name	Ang Lee李安
tradchinesename
simpchinesename
pinyinchinesename	Lǐ Ān
birth date	October 23, 1954
birth place	Chaochou, Pingtung, Taiwan
spouse	Jane Lin (1983–)
children	Haan Lee (b.1984)Mason Lee (b.1990)
yearsactive	1992 – present
Goldenbauhiniaawards	Best Director2001 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
Goldenhorseawards	Best Film1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''2000 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' Best Director1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''2007 ''Lust, Caution'' Best Original Screenplay1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''
Hongkongfilmwards	Best Director2001 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' }}

Showflag	cp
C	李安
P	Lǐ Ān
Mi
W	Li An
Poj	Lí-An }}

Ang Lee (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ Ān; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese American film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994), ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film), ''Hulk'' (2003), and ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director. He is the first person of Asian descent to win the Best Director Oscar.

Early life

Education

Ang Lee was born in the town of Chaochou in Pingtung, a southern agricultural county in Taiwan. He grew up in a household that put heavy emphasis on education and the Chinese classics. Both of Lee's parents moved to Taiwan from China following the Chinese Nationalists' defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Lee's father, a native of Jiangxi Province in southern China, imbued his children with studying Chinese culture and art, especially calligraphy.

Lee studied in the National Tainan First Senior High School where his father was the principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. But after failing the Exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, National Arts School (now reorganized and expanded as National Taiwan University of Arts) and graduated in 1975. His father had wanted him to become a professor, but he had become interested in drama and the arts at college. This early frustration set his career on the path of performance art. Seeing Ingmar Bergman's film ''The Virgin Spring'' (1960) was a formative experience for him. {|class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:25em; max-width: 25%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"I was never a citizen of any particular place...My parents left China to go to Taiwan. We were outsiders there. We moved to the States. Outsiders. Back to China. Now we were outsiders there, too -- outsiders from America." |- |style="text-align: left;"|—Interview with Roger Ebert, December 11, 2005 |} After finishing the Republic of China's mandatory military service, Lee went to the U.S. in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. Thereupon, he enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, where he received his MFA. He was a classmate of Spike Lee and worked on the crew of his thesis film, ''Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.''

During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, ''Shades of the Lake'' (1982), which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. His own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, ''Fine Line'' (1984), won NYU's Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction and was later selected for the Public Broadcasting Service.

Life after graduation

Lee's NYU thesis drew attention from the William Morris Agency, the famous talent and literary agency that later represented Lee. At first, though, WMA found Lee few opportunities, and Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin (), a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. This arrangement, usually an embarrassment in Taiwanese culture, put enormous pressure on the couple, but with Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in films but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time.

In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, ''Pushing Hands'' and ''The Wedding Banquet'', to a competition sponsored by the Republic of China's Government Information Office, and they came in first and second respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu (), a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had strong interests in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct ''Pushing Hands'', a full-length feature that debuted in 1991.

Career

In the 2007 book ''The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen'', Whitney Crothers Dilley has analyzed in detail the striking diversity of Lee's films, as well as Lee's recurring themes of alienation, marginalization, and repression. Many of Lee's films, particularly his early Chinese trilogy, have also focused on the interactions between modernity and tradition. Some of his films have also had a light-hearted comic tone which marks a break from the tragic historical realism which characterized Taiwanese filmmaking after the end of the martial law period in 1987. While ''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993) became a break-out hit for Lee as the most proportionately profitable film of 1993, it was ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995) that brought Lee his first true international acclaim. Following that, both ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Director) and ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005) (which won the Academy Award for Best Director) became cultural touchstones, sweeping awards ceremonies and, in the case of ''Brokeback Mountain'', sparking intense critical debates. When asked by a TV interviewer how he found his films, Lee is said to have replied: "I don't find my films, my films find me."

Lee's film ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005) won the Golden Lion (best film) award at the Venice International Film Festival and was named 2005's best film by the Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and London film critics. It also won best picture at the 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America (Adapted Screenplay), Producers Guild of America and the Independent Spirit Awards as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, with Lee winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Brokeback also won Best Film and Best Director at the 2006 British Academy Awards (BAFTA). In January 2006, Brokeback scored a leading eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, which Lee won. He is the first Asian and non-Caucasian director to do so.

In 2007, Lee's film ''Lust, Caution'' earned him a second Golden Lion.

Debut from Taiwan

''Pushing Hands'' (1992) was a success in Taiwan both among critics and at the box office. It received eight nominations in the Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwan's premier film festival. Inspired by the success, Hsu collaborated with Lee in their second film, ''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993), which won the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated as the Best Foreign Language Film in both the Golden Globe and the Academy Awards. In all, this film collected eleven Taiwanese and international awards and made Lee a rising star.

Lee's first two movies were based on stories of Chinese Americans, and both were filmed in the US. In 1995, Hsu invited Lee to return to Taiwan to make ''Eat Drink Man Woman'', a film that depicts traditional values, modern relationships, and family conflicts in Taipei. The film was once again a box office hit and was critically acclaimed. For a second consecutive year, Lee's film received the Best Foreign Language Film nomination in both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards, as well as in the British Academy Award. ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' won five awards in Taiwan and internationally, including the Best Director from Independent Spirit. Hollywood optioned the film rights and remade it into ''Tortilla Soup'' (2001, dir. María Ripoll). This is one of the rare occasions in which a Taiwanese film was remade outside the country.

Arrival in Hollywood

''Sense and Sensibility''

Lee's three acclaimed first dramas opened the door to Hollywood for him. In 1995, Lee directed Columbia TriStar's British classic ''Sense and Sensibility''. The switch from Taiwanese to British films did not prevent Lee's work from garnering awards: ''Sense and Sensibility'' made Lee a second-time winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for screenwriter Emma Thompson, who also starred in the movie alongside Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet. ''Sense and Sensibility'' also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.

After this, Lee directed two more Hollywood movies: ''The Ice Storm'' (1997), a drama set in 1970s suburban America, and ''Ride with the Devil'', an American Civil War drama (1999). Although the critics still highly praised these latter two films, their box office was not impressive, and for a time this interrupted Lee's unbroken popularity – from both general audiences and arthouse aficionados – since his first full-length movie. However, in the late 1990s and 2000s, ''The Ice Storm'' has had high VHS and DVD sales and rentals and repeated screenings on cable television, which has increased the film's popularity among audiences.

1999 onward

''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''

In 1999, Li-Kong Hsu, Lee's old partner and supporter, invited him to make a movie based on the traditional Chinese “wuxia” (martial arts and chivalry) genre. Excited about the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream, Lee assembled a team from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China for ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000). The film was a surprising success worldwide. With Chinese dialogue and English subtitles, the film became the highest grossing foreign film in many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Director at the Academy Awards. It ended up winning Best Foreign Language Film and three technical awards. The success of ''Crouching Tiger'' demonstrated that Lee's artistry had a general appeal; it also inspired such established directors as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige to explore wuxia films for Western audiences.

''Hulk''

In 2003, Lee returned to Hollywood to direct ''Hulk'', his first big-budget movie. The film received mixed reviews and became a moderate success, grossing over $245 million at the box office. After the setback, Lee considered retiring early, but his father encouraged him to continue making movies.

''Brokeback Mountain''

Lee decided to take on a small-budget, low-profile independent film based on Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-finalist short story, ''Brokeback Mountain''. In a 2005 article by Robert K. Elder, Lee was quoted as saying, "What do I know about gay ranch hands in Wyoming?" In spite of the director's removal from the subject at hand, ''Brokeback Mountain'' showcased Lee's skills in probing depths of the human heart. The 2005 movie about the forbidden love between two Wyoming sheepherders immediately caught public attention and became a cultural phenomenon, initiating intense debates and becoming a box office hit.

The film was critically acclaimed at major international film festivals and won Lee numerous Best Director and Best Picture awards worldwide. Brokeback Mountain was the most acclaimed film of 2005, winning 71 awards and an additional 52 nominations. It was declared Best Picture by such organizations as the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Independent Spirit Awards, the 2005 Biennale Venice Film Festival, and the Producers Guild of America. Ang Lee also received his second Best Director award from the Directors Guild of America. ''Brokeback Mountain'' was nominated for a leading eight Oscars and was the front runner for Best Picture heading into the March 5 ceremony, but lost out to ''Crash'', a story about race relations in Los Angeles, in a controversial upset. There was some speculation that ''Brokeback Mountain'''s homosexual theme was the reason for that upset. Lee said he was disappointed that his film did not win Best Picture, but was honored to win an Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the first person of Asian heritage and the first non-white to ever win the award.

''Lust, Caution''

After ''Brokeback Mountain'', Lee returned to a Chinese topic. His next film was ''Lust, Caution'', which was adapted from a short novel by the Chinese author Eileen Chang. The story was written in 1950, and was loosely based on an actual event that took place in 1939–1940 in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, China, during World War II. Similar to ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ang Lee adapted and expanded a short, simple story into a feature film in a way that allows individual figures to develop sophisticated layers of reserved emotions, without being sidetracked by complicated plots or overstuffed material.

