Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ang Lee to receive DGA Lifetime Achievement Award

Ang Lee, the protean filmmaker of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain,” will receive the Directors Guild of America’s lifetime achievement award

Jake Coyle
Tuesday 10 December 2024 17:00 GMT
Film - Ang Lee
Film - Ang Lee (2019 Invision)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ang Lee, the protean filmmaker of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain,” will receive the Directors Guild of America's lifetime achievement award.

The guild announced Tuesday that Lee, 70, will be given the award at the 77th DGA Awards on Feb. 8. The DGA, which considers the award its highest honor, has given it to 36 filmmakers over its 88-year history. The last director to receive it was Spike Lee in 2022.

“Ang Lee is truly a master filmmaker,” said Lesli Linka Glatter, DGA president, in a statement. “For over 30 years, he has directed a dynamic body of work that boldly cuts across genres – from period drama to comedy, adventure to western, superhero to martial arts – always fearlessly taking on new challenges, never repeating himself, and consistently achieving cinematic excellence.”

“I am honored to be recognized in such an incredible way by my beloved guild,” said Lee. “To be given the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award is a momentous achievement for me personally, and an opportunity to reflect on what my work has meant to this amazing community of my fellow filmmakers.”

Lee's films also include 1995's “Sense and Sensibility,” 1997's “The Ice Storm," 2003's “Hulk” and 2012's Life of Pi." The Taiwan-born filmmaker has twice won the Oscar for best director, for “Brokeback Mountain” and for “Life of Pi.” His last film was 2019's “Gemini Man,” a Will Smith-starring action film shot at 120 frames per second.

At a recent ceremony in Tokyo where Lee received the Praemium Imperiale Award, he lamented that he hasn't made a movie recently.

“I haven’t made a movie for six years, and I don’t know where to start again,” Lee said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Cinema needs a drastic change. If we continue down the same path, it will be a dead end. We need something that will make audiences marvel again.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in