fy the animals,' said Taha Mandviwala, who plays the role of Pi in the production. 'We want to give them the physics that animals have, that sense of ferocity, that sense of weight, the sense that this thing has the capacity to kill at any moment.' Showing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa now through June 15, 'Life of Pi' is based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel of the same name, adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti. The story follows 16-year-old Pi who gets shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when the boat carrying his family and the animals in their zoo from India to Canada sinks. Stuck on a lifeboat for 227 days, he is joined by a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a tiger named Richard Parker. The animals play key roles in the storytelling and besides Richard Parker, the touring cast and creative team brings an entire zoo to life using the captivating puppets. Following the opening night of the production on June 3, Segerstrom hosted a demonstration of the tiger puppet the next day at the Judy Morr Theater where the famous kitty purred and chuffed at a nervous crowd. Movement director and puppeteer Betsy Rosen and John Hoche, associate puppetry & movement director for 'Life of Pi' U.S., joined Haskell, Vomacka and Gortner for the demo along with Mandviwala. The production is a decorated one, with three Tony Awards, the Olivier Award for Best Play and Hoche noted, the 2022 Best Supporting Actor award for a group of puppeteers' portrayal of Richard Parker. 'That means not only was a tiger nominated for an award, but a puppet was also nominated for this award and the team of puppeteers that brought Richard Parker to life were all nominated,' said Hoche. 'The incredible thing is they won, so that is a huge step forward for understanding and appreciating the art form of puppetry.' Operating the tiger puppet is a task that requires skill and finesse from three players, who each operate the head, the heart and hind quarters of the animal. Haskell, Vomacka and Gortner operate the tiger during about three of the eight weekly shows, since the role is quite physically demanding. The head puppeteer operates the head and cage of the animal, or the ribs, via a handle on the spine. 'Their primary objective is to keep the head active, there are ear triggers and a jaw trigger there,' said Rosen. The heart puppeteer manipulates the front paws of the tiger and creates breath within the tiger while the hind puppeteer operates the back paws and tail, maintaining the gait and walk of the tiger and using the tail to express emotion. 'I find a lot of personality in the tail,' said Gortner. 'Just like any animal, when Richard Parker is scared, his tail will tuck. If he is feeling aggressive or angry, it will lift. If he is hungry, it might wag a bit.' Sounds the tiger makes also signal emotion. 'All three puppeteers are mic'd live which means we are making all of the sounds live, and that goes for all of the puppets in the show,' said Rosen. Mandviwala said acting with a puppet has two sides to it. 'One side is very technical and one side is artistic. On an artistic level, you are acting alongside a puppet, you really need to treat it completely in the same way you would treat working with another actor,' said Mandviwala. 'On a technical level of acting with it, you also have to keep a lookout for your fellow coworkers, the puppeteers in the boat.' While Mandviwala and the other actors are very aware of the puppeteers, the audience is less so, especially as the story goes on. It seems we notice them less and less as our imaginations take us through the story. The amount of emotion Haskell, Vomacka and Gortner evoke from the audience with a puppet is incredible. As a viewer, you are aware you are not really seeing a goat get eaten by a tiger for example, yet the crowd gasps and grimaces as if they are. 'A teacher told me once that the audience, just like you, came here with your imagination open,' said Haskell. 'You wanted to see something good and see something come to life and so a lot of that is on us to make sure you stay in that imagination. You want to believe, we allow you to believe and we make you continue to believe.' Rosen said the team achieves this partly by hiding in plain sight. 'We are not trying to disappear completely, we are not dressed in all black,' said Rosen. 'I think there is this mentality and physicality of serving this greater overall character, that we are all doing at the same time and we recede into the background, in service of bringing this other character to life.' Haskell said three puppeteers all pay attention to each other, while also all jointly focusing on the tiger's view point, which helps them become the puppet. 'One of the major ways we do that is our focus into the puppet. We use a lot of our peripheral vision because we want you to see our focus is on the head, which psychologically somehow really does make the audience also go there with you,' said Haskell. Vomacka and Gortner both said maintaining healthy habits and exercise routines, like yoga and gymnastics, help them keep up with the physically demanding work of crouching inside the puppet for a two-hour show. 'Humans are incredible,' said Vomacka. 'You put a challenge in front of us, we train for it and we acclimate.' Hoche said that while the show's puppeteers demonstrate great skill and talent, their passion is one born from storytelling play, something everyone in the audience can relate to. 'Everyone at some point in your life has played with a doll or played with an action figure or made a stick come to life,' said Hoche. 'Everyone is a puppeteer.' 'Life of Pi' is showing now at Segerstrom Center for the Arts at 600 Town Center Dr, Costa Mesa through June 15. Tickets, which start at $44.07, are available at
