Director Ang Lee has decided to return to “Life of Pi” after its massive box-office success in 2012. The sequel, Lee shared, will start off where the previous movie left off.
“Pi returns to the island where the tiger Richard Parker left him,” Lee said. “Once Pi finds him, he develops a new complex love for him, where he can only express it through other means.”
The concept of the film came around to him while filming “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005.
“I had explored gay sex in my previous masterpiece, but now I wanted something more edgy, more challenging, and more illicit,” Lee said. “Then it came to me: bestiality.”
Unlike “Life of Pi,” where the tiger was entirely CGI, Lee has decided to be more realistic for the sequel.
“The only way for me to convince my audience that this love is real is to use real animals,” he said. “My goal is to make people root for their forbidden love. I cannot do this with CGI. The audience needs to feel that passion, that tight ‘roar.’”
When asked if people would be offended by the movie, especially with the concept of bestiality, Lee did not have kind words.
“The same people who didn’t like ‘Brokeback Mountain’ will not like this movie,” he said. “They do not believe in love. I accept those who love bestiality just as I do to those who love their same gender. It’s [love] all the same to me, and people need to accept that.”
Lee has already begun recruiting cast to work on the film. He revealed that British boy band “One Direction” will be composing the movie’s original score.
“When I listen to their music, I think of bestiality,” Lee said. “They understand it. They really do. It makes me cry.”
Lee has also reportedly begun thinking of some titles for his next film. Possible titles include “Bareback Tiger,” “The Sex Life of Pi,” and “Beauty and the Beast.”
The film is slated to drop summer 2015, directly competing with other erotic sequels: “Batman and Superman,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Dead Man’s Chest,” and “Avatar 2: More Alien Sex”.
“It will change you,” Lee said. “Forever.”
Usmani is a member of the class of 2017.
