The 50th anniversary edition of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's New York Film Festival is shaping up: Last week, the Film Society announced that Robert Zemeckis' Flight (starring Denzel Washington) would close the series, and today, it announced that Ang Lee's eagerly anticipated adaptation of Life of Pi will open the festival on September 28.
This marks the third film of Lee's to be included in the festival—The Ice Storm opened the 1997 event while Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the closing night selection in 2000. And Life of Pi , which is based on the bestselling novel by Yann Martel, will be the first 3D opening night film. Lee said, "I am both delighted and honored to be back at the New York Film Festival with Life of Pi. I have the deepest respect for Richard Peña and his team and to be selected by them as the opening night film for the 50th Anniversary is extremely gratifying. I am also excited because this is my hometown, and to be unveiling this film that I am so proud of here is a real pleasure."
And Peña, Selection Committee Chair & Program Director, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, said in a statement, "Life of Pi is a perfect combination of technological innovation and a strong artistic vision. Ang Lee has managed to make a deeply moving, engrossing work that will delight audiences as much as it will astonish them. We're enormously proud to have this film for our Opening Night for the 50th NYFF."
Before a screening of The Bourne Legacy this past weekend, our own Garth Johnston says that the audience oohed during the Life of Pi trailer