Time Out
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The West End ‘Life of Pi' play makes its debut in Hong Kong this month
From a globally acclaimed novel and award-winning film adaptation by Ang Lee, to two theatrical versions performed across the UK, it's no exaggeration to say that Life of Pi by Yann Martel is one of the most iconic stories of the 21st century. Theatre lovers will be glad to know that the play is soon making its Hong Kong debut at the Xiqu Centre. The original West End production from London has won five Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards, so this is a great chance for Hong Kong audiences to see the magic right on home soil. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Life of Pi play is its use of exquisite puppetry in presenting the various animal characters such as the orangutans, zebras, hyenas, and Richard Parker the Bengal tiger. If you've seen The Lion King musical, you'll know first-hand how life-like puppets can be, and this production includes three very skilled puppeteers who deftly bring the animals to life. For those who have yet to experience the tale in any format, Life of Pi tells the story of Pi, a young Indian boy who loses his family in a shipwreck and finds himself having to survive while adrift at sea on a lifeboat with a range of animals, including the potentially dangerous tiger Richard Parker. Blending fantasy with reality, it deals with the profound themes of humanity and survival, religion and faith, as well as whether truth and fiction are important at all. Head to the Xiqu Centre from June 26 to 29 for a very limited six-show run of Life of Pi on stage. Tickets range from $288 to $1,188, with concessions available, but they're fast running out so get clicking now!
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
10 non-beachy things to do in Goa
Let's get something out of the way: Goa is not just a beach with a state attached to it. Sure, the sand and surf are iconic, but if you take a detour, you'll discover a wildly eclectic Goa—one that's quirky, culturally rich, and a bit eccentric (in the best way). If you're the kind of traveler who likes exploring the off-beat, here are 10 gloriously non-beachy things to do in Goa that prove the sunshine state is more than what it seems like. Hop on the Chorao Island Ferry No, it's not a scene from Life of Pi . The ferry to Chorao Island is your gateway to the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, where the only thing crashing is the sound of wings in a mangrove forest. Herons, egrets, and maybe even a crocodile. Read more: Top 10 national parks in India ranked by tiger population Visit Fontainhas to time travel Wander into Panjim's Latin Quarter, where Portuguese-era homes wear pops of pastel like they're at an eternal Easter parade. It's like Instagram meets a history book—with less dust and more gelato. Play your tunes at the ruins of Cabo de Rama Fort Perched dramatically above cliffs, this centuries-old fort offers haunting ruins, breathtaking views, and possibly a ghost or two. Bonus: zero beach umbrellas. Check into a 200-year-old Portuguese mansion Think chandeliers, creaky floors, and colonial nostalgia. Stay at one of Goa's heritage homestays like Figueiredo House or Casa Menezes and live your 19th-century best life—with Wi-Fi, of course. Groove at a Silent Disco in Palolem Okay, it's near a beach—but dancing in silence with headphones under the stars while three DJs battle for your ears? That's next-level quirky. Explore the spice plantation Visit a spice plantation in Ponda, where cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom grow wilder than your beach hair. Bonus: elephants sometimes make guest appearances. Hike to the Tambdi Surla Temple Trek through dense forest to this 12th-century gem Mahadev Temple made of black basalt. It's a Hindu temple so ancient that you will feel like getting transported to some other time. Read more: 5 Buddhist sites in Andhra that feel like time travel Catch a film at the Cinephile Club Tired of sun and sand? Join Goa's coolest cine-lovers at the Cinephile Film Club in Panjim for indie and world cinema, often screened with commentary. Get lost in the Friday Mapusa Market It's chaos, it's color, it's bargaining galore. From local sausages to brass trinkets, you'll leave with a full bag and an even fuller photo roll. Learn to cook Goan Food Sign up for a Goan cooking class. Learn to work that coconut, conquer that xacuti, and basically level up your dinner parties forever. If you are keen to experience the other side of Goa, you will have ample choices. Whether you're sipping feni in a forest, spotting birds, or learning the delicate art of prawn balchão, the off-beach adventures are what truly set Goa apart. So next time, ditch the towel and dive into Goa's wonderfully weird inland wonders. You'll come back sun-kissed… and surprisingly well-read. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