''Lust, Caution'' is distributed by Focus Features and premiered at international film festivals in the summer and early fall of 2007. In the US, the movie received a NC-17 rating (no one 17 and under admitted) from the MPAA mainly due to several strongly explicit sex scenes. This was a challenge to the film's distribution because many theater chains in the United States refuse to show NC-17 films. The director and film studio have decided not to appeal the decision. In order to be permitted to show ''Lust, Caution'' in mainland China, however, Lee removed 9 minutes from the film to make the content suitable for minor audiences.

Lust, Caution captured the Golden Lion from the 2007 Biennale Venice Film Festival, making Lee the winner of the highest prize for the second time in three years. The critics in the United States, however, were not all positive. When Lust, Caution was played in Lee's native Taiwan in its original full-length edition, it was very well received. Staying in Taiwan to promote the film and to participate in a traditional Chinese holiday, Lee got emotional when he found that his work was widely applauded by fellow Taiwanese. Lee admitted that he had low expectations for this film from the U.S. audience since "its pace, its film language – it's all very Chinese."

Lee has been chosen as president of the jury for the 2009 edition of the Venice Film Festival, set to take place from September 2 to 12, 2009.

Collaborations with James Schamus

Ang Lee has had a career-long collaboration with producer and screenwriter James Schamus.

Schamus produced or co-produced the following Ang Lee movies:

*''Pushing Hands''

*''The Wedding Banquet''

*''Eat Drink Man Woman''

*''Sense and Sensibility''

*''The Ice Storm''

*''Ride with the Devil''

*''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''

*''Hulk''

*''Brokeback Mountain''

*''Lust, Caution''

*''Taking Woodstock''

Schamus co-wrote the following Ang Lee movies:

	*''Pushing Hands''	*''The Wedding Banquet''	*''Eat Drink Man Woman''	*''The Ice Storm''			*''Ride with the Devil''	*''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''	*''Hulk''	*''Lust, Caution''	*''Taking Woodstock''

Personal life

Lee lives in Larchmont, New York with his wife Jane Lin, a microbiologist, whom he married in 1983. They have two sons, Haan Lee (born 1984), and Mason Lee (born 1990). Lee is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Filmography

Lee has been involved in the process of filmmaking in various capacities, though the highlight of his career and legacy is his directorial work. The following are Lee's various credits.

As Director:

推手 ''The Wedding Banquet'' ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' ''Sense and Sensibility (film) ''The Ice Storm (film) ''Ride with the Devil (film) ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' ''The Hire'' ''Hulk (film) ''Brokeback Mountain'' ''Lust, Caution (film) ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Life of Pi (film)

rowspan=2	Year	> Film	> Chinese Title	! colspan=2	BAFTA		! colspan=2
Nominations	Wins			Nominations	Wins	Nominations	Wins
1992	Pushing Hands (film)>Pushing Hands''	|
1993	|	喜宴	1				1
1994	|	飲食男女	1		1		1
1995	Sense and Sensibility'' ||	理性與感性	7	1	12	3	6	2
1997	The Ice Storm'' ||	冰風暴			2	1	1
1999	Ride with the Devil'' ||	與魔鬼共騎
2000	|	臥虎藏龍	10	4	14	4	3	2
2002	|
2003	Hulk'' ||	綠巨人浩克
2005	|	斷背山	8	3	9	4	7	4
2007	Lust, Caution'' ||	色，戒			2		1
2009	|	胡士托風波
2012	Life of Pi'' ||	少年PI的奇幻旅程

''See also:'' Films directed by Ang Lee

As Writer:

''Pushing Hands'' (1992)

''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993)

''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994)

''Siao Yu'' (1995)

As Actor:

''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993)

''Hulk'' (2003)

''Hollywood Chinese'' (2007) – himself

As Editor:

''Pushing Hands'' (1992)

''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994)

As Producer:

''Siao Yu'' (1995)

''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000)

Accolades

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Title	! Result
2001	Academy Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Academy Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Academy Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
1993			''The Wedding Banquet''
1996
1995	British Academy Film Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
1996	British Academy Film Awards
1996	British Academy Film Awards
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	British Academy Film Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
2008	British Academy Film Awards
1997	Cannes Film Festival
2009	Cannes Film Festival		''Taking Woodstock''
2006			''Brokeback Mountain''
1996	Directors Guild of America Award
2001	Directors Guild of America Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Directors Guild of America Award		''Brokeback Mountain''
1996	Golden Globe Award
2001	Golden Globe Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Golden Globe Award		''Brokeback Mountain''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1995	Independent Spirit Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
1995	Independent Spirit Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
2001	Independent Spirit Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Independent Spirit Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Independent Spirit Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
1995
2005			''Brokeback Mountain''
2001	Producers Guild of America Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Saturn Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2005	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion	''Brokeback Mountain''
2007	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion

Notes

References

Dilley, Whitney Crothers. ''The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen.'' London: Wallflower Press, 2007.

"Taking Stock of 'Taking Woodstock'" Rushprnews October 5, 2008

"Ang Lee's movie has a backstory of pure serendipity" by Dan Bloom, ''Taipei Times''. October 11, 2008

Cheshire, Ellen. Ang Lee. London: Pocket Essentials, 2001.

External links

Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database

Ang Lee (Chinese)

Ang Lee 64th Venice Film Festival press conference

''DGA Quarterly'' interview

Category:1954 births Category:American film directors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:Best Director HKFA Category:English-language film directors Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Director winners Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Pingtung County Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Category:Taiwanese film directors Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni

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name	Ang Lee
tradchinesename	李安
simpchinesename	李安
pinyinchinesename	Lǐ Ān
birth date	October 23, 1954
birth place	Chaochou, Pingtung, Taiwan)
spouse	Jane Lin (1983–)
children	Haan Lee (b.1984)Mason Lee (b.1990)
yearsactive	1992 – present
Goldenbauhiniaawards	Best Director2001 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
Goldenhorseawards	Best Film1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''2000 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' Best Director1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''2007 ''Lust, Caution'' Best Original Screenplay1993 ''The Wedding Banquet''
Hongkongfilmwards	Best Director2001 ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' }}

Ang Lee (Chinese: 李安; Pinyin: Lǐ Ān; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese American film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994), ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000), ''Hulk'' (2003), and ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.

Early life

Education

Ang Lee was born in the town of Chaochou in Pingtung, a southern agricultural county in Taiwan. He grew up in a household that put heavy emphasis on education and the Chinese classics. Both of Lee's parents moved to Taiwan from mainland China following the Chinese Nationalists' defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Lee's father, a native of Kiangsi Province in southern China, imbued his children with studying Chinese culture and art, especially calligraphy.

Lee studied in the National Tainan First Senior High School where his father was the principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. But after failing the Exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, National Arts School (now reorganized and expanded as National Taiwan University of Arts) and graduated in 1975. His father had wanted him to become a professor, but he had become interested in drama and the arts at college. This early frustration set his career on the path of performance art. Seeing Ingmar Bergman's film ''The Virgin Spring'' (1960) was a formative experience for him.

After finishing the Republic of China's mandatory military service, Lee went to the U.S. in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. Thereupon, he enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, where he received his MFA. He was a classmate of Spike Lee and worked on the crew of his thesis film, ''Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.'' During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, ''Shades of the Lake'' (1982), which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. His own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, ''Fine Line'' (1984), won NYU's Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction and was later selected for the Public Broadcasting Service.

Life after graduation

Lee's NYU thesis drew attention from the William Morris Agency, the famous talent and literary agency that later represented Lee. At first, though, WMA found Lee few opportunities, and Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin (), a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. This arrangement, usually an embarrassment in Taiwanese culture, put enormous pressure on the couple, but with Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in films but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time.

In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, ''Pushing Hands'' and ''The Wedding Banquet'', to a competition sponsored by the Republic of China's Government Information Office, and they came in first and second respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu (), a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had strong interests in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct ''Pushing Hands'', a full-length feature that debuted in 1991.

Career

In the 2007 book ''The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen'', Whitney Crothers Dilley has analyzed in detail the striking diversity of Lee's films, as well as Lee's recurring themes of alienation, marginalization, and repression. Many of Lee's films, particularly his early Chinese trilogy, have also focused on the interactions between modernity and tradition. Some of his films have also had a light-hearted comic tone which marks a break from the tragic historical realism which characterized Taiwanese filmmaking after the end of the martial law period in 1987. While ''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993) became a break-out hit for Lee as the most proportionately profitable film of 1993, it was ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995) that brought Lee his first true international acclaim. Following that, both ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Director) and ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005) (which won the Academy Award for Best Director) became cultural touchstones, sweeping awards ceremonies and, in the case of ''Brokeback Mountain'', sparking intense critical debates. When asked by a TV interviewer how he found his films, Lee is said to have replied: "I don't find my films, my films find me."

Lee's film ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005) won the Golden Lion (best film) award at the Venice International Film Festival and was named 2005's best film by the Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and London film critics. It also won best picture at the 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America (Adapted Screenplay), Producers Guild of America and the Independent Spirit Awards as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, with Lee winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Brokeback also won Best Film and Best Director at the 2006 British Academy Awards (BAFTA). In January 2006, Brokeback scored a leading eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, which Lee won. He is the first Asian and non-Caucasian director to do so.

In 2007, Lee's film ''Lust, Caution'' earned him a second Golden Lion.

Debut from Taiwan

''Pushing Hands'' (1992) was a success in Taiwan both among critics and at the box office. It received eight nominations in the Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwan's premier film festival. Inspired by the success, Hsu collaborated with Lee in their second film, ''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993), which won the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated as the Best Foreign Language Film in both the Golden Globe and the Academy Awards. In all, this film collected eleven Taiwanese and international awards and made Lee a rising star.

