Ang Lee will direct "Life of Pi"

The film adaptation of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" will be directed by Ang Lee.

Lee, who is best known for "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and "Brokeback Mountain," will take on the difficult task of adapting the award-winning book for the screen.

The story mostly takes place on a small lifeboat with a young Indian boy named Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel and a tiger. Lee will face similar challenges that the Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks film "Cast Away" also faced, specifically the challenge of creating drama with only one human character for most of the film.

"Life of Pi" has attracted a number of directors including Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Amelie"), Alfonso Cuaron ("Children of Men"), and M. Night Shyamalan ("The Village").

"Life of Pi" is currently scheduled for a 2011 theatrical release.