Ang Lee Wins Best Director Oscar For ‘Life Of Pi’

Ang Lee won best director at the Oscars on Sunday night for Life of Pi. The movie, based on Yann Martel’s bestselling book, snagged four Academy Awards in total.

In an apparent repeat of the 2006 Oscars, Lee beat out Steven Spielberg, who directed Lincoln, to claim the directing award. The two were last nominated for Brokeback Mountain (Ang) and Spielberg’s Munich.

Ang Lee also beat out Austrian Michael Haneke for Amour, Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild, and David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook, reports The Los Angeles Times.

The film also won best original score, visual effects, and cinematography. The film is about a 16-year-old Indian boy adrift in the ocean with a tiger.

Life of Pi won the most Oscars of the night followed by Argo and Les Miserables, which both had three wins. Ang Lee’s Life of Pi cost $120 million to make and has grossed $111 million domestically and $465 million overseas.

In his first statement after accepting the Oscar, Lee quipped, “Thank you, movie god!”

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Argo arguably won the best award of the night, and the last. The film, which starred its director, Ben Affleck, won best picture at the show despite fears by fans that it would be snubbed.

Notably missing in the directors category was Affleck, along with Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow. The film about the death of Osama bin Laden was nominated for five awards and took home a rare tie for best sound editing.

Check out Ang Lee’s best director speech for Life of Pi below.