Life of Pi (film)

Life of Pi
A young man and a tiger in a boat at sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAng Lee
Screenplay byDavid Magee
Based onLife of Pi
by Yann Martel
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyClaudio Miranda
Edited byTim Squyres
Music byMychael Danna
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • September 28, 2012 (2012-09-28) (NYFF)
  • November 21, 2012 (2012-11-21) (United States)
Running time
127 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Taiwan
Languages
  • English
  • Tamil
  • French
Budget$120 million[1]
Box office$609 million[2]

Life of Pi is a 2012 adventure-drama film directed and produced by Ang Lee and written by David Magee. Based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel, it stars Suraj Sharma in his film debut, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gérard Depardieu and Adil Hussain in lead roles. The storyline revolves around two survivors of a shipwreck who are on a lifeboat stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. One is a sixteen-year-old Indian boy named Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and the other is a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The film began development shortly after the release of the book and would see directors M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón and Jean-Pierre Jeunet involved at various stages before the hiring of Lee. Filming was split between India, Taiwan and Montreal in 2011, with Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) handling the visual effects work.

The film had its worldwide premiere as the opening film of the 50th New York Film Festival at both the Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall in New York City on September 28, 2012. It was theatrically released in the U.S. on November 21 by 20th Century Fox. Life of Pi became a commercial success, having grossed over $609 million, and received generally positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture – Drama and Best Director, and won for Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. At the 85th Academy Awards, it had eleven nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won four, including Best Director for Ang Lee.

  1. ^ "Life of Pi (2012) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "Life of Pi". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2022.