Lee not big on small talk

Lee not big on small talk

HONG KONG — Ang Lee has tackled English period drama, kung fu and gay cowboy romance. Just don’t expect him to make small talk at a dinner party. The Oscar-winning director says that despite his celebrity, he’s extremely shy and struggles with social interaction. “When I’m off the set, it’s hard for me to carry a conversation. That’s more difficult for me than making a movie,” he said Saturday on CNN’s “Talk Asia.” “Making a movie, I have plans in my head. Somehow one way or another I manage to roll the camera and get something in the can. But off the set, at the dining table ... it’s still awkward for me,” said Lee, a native of Taiwan. He feels comfortable “momentarily” if the conversation turns to movies, the 52-year-old filmmaker said, but “that’s kind of about it.” “It’s hard for me to feel comfortable socially,” he said. “I’m always shy, it’s just part of my character.” Lee won an Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain.” His Chinese-language spy thriller “Lust, Caution” won the top Golden Lion prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival. His films also include “Hulk,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Sense and Sensibility.”

Another Police record?

DUBLIN, Ireland — Will the curtain close again on The Police when their reunion tour ends? Andy Summers says the fractious trio could have a new album in them. “It’s sort of like living with the elephant in the room. I would see it as a challenge, to make an absolutely brilliant pop album at this stage of our career, and that would be something quite remarkable,” Summers, 64, said. The Police broke up in 1984 following five albums and a relationship-wrecking world tour. Their hits include “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take.” Since then, frontman Sting, 56, has sustained solo stardom. Guitarist Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, 55, have pursued their own, much more low-key recording projects. They reunited for a 30th-anniversary world tour that began in May and is scheduled to run into next year. Summers said the trio has yet to discuss in any detail the prospect of recording a new album together. But he said the tour had sharpened their group skills — and, four months into the reunion, creating something new together would make sense.

Today’s birthdays

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is 66. Singer Jackson Browne is 59. Actor Gary Frank is 57. Actress-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 55. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 54. Actor Scott Bakula is 53. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 53. Actor John O’Hurley is 53. Country singer Gary Bennett is 43. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 43. Singer P.J. Harvey is 38. Sean Lennon is 32. Actor Randy Spelling is 29. Actor Brandon Routh is 28.