Lee's first two movies were based on stories of Chinese Americans, and both were filmed in the US. In 1995, Hsu invited Lee to return to Taiwan to make ''Eat Drink Man Woman'', a film that depicts traditional values, modern relationships, and family conflicts in Taipei. The film was once again a box office hit and was critically acclaimed. For a second consecutive year, Lee's film received the Best Foreign Language Film nomination in both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards, as well as in the British Academy Award. ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' won five awards in Taiwan and internationally, including the Best Director from Independent Spirit. Hollywood optioned the film rights and remade it into ''Tortilla Soup'' (2001, dir. María Ripoll). This is one of the rare occasions in which a Taiwanese film was remade outside the country.

Arrival in Hollywood

''Sense and Sensibility''

Lee's three acclaimed first dramas opened the door to Hollywood for him. In 1995, Lee directed Columbia TriStar's British classic ''Sense and Sensibility''. The switch from Taiwanese to British films did not prevent Lee's work from garnering awards: ''Sense and Sensibility'' made Lee a second-time winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for screenwriter Emma Thompson, who also starred in the movie alongside Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet. ''Sense and Sensibility'' also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.

After this, Lee directed two more Hollywood movies: ''The Ice Storm'' (1997), a drama set in 1970s suburban America, and ''Ride with the Devil'', an American Civil War drama (1999). Although the critics still highly praised these latter two films, their box office was not impressive, and for a time this interrupted Lee's unbroken popularity – from both general audiences and arthouse aficionados – since his first full-length movie. However, in the late 1990s and 2000s, ''The Ice Storm'' has had high VHS and DVD sales and rentals and repeated screenings on cable television, which has increased the film's popularity among audiences.

1999 onward

''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''

In 1999, Li-Kong Hsu, Lee's old partner and supporter, invited him to make a movie based on the traditional Chinese “wuxia” (martial arts and chivalry) genre. Excited about the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream, Lee assembled a team from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China for ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000). The film was a surprising success worldwide. With Chinese dialogue and English subtitles, the film became the highest grossing foreign film in many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Director at the Academy Awards. It ended up winning Best Foreign Language Film and three technical awards. The success of ''Crouching Tiger'' demonstrated that Lee's artistry had a general appeal; it also inspired such established directors as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige to explore wuxia films for Western audience.

''Hulk''

In 2003, Lee returned to Hollywood to direct ''Hulk'', his first big-budget movie. The film received mixed reviews and became a moderate success, grossing over $245 million at the box office. After the setback, Lee considered retiring early, but his father encouraged him to continue making movies.

''Brokeback Mountain''

Lee decided to take on a small-budget, low-profile independent film based on Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-finalist short story, ''Brokeback Mountain''. In a 2005 article by Robert K. Elder, Lee was quoted as saying, "What do I know about gay ranch hands in Wyoming?" In spite of the director's removal from the subject at hand, ''Brokeback Mountain'' showcased Lee's skills in probing depths of the human heart. The 2005 movie about the forbidden love between two Wyoming sheepherders immediately caught public attention and became a cultural phenomenon, initiating intense debates and becoming a box office hit.

The film was critically acclaimed at major international film festivals and won Lee numerous Best Director and Best Picture awards worldwide. Brokeback Mountain was the most acclaimed film of 2005, winning 71 awards and an additional 52 nominations. It was declared Best Picture by such organizations as the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Independent Spirit Awards, the 2005 Biennale Venice Film Festival, and the Producers Guild of America. Ang Lee also received his second Best Director award from the Directors Guild of America. ''Brokeback Mountain'' was nominated for a leading eight Oscars and was the front runner for Best Picture heading into the March 5 ceremony, but lost out to ''Crash'', a story about race relations in Los Angeles, in a controversial upset. There was some speculation that ''Brokeback Mountain'''s homosexual theme was the reason for that upset. Lee said he was disappointed that his film did not win Best Picture, but was honored to win an Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the first person of Asian heritage and the first non-white to ever win the award.

''Lust, Caution''

After ''Brokeback Mountain'', Lee returned to a Chinese topic. His next film was ''Lust, Caution'', which was adapted from a short novel by the Chinese author Eileen Chang. The story was written in 1950, and was loosely based on an actual event that took place in 1939–1940 in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, China, during World War II. Similar to ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ang Lee adapted and expanded a short, simple story into a feature film in a way that allows individual figures to develop sophisticated layers of reserved emotions, without being sidetracked by complicated plots or overstuffed materials.

''Lust, Caution'' is distributed by Focus Features and premiered at international film festivals in the summer and early fall of 2007. In the US, the movie received a NC-17 rating (no one 17 and under admitted) from the MPAA mainly due to several strongly explicit sex scenes. This was a challenge to the film's distribution because many theater chains in the United States refuse to show NC-17 films. The director and film studio have decided not to appeal the decision. In order to be permitted to show ''Lust, Caution'' in mainland China, however, Lee removed 9 minutes from the film to make the content suitable for minor audiences.

''Lust, Caution'' captured the Golden Lion from the 2007 Biennale Venice Film Festival, making Lee the winner of the highest prize for the second time in three years. The critics in the United States, however, were not all positive. When ''Lust, Caution'' was played in Lee's native Taiwan in its original full-length edition, it was very well received. Staying in Taiwan to promote the film and to participate in a traditional Chinese holiday, Lee got emotional when he found that his work was widely applauded by fellow Taiwanese. Lee admitted that he had low expectations for this film from the U.S. audience since "its pace, its film language – it's all very Chinese."

Lee has been chosen as president of the jury for the 2009 edition of the Venice Film Festival, set to take place from September 2 to 12, 2009.

Collaborations with James Schamus

Ang Lee has had a career-long collaboration with producer and screenwriter James Schamus.

Schamus produced or co-produced the following Ang Lee movies:

	*''Pushing Hands''	*''The Wedding Banquet''	*''Eat Drink Man Woman''	*''Sense and Sensibility''	*''The Ice Storm''		*''Ride with the Devil''	*''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''	*''Hulk''	*''Brokeback Mountain''	*''Lust, Caution''

Schamus co-wrote the following Ang Lee movies:

	*''Pushing Hands''	*''The Wedding Banquet''	*''Eat Drink Man Woman''	*''The Ice Storm''			*''Ride with the Devil''	*''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''	*''Hulk''	*''Lust, Caution''

Personal life

Lee lives in Larchmont, New York with his wife Jane Lin, a microbiologist, whom he married in 1983. They have two sons, Haan Lee (born 1984), and Mason Lee (born 1990). Lee is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Filmography

Lee has been involved in the process of filmmaking in various capacities, though the highlight of his career and legacy is his directorial work. The following are Lee's various credits.

As Director:

推手 ''The Wedding Banquet'' ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' ''Sense and Sensibility (film) ''The Ice Storm (film) ''Ride with the Devil (film) ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' ''The Hire'' ''Hulk (film) ''Brokeback Mountain'' ''Lust, Caution (film) ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Life of Pi (film)

rowspan=2	Year	> Film	> Chinese Title	! colspan=2	BAFTA		! colspan=2
Nominations	Wins			Nominations	Wins	Nominations	Wins
1992	Pushing Hands (film)>Pushing Hands''	|
1993	|	喜宴	1				1
1994	|	飲食男女	1		1		1
1995	Sense and Sensibility'' ||	理性與感性	7	1	12	3	6	2
1997	The Ice Storm'' ||	冰風暴			2	1	1
1999	Ride with the Devil'' ||	與魔鬼共騎
2000	|	臥虎藏龍	10	4	14	4	3	2
2002	|
2003	Hulk'' ||	綠巨人浩克
2005	|	斷背山	8	3	9	4	7	4
2007	Lust, Caution'' ||	色，戒			2		1
2009	|	胡士托風波
2012	Life of Pi'' ||	少年PI的奇幻旅程

''See also:'' Films directed by Ang Lee

As Writer:

''Pushing Hands'' (1992)

''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993)

''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994)

''Siao Yu'' (1995)

As Actor:

''The Wedding Banquet'' (1993)

''Hulk'' (2003)

''Hollywood Chinese'' (2007) – himself

As Editor:

''Pushing Hands'' (1992)

''Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994)

As Producer:

''Siao Yu'' (1995)

''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000)

Accolades

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Title	! Result
2001	Academy Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Academy Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Academy Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
1993			''The Wedding Banquet''
1996	Berlin International Film Festival
1995	British Academy Film Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
1996	British Academy Film Awards
1996	British Academy Film Awards
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	British Academy Film Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	British Academy Film Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
2008	British Academy Film Awards
1997	Cannes Film Festival
2009	Cannes Film Festival		''Taking Woodstock''
2006			''Brokeback Mountain''
1996	Directors Guild of America Award
2001	Directors Guild of America Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Directors Guild of America Award		''Brokeback Mountain''
1996	Golden Globe Award
2001	Golden Globe Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Golden Globe Award		''Brokeback Mountain''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1994	Independent Spirit Awards		''The Wedding Banquet''
1995	Independent Spirit Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
1995	Independent Spirit Awards		''Eat Drink Man Woman''
2001	Independent Spirit Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Independent Spirit Awards		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2006	Independent Spirit Awards		''Brokeback Mountain''
1995
2005			''Brokeback Mountain''
2001	Producers Guild of America Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2001	Saturn Award		''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
2005	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion	''Brokeback Mountain''
2007	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion

Notes

References

Dilley, Whitney Crothers. ''The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen.'' London: Wallflower Press, 2007.

