KUALA LUMPUR: Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee is set to direct a film about the Chinese American martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
The film which is currently in development at Sony's 3000 Pictures will feature Ang Lee's 32-year-old son, actor Mason as the legend.
"Accepted as neither fully American nor fully Chinese, Bruce Lee was a bridge between East and West who introduced Chinese Kung Fu to the world, a scientist of combat and an iconic performing artist who revolutionised both the martial arts and action cinema," the award-winning director said in a statement today.
"I feel compelled to tell the story of this brilliant, unique human being who yearned for belonging, possessed tremendous power in a 135-pound-frame (61-kg-frame), and who, through tireless hard work, made impossible dreams into reality."
Bruce Lee, who died in 1973 at the age of 32, had a brief but lasting presence in Hollywood as an actor, director and martial arts expert.
His films, including Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon and The Way of the Dragon, as well as the TV series The Green Hornet, popularised martial arts across the globe in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Lawrence Grey, Shannon Lee, Ang Lee, Ben Everard, and Brian Bell will serve as producers.
Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva are overseeing the project for the studio.
The still-untitled film reunites Lee with Gabler, Paiva and Sony Pictures' chairman Tom Rothman after working together on 2012's Oscar-winning adventure drama Life Of Pi.
"(This film on) Bruce Lee is a longtime passion project for Ang Lee and a deeply emotional story depicting the triumphs and conflicts of one of the foremost real life action heroes of our time," Gabler said.
"All of us at Sony and 3000 Pictures are proud to help Ang Lee and his filmmaking team create what we believe will be an extraordinary theatrical event."
A decorated filmmaker, Ang Lee's movies have scored at the box office in addition to collecting several Academy Awards including four for Life Of Pi, three for Brokeback Mountain and two for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
His other credits include Sense and Sensibility, Hulk, Lust and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
Meanwhile, Mason has appeared in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and The Hangover Part II.
He most recently starred in the Taiwanese romantic comedy Stand By Me, Hong Kong drama Limbo, and Who Killed Cock Robin.