Book Quote by Ang Lee
![“Only one time in my career I had that feeling [that this is not gonna get made], it was for this movie [Life of Pi]. It was right before we started the physical pre-production. I pre-visualized the whole ocean part before we made the movie, I was that prepared. At one point they seemed to want to…” quote by Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/07c/ang-lee-2496_book_only-one-time-in-my-career-i-had-that-fe_1972320.jpg)
“Only one time in my career I had that feeling [that this is not gonna get made], it was for this movie [Life of Pi]. It was right before we started the physical pre-production. I pre-visualized the whole ocean part before we made the movie, I was that prepared. At one point they seemed to want to drop it because it was really risky. The budget we proposed was a lot higher than they expected, they wanted to [drop it]. After all, it's a philosophical book and a literature property, it's not Batman.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Making Life of Pi, Ang Lee, 2012
Lee felt a deep doubt about the film’s feasibility during pre‑production, fearing it was too risky and costly.
In simple terms: He doubted the movie would be made because of its ambition and budget.
Key Takeaway
Trust intuition but balance risk with realistic planning.
Themes
risk
creativity
budget
vision
Mood
anxious
determined
reflective
Type
industry
leadership
When to use this quote
- pitch meetings
- budget approvals
- creative brainstorming
- risk assessment
Key Concepts
film production
visualization
authorial doubt
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you decide when to push a risky idea forward?
- What safeguards can protect creative projects from budget overruns?
A Different Perspective
Even with strong vision, financial constraints can halt projects.
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![“It was nerve-wracking [to unleash 'Life of Pi' to the world]. The first show to the journalists, that was the first one, so I was very uptight. Then I felt okay about the reception because we did a press conference with good and friendly questions, although people looked serious. So really, after…” quote by Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fb8/ang-lee-2496_conferences_it-was-nerve-wracking-to-unleash-life-of_2391401.jpg)
![“First we pre-visualized it [the flying fish scene in 'Life of Pi'] so the actors could act. It took a long time to get that to come to life and to design those coming out of the screen. We had great fun with that. It takes a long time, a year maybe.” quote by Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/017/ang-lee-2496_actors_first-we-pre-visualized-it-the-flying-fi_538534.jpg)
![“...I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of order. Where we can, we must give things a meaningful shape. [...] It is important in life to conclude things properly. Only then you can let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy…” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0f2/yann-martel-395_form_i-am-a-person-who-believes-in-form-in-th_1226820.jpg)