"Taking Stock of 'Taking Woodstock'" Rushprnews October 5, 2008

"Ang Lee's movie has a backstory of pure serendipity" by Dan Bloom, ''Taipei Times''. October 11, 2008

Cheshire, Ellen. Ang Lee. London: Pocket Essentials, 2001.

External links

Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database

Ang Lee (Chinese)

Ang Lee 64th Venice Film Festival press conference

''DGA Quarterly'' interview

Category:1954 births Category:American film directors Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:American film directors of Asian descent Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:Best Director HKFA Category:English-language film directors Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Director winners Category:Living people Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:Taiwanese expatriates in the United States Category:Taiwanese film directors Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni Category:People from Pingtung County

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Name	Ingmar Bergman
Birth name	Ernst Ingmar Bergman
Other namess	Buntel Eriksson
Birth date	July 14, 1918
Birth place	Uppsala, Sweden
Death date	July 30, 2007
Death place	Fårö, Sweden
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1944–2005
Spouse	Else Fisher (1943–45)Ellen Lundström (1945–50)Gun Grut (1951–59)Käbi Laretei (1959–69)
Awards	Goethe Prize
Influences	August StrindbergVictor SjöströmAkira KurosawaFederico FelliniMarcel Carné }}

Ernst Ingmar Bergman (; 14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and influential film directors of all time.

He directed over sixty films and documentaries for cinematic release and for television, most of which he also wrote, and directed over one hundred and seventy plays. Among his company of actors were Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. Most of his films were set in the landscape of Sweden. His major subjects were death, illness, faith, betrayal, and insanity.

Bergman was active for more than six decades. In 1976 his career was seriously threatened as the result of a botched criminal investigation for alleged income tax evasion. Outraged, Bergman suspended a number of pending productions, closed his studios, and went into self-imposed exile in Germany for eight years.

Early life

Ingmar Bergman was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of Erik Bergman, a Lutheran minister and later chaplain to the King of Sweden. He grew up surrounded by religious imagery and discussion. His father was a conservative parish minister with strict parenting concepts. Ingmar was locked up in dark closets for "infractions" like wetting the bed. "While father preached away in the pulpit and the congregation prayed, sang, or listened", Ingmar wrote in his autobiography ''Laterna Magica'':

"I devoted my interest to the church’s mysterious world of low arches, thick walls, the smell of eternity, the colored sunlight quivering above the strangest vegetation of medieval paintings and carved figures on ceilings and walls. There was everything that one’s imagination could desire — angels, saints, dragons, prophets, devils, humans."

Although raised in a devout Lutheran household, Bergman later stated that he lost his faith at age eight, and only came to terms with this fact while making ''Winter Light''. Bergman's interest in theatre and film began early: "At the age of 9, he traded a set of tin soldiers for a battered magic lantern, a possession that altered the course of his life. Within a year, he had created, by playing with this toy, a private world in which he felt completely at home, he recalled. He fashioned his own scenery, marionettes, and lighting effects and gave puppet productions of Strindberg plays in which he spoke all the parts."

In 1934, aged 16, he was sent to Germany to spend the summer vacation with family friends. He attended a Nazi rally in Weimar at which he saw Adolf Hitler. He later wrote in ''Laterna Magica'' (''The Magic Lantern'') about the visit to Germany, describing how the German family had put a portrait of Adolf Hitler on the wall by his bed, and that "for many years, I was on Hitler's side, delighted by his success and saddened by his defeats". Bergman did two five-month stretches of mandatory military service.

In 1937, he entered Stockholm University College (later renamed Stockholm University), to study art and literature. He spent most of his time involved in student theatre and became a "genuine movie addict". At the same time, a romantic involvement led to a break with his father that lasted for years. Although he did not graduate, he wrote a number of plays, as well as an opera, and became an assistant director at a theater. In 1942, he was given the chance to direct one of his own scripts, ''Caspar's Death''. The play was seen by members of Svensk Filmindustri, which then offered Bergman a position working on scripts. In 1943, he married Else Fisher.

Career

Film work

Bergman's film career began in 1941 with his rewriting of scripts, but his first major accomplishment was in 1944 when he wrote the screenplay for ''Torment/Frenzy'' (''Hets''), a film directed by Alf Sjöberg. Along with writing the screenplay, he was also given position as assistant director to the film. In his second autobiographical work, ''Images: My Life in Film'', Bergman describes the filming of the exteriors as his actual film directorial debut. The international success of this film led to Bergman's first opportunity to direct a year later. During the next ten years, he wrote and directed more than a dozen films including ''The Devil's Wanton/Prison'' (''Fängelse'') in 1949 and ''The Naked Night/Sawdust and Tinsel'' (''Gycklarnas afton'') and ''Summer with Monika'' (''Sommaren med Monika''), both from 1953.

Bergman first achieved worldwide success with ''Smiles of a Summer Night'' (''Sommarnattens leende'') (1955), which won for "Best poetic humor" and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes the following year. This was followed by ''The Seventh Seal'' (''Det sjunde inseglet'') and ''Wild Strawberries'' (''Smultronstället''), released in Sweden ten months apart in 1957. ''The Seventh Seal'' won a special jury prize and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and ''Wild Strawberries'' won numerous awards for Bergman and its star, Victor Sjöström. Bergman continued to be productive for the next two decades. From the early 1960s, he spent much of his life on the Swedish island of Fårö, where he made several films.

In the early 1960s he directed three films that explored the theme of faith and doubt in God, ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (''Såsom i en Spegel – 1961''), ''Winter Light'' (''Nattvardsgästerna'' – 1962), and ''The Silence'' (''Tystnaden'' – 1963). Critics created the notion that the common themes in these three films represented trilogy or cinematic triptych. Bergman initially responded that he did not plan these three films as a trilogy and that he could not see any common motifs in them, but he later seemed to have adopted the notion, with some equivocation.

In 1966, he directed ''Persona'', a film that he himself considered one of his most important works. While the shockingly experimental film won few awards many consider it his masterpiece. Other notable films of the period include ''The Virgin Spring'' (''Jungfrukällan'' – 1960), ''Hour of the Wolf'' (''Vargtimmen'' – 1968), ''Shame'' (''Skammen'' – 1968) and ''A Passion/The Passion of Anna'' (''En Passion'' – 1969). Bergman also produced extensively for Swedish television at this time. Two works of note were ''Scenes from a Marriage'' (''Scener ur ett äktenskap'' – 1973) and ''The Magic Flute'' (''Trollflöjten'' – 1975).

After his arrest in 1976 for tax evasion, Bergman swore he would never again make films in Sweden. He shut down his film studio on the island of Fårö and went into self-imposed exile. He briefly considered the possibility of working in America and his next film, ''The Serpent's Egg'' (1977) was a German-U.S. production and his second English-language film (the first being 1971's "The Touch"). This was followed a year later with a British-Norwegian co-production of ''Autumn Sonata'' (''Höstsonaten'' – 1978) starring Ingrid Bergman. The one other film he directed was ''From the Life of the Marionettes'' (''Aus dem Leben der Marionetten'' – 1980) a British-German co-production.

In 1982, he temporarily returned to his homeland to direct ''Fanny and Alexander'' (''Fanny och Alexander''). Bergman stated that the film would be his last, and that afterwards he would focus on directing theatre. Since then, he wrote several film scripts and directed a number of television specials. As with previous work for TV, some of these productions were later released in theatres. The last such work was ''Saraband'' (2003), a sequel to ''Scenes from a Marriage'' and directed by Bergman when he was eighty-four years old.

Repertory company

Bergman developed a personal "repertory company" of Swedish actors whom he repeatedly cast in his films, including Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Bengt Ekerot, Anders Ek and Gunnar Björnstrand, each of whom appeared in at least five Bergman features. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, who appeared in nine of Bergman's films and one televisual film (''Saraband''), was the last to join this group (in the 1966 film ''Persona''), and ultimately became most closely associated with Bergman, both artistically and personally. They had a daughter together, Linn Ullmann (born 1966).

Bergman began working with Sven Nykvist, his cinematographer, in 1953. The two of them developed and maintained a working relationship of sufficient rapport to allow Bergman not to worry about the composition of a shot until the day before it was filmed. On the morning of the shoot, he would briefly speak to Nykvist about the mood and composition he hoped for, and then leave Nykvist to work lacking interruption or comment until post-production discussion of the next day's work.

Financing

By Bergman's own account, he never had a problem with funding. He cited two reasons for this: one, that he did not live in the United States, which he viewed as obsessed with box-office earnings; and two, that his films tended to be low-budget affairs. (''Cries and Whispers'', for instance, was finished for about $450,000, while ''Scenes from a Marriage'', a six-episode television feature, cost only $200,000.)

