CELEBRATED
TRAVELER
WINTER 2012
celebratedliving.com
88
AngLee
Best known fordiversefilms suchas
Crouching
Tiger,HiddenDragon
;
EatDrinkManWoman
;
and
BrokebackMountain
,AcademyAward-
winningdirector, screenwriter, and seasoned
travelerAngLee returns tohisTaiwanese roots
with thehighlyanticipatedfilm
Life of Pi
. Based
on thebest-sellingbookbyYannMartel, the
adventure-drama follows theepic journeyof a
youngmanandaBengal tigerwhohave sur-
vivedadisasterat sea.
Thebeautifully shot footagedepictsPi and
his companionas theydrift across three conti-
nentsand twooceans. Lee chose tofilmon
locationatTaiwan’sBashiaBay (whichdoubled
asabeach inMexico) and the famedPondicher-
ryBotanicalGardens in India, incorporating the
1,000-year-oldVillianurTemple into thefilm.He
explainswhat he lovesabout thebookandhis
native land.
— CATHYWHITLOCK
ADAPTING LIFEOF PI TO THEBIGSCREEN
: I felt thiswas
averyattractivebook.When Ifirst read it, I
found it tobeboth fascinatingandmind-boggling.
Itwasmykindof thing todirect. Iknew there
wouldbeachallengedealingwithanimalsand
filming in3-D.
PONDICHERRYBOTANICAL GARDENSDOUBLESASA ZOO
:
Iwassurprised todiscover therewasnozooas
depicted inYannMartel’sbook. I envision that
years fromnow touristswhohaveseen themovie
will come toPondicherry to look forazoo from
the
LifeofPi.
Wealsofilmed in theTaipei zoo.
WHAT I LOVEABOUT TAIWAN
:Thecountryhas thenic-
estpeopleanywhere, and theyareverygenerous
and lovely.There isabeautiful island feel. It’sa
verycomfortableplace tovisit. Ipersonally favor
theeast coastofTaiwanas it is lessdeveloped.
TRY TAIWANESE FOODS
:Taiwanhas thebestplaces
toeat.During the [Chinese]CivilWar, peoplefled
toTaiwan tosurviveandbrought cultureand
good food.The last 30yearshavebeenvery inno-
vative, andwehaveseena lotof Japanese influ-
ences.Thesmall villagescontainsomeof the
most exquisite food.My favorite“littleeats” in
Taiwanaresmall seafooddishes.
MY FAVORITEDIRECTORSAND FILM
: I love Ingmar
Bergman,BillyWilder, andStanleyKubrick.
All ofmyfilmsaremybabiesand Ihaveno
particular favorite, except formaybe
Crouching
Tiger,HiddenDragon
.
MYDREAMVACATION
:Thatwouldbesome lazyplace,
likeaheavenlybeach in theCaribbean.Theprob-
lem ismywife likesachalet in themountains.
WHENBUSINESSBECOMESPLEASURE
:Weare inan
adventurousbusinesswhere travel canbework.
I love todirect—when I amworking, everyone
listens tome.Butathome, noonepaysattention!
I NEVER TRAVELWITHOUT
:Mypassport.
©MARCELHARTMANN/CONTOURBYGETTY IMAGES
