FILE - This April 26, 2012 file photo shows Ang Lee posing for a portrait backstage at CinemaCon 2012, the official convention of the National Association of Theater Owners in Las Vegas. Lee is the director the the film, "Life of Pi." (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
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FILE - This April 26, 2012 file photo shows Ang Lee posing for a portrait backstage at CinemaCon 2012, the official convention of the National Association of Theater Owners in Las Vegas. Lee is the director the the film, "Life of Pi." (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
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This film image released by 20th Century Fox shows director Ang Lee on the set of "Life of Pi." (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)
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This September 4, 2012 publicity photo provided by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox, shows actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, left, and director, Steven Spielberg, posing for a portrait in New York. Day-Lewis stars as Abraham Lincoln in the new Spielberg directed film, “Lincoln." Spielberg was nominated for an Academy Award for best director on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, for “Lincoln." Lewis was nominated for best actor. The 85th Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 on ABC. (AP Photo/DreamWorks, Twentieth Century Fox, Kevin Lynch, File)
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This publicity film image released by 20th Century Fox shows Suraj Sharma in a scene from "Life of Pi," directed by Ang Lee. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. The 85th Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 on ABC. (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Jake Netter, File)
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FILE - This undated publicity film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Bryan Cranston, left, as Jack OíDonnell and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in "Argo," a rescue thriller about the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, include, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg; “Zero Dark Thirty,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow; “Les Miserables,” directed by Tom Hooper; “Argo,” directed by Ben Affleck; “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino; and “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Claire Folger, File)
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FILE - This publicity film image released by Universal Pictures shows Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean holding Isabelle Allen as Young Cosette in a scene from "Les Miserables." Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, include, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg; “Zero Dark Thirty,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow; “Les Miserables,” directed by Tom Hooper; “Argo,” directed by Ben Affleck; “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino; and “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee. (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Laurie Sparham, File)
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In this undated publicity photo released by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Jessica Chastain, center, plays a member of the elite team of spies and military operatives, stationed in a covert base overseas, with Christopher Stanley, left, and Alex Corbet Burcher, right, who secretly devote themselves to finding Osama Bin Laden in Columbia Pictures' new thriller, "Zero Dark Thirty." Best-picture prospects for Oscar Nominations on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, include, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg; “Zero Dark Thirty,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow; “Les Miserables,” directed by Tom Hooper; “Argo,” directed by Ben Affleck; “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino; and “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee. (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Jonathan Olley)
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This image released by DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation shows Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis appear in a scene from "Lincoln." Fields was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress and Lewis was nominated for best actor on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, for their roles in “Lincoln.“ The 85th Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 on ABC. (AP Photo/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, David James)
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FILE - This Oct. 19, 2012 file photo shows actor-director Ben Affleck posing for photographers during a photocall to present his movie "Argo" in Rome. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. Alan Arkin was nominated for best supporting actor and Chris Terrio for best adapted screenplay, but Affleck was not nominated for either best actor or best director for his work in the film. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)
Ang Lee's win for 'Life of Pi' thrills Taiwanese
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A second Academy Award for director
Ang Lee has surprised his home of Taiwan as much as Hollywood.
Lee Gang, the director's brother, said he thought "Life of Pi" might not be an Oscar favorite because its theme isn't mainstream. The shipwreck story of an Indian boy on a boat with a tiger was crafted with a production team of international artistic and visual effects workers, whose efforts helped the film garner the most awards of Sunday evening's ceremony with four.
It was honored for its visual effects, cinematography and original score, in addition to Lee's directing. The best-director race was seen as the night's biggest surprise as Steven Spielberg had been favored for "Lincoln."
Taiwanese TV stations on Monday called Lee "the Glory of Taiwan" and reran his Oscar ceremony address in which he said that he could not have made the movie "without the help of Taiwan."
Lee has said the key setting for "Life of Pi" — a large water tank built at a studio in Taiwan — allowed the crew to use its imagination freely and not be restrained by Hollywood values.
The film has been a global box-office success and did well in Taiwan because of Lee's popularity and because much of it was shot on the island. After his win, Lee encouraged other Asian and non-American filmmakers to try to tackle Hollywood.
"I think sometimes this disadvantage can be an advantage. The fact that I come from another culture makes me special," he said.
Lee won his first best director Academy Award for 2005's "Brokeback Mountain." He also had been nominated for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
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