Film bio of kung fu legend Bruce Lee in works
Last Updated: Friday, July 21, 2006 | 3:07 PM ET
CBC Arts
The family of kung fu legend Bruce Lee will be producing a movie to be released on the 35th anniversary of his death, according to several news reports.
The South China Morning Post reported Friday the movie will be filmed by JA Media with the support of Lee's four brothers and sisters.
Lee died in Hong Kong in 1973 after falling unconscious at the home of an actress. He was 32 years old and at the height of his career.
Lee is credited with bringing kung fu to the world through his films such as Fists of Fury, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, and he remains an icon of martial arts around the world.
His youngest brother Robert Lee says they want to show "the other side of Bruce, how he was growing up, his secrets and his philosophy."
A film company producer says he will be searching the world for the right actor to play Lee and will make an announcement Nov. 27, Lee's birthday. The film will be released in 2008.
The Post reports that actors including Keanu Reeves, currently starring in A Scanner Darkly, and Hong Kong chopsocky star Stephen Chow have expressed interest in playing the role.
The family also announced the release of a book about the martial arts star this fall, part of an effort to dispel the myths about Lee, says the family.
This is not the first attempt at a Bruce Lee biopic. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993), starring Jason Scott Lee (no relation), was based on a book written by Bruce Lee's wife Linda, titled Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew.
Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco, but moved with his family to Hong Kong one year later. He started appearing in films in minor roles at the age of five. Lee says he was beaten up by a local gang when he was 12, which inspired him to learn martial arts.
In his 20s, he moved back to the U.S. where he met his wife, Linda Emery. Lee opened several kung fu schools and provided martial arts training to movie stars such as Steve McQueen and James Coburn. He made several guest appearances during the 1960s in Hollywood movies and television shows. Lee then returned to Hong Kong in 1971 where his martial arts magic took hold.