Technique

Bergman usually wrote his own screenplays, thinking about them for months or years before starting the actual process of writing, which he viewed as somewhat tedious. His earlier films are carefully constructed and are either based on his plays or written in collaboration with other authors. Bergman stated that in his later works, when on occasion his actors would want to do things differently from his own intention, he would let them, noting that the results were often "disastrous" when he did not do so. As his career progressed, Bergman increasingly let his actors improvise their dialogue. In his latest films, he wrote just the ideas informing the scene and allowed his actors to determine the exact dialogue. When viewing daily rushes, Bergman stressed the importance of being critical but unemotive, claiming that he asked himself not if the work is great or terrible, but if it is sufficient or if it needs to be reshot.

Subjects

Bergman's films usually deal with existential questions of mortality, loneliness, and religious faith. While these topics could seem cerebral, sexual desire found its way to the foreground of most of his films, whether the setting was a medieval plague (''The Seventh Seal''), upper-class family activity in early twentieth century Uppsala (''Fanny and Alexander'') or contemporary alienation (''The Silence''). His female characters are usually more in touch with their sexuality than the men, and unafraid to proclaim it, sometimes with breathtaking overtness (e.g., ''Cries and Whispers'') as would define the work of "the conjurer," as Bergman called himself in a 1960 ''Time Magazine'' cover story. In an interview with ''Playboy'' in 1964, he said: "...The manifestation of sex is very important, and particularly to me, for above all, I don't want to make merely intellectual films. I want audiences to feel, to sense my films. This to me is much more important than their understanding them." Film, Bergman said, was his demanding mistress. Several of his actresses became his mistresses, as his life and art merged.

Bergman's views on his career

When asked about his films, Bergman said he held ''Winter Light'', ''Persona'', and ''Cries and Whispers'' in the highest regard, though in an interview in 2004, Bergman said that he was "depressed" by his own films and could not watch them anymore. In these films, he said, he managed to push the medium to its limit. Bergman stated on numerous occasions (for example in the interview book ''Bergman on Bergman'') that ''The Silence'' meant the end of the era in which religious questions were a major concern of his films.

Theatrical work

Although Bergman was universally famous for his contribution to cinema, he was also an active and productive stage director all his life. During his studies at Stockholm University, he became active in its student theatre, where he made a name for himself early on. His first work after graduation was as a trainee-director at a Stockholm theatre. At twenty-six years, he became the youngest theatrical manager in Europe at the Helsingborg City Theatre. He stayed at Helsingborg for three years and then became the director at Gothenburg city theatre from 1946 to 1949.

He became director of the Malmö city theatre in 1953 and remained for seven years. Many of his star actors were people with whom he began working on stage, and a number of people in the "Bergman troupe" of his 1960s films came from Malmö's city theatre (Max von Sydow, for example). He was the director of the ''Royal Dramatic Theatre'' in Stockholm from 1960 to 1966 and manager from 1963 to 1966.

After Bergman left Sweden because of the tax evasion incident, he became director of the ''Residenz Theatre'' of Munich, Germany (1977–84). He remained active in theatre throughout the 1990s and made his final production on stage with Henrik Ibsen's ''The Wild Duck'' at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 2002. A complete list of Bergman's work in theatre can be found under "Stage Productions and Radio Theatre Credits" at ''Ingmar Bergman filmography''.

Tax evasion charges

On 30 January 1976, while rehearsing August Strindberg's ''Dance of Death'' at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, he was arrested by two plainclothes police officers and charged with income tax evasion. The impact of the event on Bergman was devastating. He suffered a nervous break-down as a result of the humiliation and was hospitalized in a state of deep depression.

The investigation was focused on an alleged 1970 transaction of 500,000 Swedish kronor (SEK) between Bergman's Swedish company ''Cinematograf'' and its Swiss subsidiary ''Persona'', an entity that was mainly used for the paying of salaries to foreign actors. Bergman dissolved ''Persona'' in 1974 after having been notified by the Swedish Central Bank and subsequently reported the income. On 23 March 1976, the special prosecutor Anders Nordenadler dropped the charges against Bergman, saying that the alleged crime had no legal basis, saying it would be like bringing "charges against a person who has stolen his own car, thinking it was someone else's". Director General Gösta Ekman, chief of the Swedish Internal Revenue Service, defended the failed investigation, saying that the investigation was dealing with important legal material and that Bergman was treated just like any other suspect. He expressed regret that Bergman had left the country, hoping that Bergman was a "stronger" person now when the investigation had shown that he had not done any wrong.

Even though the charges were dropped, Bergman became disconsolate, fearing he would never again return to directing. Despite pleas by the Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, high public figures, and leaders of the film industry, he vowed never to work again in Sweden. He closed down his studio on the island of Fårö, suspended two announced film projects, and went into self-imposed exile in Munich, Germany. Harry Schein, director of the Swedish Film Institute, estimated the immediate damage as ten million SEK (kronor) and hundreds of jobs lost.

Return

Although he continued to operate from Munich, by mid-1978 Bergman had overcome some of his bitterness toward the government of Sweden. In July of that year he visited Sweden, celebrating his sixtieth birthday at Fårö, and partly resumed his work as a director at Royal Dramatic Theatre. To honor his return, the Swedish Film Institute launched a new Ingmar Bergman Prize to be awarded annually for excellence in filmmaking.

Still, he remained in Munich until 1984. In one of the last major interviews with Bergman, conducted in 2005 at Fårö Island, Bergman said that despite being active during the exile, he had effectively lost eight years of his professional life.

Bergman retired from film making in December 2003. He had hip surgery in October 2006 and was making a difficult recovery. He died peacefully in his sleep, at his home on Fårö, on 30 July 2007, at the age of eighty-nine, the same day that another renowned film director, Michelangelo Antonioni, also died. He was buried on the island on 18 August 2007 in a private ceremony. A place in the Fårö churchyard was prepared for him under heavy secrecy. Although he was buried on the island of Fårö, his name and date of birth were inscribed under his wife's name on a tomb at Roslagsbro churchyard, Norrtälje Municipality, several years before his death.

On 6 April 2011, the Bank of Sweden announced that Bergman's portrait will feature on the new 200 kronor banknote, beginning in 2014–15.

Awards

Academy Awards

In 1971, Bergman received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards ceremony. Three of his films won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The list of his nominations and awards follows:

Won: Best Foreign Film ''The Virgin Spring'' (Jungfrukällan) (1960)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (''Såsom i en spegel'') (1961)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Fanny and Alexander'' ''(Fanny och Alexander)'' (1983)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay, ''Wild Strawberries'' (''Smultronstället'') (1957)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay ''The Virgin Spring'' (1960)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay, ''Cries and Whispers'' (''Viskningar och rop'') (1974)

Nominated: Best Picture, ''Cries and Whispers'' (''Viskningar och rop'') (1974)

Nominated: Best Director, ''Cries and Whispers'' (''Viskningar och rop'') (1974)

Nominated: Best Director, ''Face to Face'' ''(Ansikte mot ansikte'') (1977)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay, ''Autumn Sonata'' ''(Höstsonaten)'' (1979)

Nominated: Best Original Screenplay, ''Fanny and Alexander'' ''(Fanny och Alexander)'' (1983)

Nominated: Best Director, ''Fanny and Alexander'' ''(Fanny och Alexander)'' (1983)

BAFTA Awards

Nominated: Best Film from any Source, ''The Magician'' (''Ansiktet'') (1960)

Nominated: Best Foreign Film, ''Fanny and Alexander'' (''Fanny och Alexander)'' (1984)

Berlin Film Festival

Won: Golden Bear for Best Film, ''Wild Strawberries'' (''Smultronstället'') (1957)

Nominated: Golden Bear for Best Film, ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (''Såsom i en spegel'') (1961)

Won: OCIC Prize, ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961)

Cesar Awards

Nominated: Best Foreign Film, ''The Magic Flute'' (''Trollflöjten'') (1976)

Nominated: Best Foreign Film, ''Autumn Sonata'' ''(Höstsonaten)'' (1979)

Won: Best Foreign Film, ''Fanny and Alexander'' (''Fanny och Alexander)'' (1984)

Nominated: Best European Film, ''Saraband'' (2005)

Cannes Film Festival

Won: Best Poetic Humor ''Smiles of a Summer Night'' (''Sommarnattens leende'') (1955)

Nominated: Golden Palm ''Smiles of a Summer Night'' (''Sommarnattens leende'') (1955)

Won: Jury Special prize ''The Seventh Seal'' (''Det Sjunde inseglet'') (1957)

Nominated: Golden Palm ''The Seventh Seal'' (''Det Sjunde inseglet'') (1957)

Won: Best Director ''Brink of Life'' (''Nära livet'') (1958)

Nominated: Golden Palm ''Brink of Life'' (''Nära livet'') (1958)

Won: Special Mention ''The Virgin Spring'' (''Jungfrukällan'') (1960)

Nominated: Golden Palm ''The Virgin Spring'' (''Jungfrukällan'') (1960)

Won: Technical Grand Prize ''Cries and Whispers'' (''Viskningar och rop'') (1972)

Won: Palm of Palms (1997)

Won: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (1998) (Special award for his whole works.)

Golden Globe Awards

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Wild Strawberries'' (''Smultronstället'') (1960)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''The Virgin Spring'' (1961)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Scenes from a Marriage'' (1975)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Face to Face'' (1976)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Autumn Sonata'' (1978)

Won: Best Foreign Film ''Fanny and Alexander'' (1984)

Nominated: Best Foreign Film ''Shame'' (1968)

Nominated: Best Foreign Film ''Cries and Whispers'' (1973)

Other Awards and honors

Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1961) The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (1995)

Family

Bergman was married five times:

25 March 1943 – 1945, to Else Fisher, choreographer and dancer (divorced). Children:

* Lena Bergman, actress, born 1943.

