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He arranged to shoot much of the picture in Taiwan and planned to use a mix of cutting-edge CGI and 3-D effects to bring the book's emotional intensity to the big screen.
Before filming was set to commence in mid-2010, though, Fox pulled the plug on the production. "It was too much money and too scary," Gabler said.
Determined to save the movie, Lee flew from Taiwan to Century City and showed top executives the screen test of Sharma (a novice picked from more than 3,000 hopefuls) and plans for staging the ship's sinking. By the time the presentation was over, Fox's top brass had reversed their decision as long as Gabler could trim tens of millions of dollars from the film's budget.
But just two days from release, it's not clear who beyond highbrow movie lovers motivated by reviews "Life of Pi" is for. Pre-release tracking shows more parents want to take their children to see the animated "Rise of the Guardians"; more women want to see the final "Twilight" sequel, which opened Friday; and more men want to see the remake of "Red Dawn." Consequently, Fox is going after a broad audience, hoping that the PG-rated picture could be a good holiday compromise for families full of turkey.
"Thanksgiving is one of the more interesting moviegoing weekends of the year because people typically go in packs," said Jim Gallagher, a marketing consultant and former executive at Walt Disney Studios. "They're looking for movies that everyone can go to together."
International prospects could be brighter, including in China, where "Life of Pi" nabbed the last of this year's coveted import quota slots. "This is truly a global picture," said Paul Hanneman, co-president of Fox's international unit. "You've got multiple religions, it starts in India and ends in Mexico, but most of the movie takes place on the ocean, so it's really any man and anywhere."
The only thing rarer than a big-budget movie that overcomes a soft opening weekend to become a hit may be one that turns from a domestic flop into a worldwide success.
But "Life of Pi" hasn't followed a playbook from the moment Fox decided to make it.
Most greenlight decisions in Hollywood are reached in part based on computer programs that analyze how similar releases have performed in the past. For a picture as unusual as "Life of Pi," Gianopulos admitted, that wasn't possible.
"This is a movie we made based on gut and belief," he said. "I think it's one of the most noble risks we have ever taken."
