In recent years director Ang lee has successfully made the crossover from Asian cinema to Hollywood and more mainstream movies.The Taiwan born director moved to America in the late seventies, after completing his mandatory military service, to study Theatre at the University if Illinois.He went on to complete his Master of Fin Arts graduate degree at Tisch School of the Arts of new York university. He was spotted by William Morris Agency due to his drama Fine Line, which was his thesis work.But hard times followed as William Morris Agency (WMA) were unable to find Lee any work in the industry, he was left unemployed for six years.But Lee had no intention of abandoning his film dream writing several screenplays in this time, two of which he entered into a competition that was sponsored by Taiwan's Government Information Office.His screenplay Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet came first and second capturing the attention of a senior studio manager Li-Kong Hsu who suggested that Pushing Hands was made into a dull length feature.

In 1992, in collaboration with Hsu, Ang Lee made his directorial debut with Pushing Hands, which was a critical and commercial success in his native Taiwan receiving eight Golden Horse Film Festival nominations.

Lee and Hsu went on to collaborate for the second time bringing The Wedding Banquet to the big screen in 1993. The film went on to win the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival as well as receive Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film.

In 1995 Lee made the transition to Hollywood when he directed Emma Thompson's adaptation of the English classic Sense and Sensibility.

The film earnt Lee a second Golden Bear and seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture, but it just won Best Adapted Screenplay for Emma Thompson despite winning the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama.

Lee's next two Hollywood movies The Ice Storm, starring Kevin Kline, and Ride With the Devil, starring Tobey Maguire didn't do well at the box office. The Ice Storm did go on to be a huge DVD hit.

Lee returned to Chinese speaking movies when he directed martial art epic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

The film was an international success and was the highest grossing foreign film in many countries, including the UK.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film at the 2000 Academy Awards winning the latter.

After the disappointment of his next movie Hulk, which starred Eric Bana, Lee considered retiring but was encouraged to stay in the film industry by his father.

Lee bounced back with his controversial independent movie Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

An adaptation of Annie Proulx's novel the film followed the complex relationship and forbidden love between two Wyoming cowboys.

Despite it's controversy Lee won a string of Best Director awards including a BAFTA and Golden Globe as well as the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

At the 78th Academy Awards Brokeback Mountain had been nominated for eight awards including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

Ang Lee became the first Asian ever to win the Best Director prize but in the Best Picture category it was beaten by ensemble movie Crash that tackled the issue of racism.

2008 sees the director return with his first picture since his Brokeback Mountain success with Lust, Caution.

The film is loosely based on events that took place in 1942, when Shanghai was under Japanese occupation.

A small group of patriotic Chinese students plot to assassinate a member of the Japanese collaborationist government of Wang Jingwei.

The film premiered at the 2007 Venice Film Festival were Ang Lee, for the second time in three years, won the Golden Lion Award, becoming only the second director to win this prize twice - the other being Zhang Yimou.

Lust, Caution is released 4th January.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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