22 July 1945 – 1950, to Ellen Lundström, choreographer and film director (divorced). Children:

* Eva Bergman, film director, born 1945,

* Jan Bergman, film director (1946–2000), and

* twins Mats and Anna Bergman, both actors and film directors and born in 1948.

1951 – 1959, to Gun Grut, journalist (divorced). Children:

* Ingmar Bergman Jr, airline captain, born 1951.

1959 – 1969, to Käbi Laretei, concert pianist (divorced). Children:

* Daniel Bergman, film director, born 1962.

11 November 1971 – 20 May 1995, to Ingrid von Rosen (maiden name Karlebo) (widowed). Children:

* Maria von Rosen, author, born 1959.

The first four marriages ended in divorce, while the last ended when his wife Ingrid died of stomach cancer in 1995, aged 65. Aside from his marriages, Bergman had romantic relationships with actresses Harriet Andersson (1952–55), Bibi Andersson (1955–59), and Liv Ullmann (1965–70). He was the father of writer Linn Ullmann with actress Liv Ullmann. In all, Bergman had nine children, one of whom predeceased him. Bergman was eventually married to all of the mothers except Liv Ullmann, but his daughter with his last wife, Ingrid von Rosen, was born twelve years before their marriage.

Influence

Many filmmakers have praised Bergman and cited his work as a major influence on their own: Woody Allen referred to Bergman as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera." Robert Altman Pedro Almodóvar Olivier Assayas Francis Ford Coppola stated: "My all-time favorite because he embodies passion, emotion and has warmth" Guillermo del Toro stated: ‘Bergman as a fabulist – my favorite – is absolutely mesmerizing.’ Todd Field stated: "He was our tunnel man building the aqueducts of our cinematic collective unconscious." Krzysztof Kieślowski stated: "This man is one of the few film directors—perhaps the only one in the world—to have said as much about human nature as Dostoevsky or Camus." Stanley Kubrick stated: "I believe Ingmar Bergman, Vittorio De Sica and Federico Fellini are the only three filmmakers in the world who are not just artistic opportunists. By this I mean they don't just sit and wait for a good story to come along and then make it. They have a point of view which is expressed over and over and over again in their films, and they themselves write or have original material written for them." Ang Lee stated: "For me the filmmaker Bergman is the greatest actor of all..." François Ozon Chan-wook Park Eric Rohmer stated: "The Seventh Seal is 'the most beautiful film ever'" Marjane Satrapi Mamoru Oshii Paul Schrader stated: "I would not have made any of my films or written scripts such as ''Taxi Driver'' had it not been for Ingmar Bergman. What he has left is a legacy greater than any other director. I think the extraordinary thing that Bergman will be remembered for, other than his body of work, was that he probably did more than anyone to make cinema a medium of personal and introspective value." Martin Scorsese stated: "I guess I'd put it like this: if you were alive in the 50s and the 60s and of a certain age, a teenager on your way to becoming an adult, and you wanted to make films, I don't see how you couldn't be influenced by Bergman. You would have had to make a conscious effort, and even then, the influence would have snuck through." Steven Spielberg stated: "His love for the cinema almost gives me a guilty conscience." Andrei Tarkovsky Tarkovsky held Bergman in very high regard, noting him and Robert Bresson as his two favourite filmmakers, stating "I am only interested in the views of two people: one is called Bresson and one called Bergman". Such was Bergman's influence, Tarkovsky's last film was made in Sweden with Sven Nykvist, Bergman's longtime cinematographer, and several of Bergman's favoured actors including Erland Josephson. Bergman likewise had great respect for Tarkovsky, stating; "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest director" André Téchiné Liv Ullmann

See also

Cinema of Sweden

List of film collaborations

References

Bibliography

''Bergman on Bergman: Interviews with Ingmar Bergman.'' By Stig Björkman, Torsten Manns, and Jonas Sima; Translated by Paul Britten Austin. Simon & Schuster, New York. Swedish edition copyright 1970; English translation 1973.

''Filmmakers on filmmaking: the American Film Institute seminars on motion pictures and television'' (edited by Joseph McBride). Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1983.

''Images: my life in film'', Ingmar Bergman, Translated by Marianne Ruuth. New York, Arcade Pub., 1994, ISBN 1-55970-186-2

''The Magic Lantern'', Ingmar Bergman, Translated by Joan Tate New York, Viking Press, 1988, ISBN 0-670-81911-5

External links

Ingmar Bergman Face to Face

The Ingmar Bergman Foundation

Ingmar Bergman all posters

Bergmanorama: The magic works of Ingmar Bergman

The Guardian/NFT interview with Liv Ullmann by Shane Danielson, 23 January 2001

Bergman talks of his dreams and demons in rare interview, by Xan Brooks, ''The Guardian'', 12 December 2001

Bergman Week

Regilexikon

DVDBeaver's Director's Chair on Bergman, with links to DVD and Blu-ray comparisons of his major films

;Bibliographies

Ingmar Bergman Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)

Ingmar Bergman Site

Collection of interviews with Bergman

Category:1918 births Category:2007 deaths Category:People from Uppsala Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:César Award winners Category:Swedish film directors Category:Swedish screenwriters Category:Swedish theatre directors Category:Erasmus Prize winners Category:Stockholm University alumni Category:Sommar hosts Category:Gotland Category:Swedish agnostics Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

af:Ingmar Bergman ar:إنغمار برغمان an:Ingmar Bergman bn:ইংমার বারিমান zh-min-nan:Ingmar Bergman be:Інгмар Бергман be-x-old:Інгмар Бэргман bs:Ingmar Bergman br:Ingmar Bergman bg:Ингмар Бергман ca:Ingmar Bergman cs:Ingmar Bergman cy:Ingmar Bergman da:Ingmar Bergman de:Ingmar Bergman et:Ingmar Bergman el:Ίνγκμαρ Μπέργκμαν es:Ingmar Bergman eo:Ingmar Bergman eu:Ingmar Bergman fa:اینگمار برگمان hif:Ingmar Bergman fr:Ingmar Bergman ga:Ingmar Bergman gl:Ingmar Bergman ko:잉마르 베리만 hy:Ինգմար Բերգման hi:इंगमार बर्गमान hr:Ingmar Bergman io:Ingmar Bergman id:Ingmar Bergman is:Ingmar Bergman it:Ingmar Bergman he:אינגמר ברגמן ka:ინგმარ ბერგმანი kk:Ингмар Бергман sw:Ingmar Bergman ku:Ingmar Bergman la:Ingmar Bergman lv:Ingmārs Bergmans lb:Ingmar Bergman lt:Ingmar Bergman li:Ingmar Bergman hu:Ingmar Bergman mk:Ингмар Бергман ml:ഇങ്മർ ബർഗ്‌മൻ mr:इंगमार बर्गमन arz:انجمار بيرجمان mn:Ингмар Бэргман nl:Ingmar Bergman new:इङमार् बर्गम्यान ja:イングマール・ベルイマン no:Ingmar Bergman nn:Ingmar Bergman oc:Ingmar Bergman pnb:انگرام برگمان pms:Ingmar Bergman nds:Ingmar Bergman pl:Ingmar Bergman pt:Ingmar Bergman ksh:Ingmar Bergman ro:Ingmar Bergman qu:Ingmar Bergman rue:Інґмар Берґман ru:Бергман, Ингмар sa:इंगमार बर्गमान sc:Ingmar Bergman si:ඉන්ග්මා බ'ග්මාන් simple:Ingmar Bergman sk:Ingmar Bergman sl:Ingmar Bergman sr:Ингмар Бергман sh:Ingmar Bergman fi:Ingmar Bergman sv:Ingmar Bergman tl:Ingmar Bergman ta:இங்மார் பேர்ஜ்மன் th:อิงมาร์ เบิร์กแมน tg:Ингмар Бергман tr:Ingmar Bergman uk:Інгмар Бергман ur:انگمار برگمان vec:Ingmar Bergman vi:Ingmar Bergman vo:Ingmar Bergman war:Ingmar Bergman bat-smg:Ingmars Bergmans zh:英格玛·伯格曼

name	James Schamus
birth date	September 07, 1959
birth place	Detroit, Michigan
occuption	producer, screenwriter }}

James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter The Ice Storm and producer Brokeback Mountain, and is CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included Lost in Translation, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Pianist, Coraline, and The Kids Are All Right. He is also Professor of Professional Practice in Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory. He is the author of Carl Theodor Dreyer's Gertrud: The Moving Word, published by the University of Washington Press. He earned his BA, MA, and Ph.D. in English from U.C. Berkeley.

