Director Ang Lee Touts Diligence As Key To Success

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee says that modesty and diligence have been the keys to his success in penetrating the foreign cultures that have framed the backgrounds for many of his most notable films.

Lee won his second best director Oscar for “Life of Pi” earlier this year. He also won the best director award for “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005.

Speaking to reporters Thursday in his native Taiwan, Lee said “I have to read everything and watch everything” before directing films with distinctly non-Chinese themes, like “Sense and Sensibility,” which takes place in early 19th century England, or “Brokeback Mountain,” a gay love story set in late 20th century Wyoming.

His next project – a television series for FX entitled “Tyrant” – focuses on the contemporary Middle East.