Ang Lee Signs On for 'Taking Woodstock'

It looks like Ang Lee isn't heading back into big-budget Hollywood waters any time soon. Variety reports that the Brokeback Mountain director will instead take on another gay-themed project: an adaptation of a book called Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life. It's the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, an unassuming Catskills hotel manager and interior designer who wound up playing a pivotal role in making the Woodstock festival a reality. The point, I take it, is that Tiber's role in one of the greatest events in rock and roll history served as redemption for giving up his own artistic ambitions and living most of his life in the closet.

As readers of this blog have probably guessed, I'd watch a cheese sandwich if Ang Lee directed it. This project seems lighter than anything the filmmaker has done since at least Eat Drink Man Woman, and I wonder how (if at all) it will jive with the deliberate, supremely controlled style he's been nursing in his past few movies. It'll be interesting if Lee takes this opportunity to return to the much looser vibe of his early comedies.

Lee's longtime producing partner James Schamus is also on board for Taking Woodstock, and the fact that Schamus is the CEO of Focus Features conveniently takes care of distribution.