Shekhar Kapur to direct Bruce Lee biopic, Little Dragon

Shekhar Kapur’s Little Dragon will be produced by Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon.

Shekhar Kapur is all set to direct a film on the early years in the life of renowned Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor, Bruce Lee. Titled Little Dragon, the film will be produced by Lee’s daughter Shannon with backing from Chinese investors, a leading British website reported.

Shannon, who runs Bruce Lee Entertainment, has co-scripted the project with Kapur and will produce it with Tim Kwok of Convergence Entertainment. Set in 1950s Hong Kong, the movie follows a young Bruce Lee as he comes to terms with his family’s disappointment, young love, betrayal and racism in the early years of his international career. “The film will be a contemporary take on Bruce Lee who, aside from being considered the most gifted and famous martial artist of all time, is now accepted as a major philosopher in his own right,” Kapur has been quoted by the website.

A worldwide casting search to find the actor to play the teenaged Bruce Lee was launched last week by US casting director Mary Vernieu.

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The US-Hong Kong-China co-production is financed by Dadi Media Group, Beijing Golden World Pictures, Shanghai Longzhilin Cultural Investment Partnership and Kirin Media. Executive producers include Kapur, Yu-San Yu, Allen Tan, Leo Zheng and Jeff Chao.

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“I always thought that a film about how my father’s life was shaped in his early years in Hong Kong would be a worthwhile story to share so we could better understand him as a human being and a warrior,” Shannon said. Kapur, who is among the revered Indian directors internationally, last directed American-Swiss drama film Passage, in 2009. His much talked-about Hindi film, Paani, however, is yet to see the light of the day.