Schamus also participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City Film Festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000)

Nominated: Best Original Song, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000)

Nominated: Best Picture, ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005)

BAFTA Awards

Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay, ''The Ice Storm'' (1997)

Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000)

Won: Best Film, ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005)

Cannes Film Festival

1997 Cannes Film Festival: Best Screenplay, ''The Ice Storm''.

References

External links

The Career Cookbook James Schamus Profile

Columbia University Faculty

Interview at ''The Minnesota Review''

Category:1959 births Category:American film producers Category:American screenwriters Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Columbia University faculty Category:Living people Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

de:James Schamus fr:James Schamus ja:ジェームズ・シェイマス fi:James Schamus

name	Stewart Lee
birth date	April 05, 1968
birth place	Wellington, Shropshire, England
nationality	British
known for	''Fist of Fun'' (1993–1995)''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'' (1998–1999)''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' (2001–2005)''90's Comedian'' (2005–2006)''41st Best Stand Up Ever!'' (2007–2008)''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' (2009–)
occupation	Stand-up comedian, Writer
spouse	Bridget Christie (?-present)
children	Son
website	}}

Stewart Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show ''Jerry Springer - The Opera''. In a review of the comedy of the previous decade, a 2009 article in ''The Times'' referred to Lee as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade".

His stand-up features frequent use of "repetition, call-backs, nonchalant delivery and deconstruction".

Background

Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire. He was adopted as a child and grew up in Solihull in the West Midlands. He attended private school Solihull School, on a scholarship. He is married to fellow comic Bridget Christie, with whom he has two children. He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Career

Early career: ''Lee and Herring'' and ''Fist of Fun''

While studying English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford in the 1980s, he wrote and performed comedy in a revue group called "The Seven Raymonds" with Richard Herring, Emma Kennedy, Michael Cosgrave, Richard Canning and Tim Richardson, but did not perform in the well-known Oxford Revue, though he did write for and direct the 1989 Revue. Having moved to London and begun performing stand up comedy after university, he rose to greater prominence in 1990, winning the prestigious Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. With Richard Herring, Lee wrote material for BBC Radio 4's ''On the Hour'' (1991), which was anchored by Chris Morris and was notable for the first appearance of Steve Coogan's celebrated character, Alan Partridge, for which Lee and Herring wrote much early material. After a disagreement with the rest of the cast, Lee & Herring did not remain with the group when ''On The Hour'' moved to television as ''The Day Today'' and their material was excised from an official release of the radio show in the mid-'90s (though a 2008 CD release would see it re-instated). In 1992, Lee was briefly part of the team writing the first Robin Askwith "Confessions of..." movie for 15 years. However due to financial problems the movie was scrapped and his script has never seen light of day.

In 1992 and 1993, he and Herring wrote and performed ''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'' for BBC Radio 4, before moving to BBC Radio 1, for one series of ''Fist of Fun'' (1993). This was followed by three series entitled, simply, ''Lee and Herring''. These shows mixed sketches with live links and music, in a format that Radio 1 seemed to favour at the time. (Other classic examples of such include shows by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, and Simon Munnery in his guise as "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior".) ''Fist of Fun'' moved to television for two BBC Two series, and was followed in 1998 by ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', which featured material in a similar vein, but was notable for being broadcast live in a Sunday morning slot. A change in BBC management after the second series of the latter effectively brought his partnership with Herring to an end but the two comedians still share a similarity of humour.

Throughout the late nineties he continued performing solo stand-up (something that has always been a mainstay of his career – even whilst in the double act with Herring) and has collaborated with, amongst others, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh''. Indeed, though they had worked together in the past, the first seeds of the Boosh were sown whilst working as part of Lee's Edinburgh show ''King Dong vs Moby Dick'' in which Barratt and Fielding played a giant penis and a whale, respectively. Lee returned the favour by going on to direct their 1999 Edinburgh show, Arctic Boosh, which remains the template of all their live work.

Career 2000–04: Quitting stand-up

In 2001, Lee published his first novel, ''The Perfect Fool''. It was republished in 2008. In the same year he performed ''Pea Green Boat'', a stand-up show which revolved around the deconstruction of the Edward Lear poem ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' and a tale of his own broken toilet. This would later be condensed to focus mainly on the poem itself, and a 15 minute version aired on Radio 4. In 2007, Go Faster Stripe released a 25-minute edit on CD & 10" Vinyl.

During late 2000 and early 2001, Lee "gradually, incrementally and without any fanfare – or even much thought – gave up being a stand-up comedian". 2001 was the first year since 1987 that he did not perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst Lee found himself gradually performing less and less standup and moving away from the stage, he continued his directorial duties on television. Two pilots were made for Channel 4, ''Cluub Zarathrustra'' and ''Head Farm'', but neither was developed into a series. The former, however, would feature all the ingredients that would later appear in ''Attention Scum'', a BBC2 series fronted by Simon Munnery's ''League Against Tedium'' character, which also featured the likes of Kevin Eldon, Johnny Vegas and Roger Mann, as well as Richard Thomas and opera singer Lori Lixenberg, in their guise as "Kombat Opera".

At the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lee directed Johnny Vegas's first DVD, ''Who's Ready For Ice Cream?'', a move away from the traditional "stand-up comic releases a DVD" format, involving a plot in which Vegas loses his comedy "mojo" and has to track it down via a journey of personal discovery. The DVD also features footage of Vegas' actual standup set as additional extras.

In 2004, Lee returned to stand-up comedy with the show ''Standup Comedian'', which earned him a "Tap Water Award" in Edinburgh and was released on DVD in October 2005. This features extra footage of performances from his earlier career on Five's "Comedy Network". This show was toured extensively throughout the UK, Australia and USA. Reviewing the comedy of the decade, Dominic Maxwell in ''The Times'' wrote of Lee's 2004 return to stand-up that it was "one of the boldest, smartest, most technically assured hours of stand-up I've ever seen".

2005: ''Jerry Springer The Opera'' and ''90s Comedian''

In January 2005, ''Jerry Springer - The Opera'', a satirical musical/opera based upon ''The Jerry Springer Show'', was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successful West End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour. Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus Christ. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its actual content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints. A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by a Magistrates' Court.

In 2005, Lee tackled the subject of the religious hatred he experienced after the broadcast of ''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' in his stand-up show, ''90s Comedian''. This show has earned him some of the best reviews of his career, largely due to the un-checked vitriol he unleashes in the latter half of the set, "taking no prisoners" in his attempt to display what he claimed was the lunacy of sacred cows.

A recording was made in Cardiff in March 2006. This was filmed by a group of amateur enthusiasts who were disappointed that there was no distribution deal in place because of the commercial failure of the ''Standup Comedian'' DVD and the controversial nature of the new show's material. These "enthusiastic amateurs" became GoFasterStripe and, having set themselves up in order to film the show, have gone on to film the works of many other "non-mainstream" comedians, including sets from Tony Law (Lee's support act on the 2009 ''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One'' tour), Simon Munnery (whose BBC television comedy series -''Attention Scum'' - was directed by Lee) and several by Lee's former partner Richard Herring.

''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' opened at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008, starring Harvey Keitel as Springer. It has since been performed across the United States, Canada and Australia.

2006: ''What Would Judas Do?''

Many assumed Lee would bring a new hour of stand up to Edinburgh in 2006 to consolidate his "comeback" success, but he did not. Implying that it might have happened under different circumstances, he commented at the time on his website that, "I assumed I was going to be working out 6 half hours of stand-up for a TV project but it fell through". However, he did visit the festival in capacity of director with a production of the Eric Bogosian play ''Talk Radio'' with a cast which included Phil Nichol, Mike McShane, Will Adamsdale, Stephen K Amos and Tony Law.

In 2006, in addition to his directorial contribution to Talk Radio, he gigged regularly and appeared on television and radio, in – amongst others – Armando Iannucci's, ''Time Trumpet'', as a version of himself thirty years in the future looking back and commentating on the present day. The show ran on BBC2 between August & 6 September 2006. Also in August, Lee presented a programme in the Five series ''Don't Get Me Started''. The documentary discussed the issues of blasphemy, free speech, religious censorship and the rise in protests from religious groups over perceived attacks on their faith. This was of course of some interest to Lee, especially considering his experience in the ''Jerry Springer -The Opera'' controversy (see above). The programme was renamed from ''New Puritans'' to ''Stewart Lee Says What's So Bad About Blasphemy?'' without Lee's knowledge.

He separated from his long standing management company, Avalon, after a promised BBC series fell through (and because of a loss of trust resulting in part from incidents such as the retitling of the blasphemy documentary), and appeared on the BBC Radio 4 quiz ''Quote Unquote'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and on ''Have I Got News for You'', purportedly to pay for his wedding.

In October, he presented a forty year tribute to ''Star Trek'' on BBC Radio 2, and in November, presented ''White Face, Dark Heart'', two programmes on Radio 4 about clowns, during which he fulfilled a ten-year desire to witness the rituals of New Mexico's sacred clowns. These shows are available to download on his official website.

He curated a CD for the Sonic Arts Network called ''The Topography of Chance''. Lee explored different artists, writers and musician’s experiments with randomness and chance and brought together an eclectic mix of artists including tracks by; Simon Munnery, Arthur Smith, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Jem Finer, Kombat Opera, Jon Rose and more.

2007: ''Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!''

January saw Lee open his show ''What Would Judas Do'' in double bill with Mark Ravenhill's ''Product: World Remix'' at London's Bush Theatre. He announced at the time that he was also writing – with Tony Law a sitcom pilot about the god Thor, for BBC Two, and script-editing another pilot, a sitcom about the Brontë sisters. In February, he organised a tribute to cult comedian Ted Chippington entitled "Tedstock" at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. This was designed, in part, to raise money to fund a CD release of Chippington's work – which was available to buy on the night, "Walking Down The Road". The show included a one-off performance from Lee and Herring, along with fellow Ted fans Simon Munnery, The Nightingales, Phill Jupitus, Josie Long and Stephen Carlin.

Lee's first new stand up show since "90s Comedian" was developed over the first half of 2007, originally to be named ''March Of The Mallards'' (a title parodying that of the film, ''March of the Penguins''), it would be renamed before its full debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival of that year, and subsequent Autumn tour. This was because, in March 2007, Lee was named 41st best stand-up of all time in a Channel 4 survey listing the "100 best standups". In this poll, he beat Dave Allen, George Carlin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Tommy Cooper. Channel 4 did not reveal exactly how the voting was conducted, but 150,000 members of the public were polled, as were an undisclosed number of experts.

In the light of this result Lee renamed his Summer 2007 stand-up show 'Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!' as he felt it was "both arrogant and humble". During the show he joked that since Bernard Manning (who had been placed above him in the poll) had died since the Channel 4 poll had first aired, he felt he should be moved up to Number 40. Another project, "Johnson & Boswell, Late But Live", written by Lee & performed by comics Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp played throughout the festival at the Traverse Theatre before embarking upon a tour of Scotland.

July 2007, Lee appeared on the Channel 4 panel game, ''8 out of 10 Cats'', which he has since described as "the worst professional experience of my life". July 2007 also saw the premiere of ''Interiors'', a site-specific theatre piece co-written with Johnny Vegas, at the Manchester International Festival.

2008

2008 began, as 2007 had ended, with the continuing tour of "41st Best Standup". It became Lee's longest tour to date, and was filmed at the Glasgow Stand for DVD release by Real Talent in April (the DVD hit stores in July).

Lee also co wrote 'Poets' Tree' with close friend & collaborator, the actor Kevin Eldon. This was a BBC Radio 4 series that was aired in April 2008, based on Paul Hamilton, Eldon's arrogant poet alter-ego.

At the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 Lee performed potential material for his recently announced BBC2 series, ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', in a work in progress show at The Stand, billed as ''Scrambled Egg''. Over the three weeks of the festival, Lee worked on a large quantity of new material, and updated old favourites for possible inclusion in the show, which began filming the following November. A follow up to Johnson & Boswell also aired, again featuring Munnery & Jupp. ''Elizabeth & Raleigh, Late But Live'' was featured at the festival before touring the country in the autumn. In November, Lee began filming for his 2009 TV show, and on the 16th November, reunited with Herring another one off performance of their old double act at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith during one of the gigs Richard Herring curated there. They were joined by Paul Putner in character as the Curious Orange. With initial filming out of the way, ''Scrambled Egg'' was reprised at London's Hen & Chickens Theatre in December to fully polish the stand up sections of the forthcoming TV project ahead of filming in January 2009.

2009: ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' and ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One''

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', a new six part comedy series featuring standup and sketches, began a six episode run on 16 March 2009. The executive producer was Armando Iannucci and the script editor was Chris Morris. The first episode received positive reviews from The Independent and The ''Daily Mirror''. The show received a negative review in ''Time Out'', written by Lee himself, in which he described himself as "fat" and his performance as "positively Neanderthal, suggesting a jungle-dwelling pygmy, struggling to coax notes out of a clarinet that has fallen from a passing aircraft". ''The Guardian'' named ''Comedy Vehicle'' as one of its top ten television highlights of 2009, commenting that it "was the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity". One of the show's few negative reviews came in the ''Sunday Mercury'', which stated: "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension". Lee subsequently used this line to advertise his next stand-up tour. Lee frequently uses negative reviews on his posters in order to put off potential audience members who are unlikely to be fans of his comedy style.

The first episode was watched by approximately 1 million viewers, though the figure rose by 25% when BBC iPlayer viewings were factored in and, uncharacteristically, viewing figures rose over the series. The series was the BBC's second most downloaded broadcast during its run. In May 2010, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for best comedy programme.

Lee also had a show at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, named ''Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One'' in which he performed his own version of the song "Galway Girl". In the Galway stage of this show Sharon Shannon performed the song with Lee. In December 2009 Lee was beaten to the title of Best Live Stand-Up by the comedian Michael McIntyre at the British Comedy Awards ceremony.

Lee caused controversy on his ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian'' tour with a joke about ''Top Gear'' presenter Richard Hammond. Referring to Hammond's accident while filming in 2006, in which he was almost killed, Lee joked, "I wish he had been decapitated and that his head had rolled off in front of his wife". and, having been doorstepped by a ''Mail'' journalist, Lee replied "It's a joke, just like on Top Gear when they do their jokes". Lee subsequently explained the joke:

In an ''Observer'' interview, Sean O'Hagan says of the Hammond joke that Lee "operates out in that dangerous hinterland between moral provocation and outright offence, often adopting, as in this instance, the tactics of those he targets in order to highlight their hypocrisy". in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. On the 9th of February, Armando Iannucci, the executive producer of the first series of ''Comedy Vehicle'', announced that there would be a second series of the show. On 10 April an updated version of ''The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups'' was broadcast on Channel 4, in which Lee was declared the 12th best stand-up comedian. The May Day weekend saw Lee curating a programme of free jazz at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, at the invitation of festival director Tony Dudley-Evans.

Lee's second book, ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'', was published by Faber and Faber on 5 August 2010. The book features annotated transcripts of Lee's ''Stand-Up Comedian'', '''90s Comedian'' and ''41st Best Stand-Up Ever'' shows and has received positive reviews. It is dedicated to Ted Chippington.

Lee's 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show is entitled ''Vegetable Stew''. Prior to the start of the festival, Lee wrote an e-mail to the publicist of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, copying in other comedians, in response to the announcement of a poll to find the public's favourite act from 30 years of the award, which was previously known as the Perrier Award. Lee wrote:

Think about the logic of it for a moment. Who among those you are asking to vote has even heard of Frank Chickens, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list? It is not possible for the outcome of this vote to have any credibility.

As result of his e-mail going viral with the encouragement of Richard Herring and Robin Ince, Frank Chickens took the lead in the poll. During the polling, Lee wrote that: "In my e-mail I chose at random Frank Chicken, the Japanese female performance art duo, as an example of possibly worthy winners who would not get a look-in under this illogical and unfair voting system, and the Twitter world has adopted them as a cause". He stated that it was never his intention to influence the vote, "but they are now leading the field, and it appears we should embrace them. If Frank Chickens become Comedy Gods then Foster's will have been helped to actually sponsor some actual art, and fans of Foster's all over the whole world will be made aware of that wonderful, indefinable, mischievous, playful thing we call the Spirit Of The Fringe!". Frank Chickens went on to win the public vote.

As a result of the Frank Chickens incident, Lee was awarded the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for best publicity stunt at the Fringe. The award's organisers stated: "The fact that Stewart did not intend to unleash publicity does not negate his success".

In addition to his main Edinburgh show, on 18 August Lee headlined a one-night variety show, ''Silver Stewbilee'', to launch ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate''. The show included performances by Simon Munnery as Alan Parker: Urban Warrior, Bridget Christie, Kevin Eldon, Paul Putner, Frank Chickens and Franz Ferdinand.

On 15 September 2010, Lee, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.

Music journalism

Lee has written music reviews for a number of outlets including, since 1995, the ''Sunday Times''. Through the early 2000s, he became a regular presenter on, and patron of, Resonance FM 104.4.

He is noted for his diverse musical taste. Asked in 2003 what his current music favourites were, he stated "Most of my favourites are still going like The Fall, Giant Sand and Calexico. I listen to a lot of jazz, 60s and folk music but I really like Ms. Dynamite, and The Streets". He once said that the only band he liked that anyone else has heard of was R.E.M.. His debut novel, ''The Perfect Fool'', includes an 'audio bibliography' – a list of recommended listening. This mentions that it was his love of the band Giant Sand that first attracted him to visit the American South West.

Selected works

Books

''Fist of Fun'' (with Richard Herring; non-fiction) BBC Books, 1995. ISBN 0563371854; ISBN 978-0563371854

''The Perfect Fool'' (novel) Fourth Estate, 2001. ISBN 1841153656; ISBN 978-1841153650

''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241

''More Trees to Climb'' by Ben Moor (foreword)

''Death To Trad Rock'' by John Robb (foreword) Cherry Red

''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'' (chapter on The Fall)

''How I Escaped My Certain Fate - The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'' Faber & Faber 2010 ISBN 0571254802

DVDs

''Stand Up Comedian'' [2005] (2|entertain) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''90s Comedian'' [2006] (Go Faster Stripe) - Live at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' [2009] (2|entertain) - Live at London's Arts Depot

''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One'' [2010] [Comedy Central] - Live at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre

CDs

''90s Comedian'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, digital-only release)

''Pea Green Boat'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, also 10" vinyl)

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent)

''What Would Judas Do?'' [2009] (Go Faster Stripe, 3-CD box set)

'The Jazz Cellar Tape" [2011] (Go Faster Stripe, CD)

References

External links

Official website

Stewart Lee biography at Debi Allen Associates

Unofficial Lee and Herring website

Category:1968 births Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:British atheists Category:British humanists Category:British radio writers Category:English comedians Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English film directors Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Old Silhillians Category:People from Wellington, Shropshire

Category:Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands