@_ann_lee

Commissioning Editor @guardian. Member of @londoncritics. Not on X anymore. Please find me on Bluesky: https://xitter.cf/t.co/IWfXCXJsmA

Joined June 2010
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246Media
I'm no longer posting on X. Please find me on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/ann-lee.bsk…
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This is devastating news. The world needs more film magazines, not less. I've loved writing for Total Film for the past few years and it's been a privilege to work with such a kind and talented team. Love to everyone at TF during this horrible time. It will be missed!
Matt Maytum@mattmaytum2 Oct 2024
Very sad to share this news. More to come from me later this week when we reveal the final covers, but for now I’ll just say it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work on the mag with such an incredible team, including all those whose shoulders I stand on. A childhood dream fulfilled
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Spoke to Joan Chen about her new film Dìdi (弟弟), growing up during China's Cultural Revolution, and struggling to find good roles after the success of The Last Emperor theguardian.com/film/article…

The comeback queen: actor Joan Chen on self-doubt, success, savagings – and a second chance at 63

Thirty-seven years after her Hollywood breakthrough in The Last Emperor, Chen is back in new drama Dìdi. She discusses her roots in China, objectification and the protective power of creativity

theguardian.com
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Loved chatting to Sean Wang, the super talented director of what is going to be one of your favourite films of the year - Dìdi (弟弟) theguardian.com/film/article…

‘In all those movies about childhood, I never saw someone who looked like me’: Sean Wang on his...

The director explains how a desire to transcend race and immigrant identity led to his semi-autobiographical tale of an angst-ridden Taiwanese American teenage skater and an Oscar-nominated short...

theguardian.com
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This incredible deep dive by @steverose7 on the making of Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is truly eye-opening amp.theguardian.com/film/art…

‘Has this guy ever made a movie before?’ Francis Ford Coppola’s 40-year battle to film Megalopolis

The director has spent half his life and $120m of his own money to make his sci-fi epic. Just days ahead of its debut in Cannes, some of his crew members are questioning his methods

theguardian.com
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Loved putting together this oral history of Four Weddings and a Funeral. I chat to Mike Newell and the cast about how they bonded on set, Amber Rudd's stint as an aristocracy coordinator and how Hugh Grant risked his life for the opening scene theguardian.com/film/article…

‘I thought: “I’ve engineered the death of Hugh Grant!’’’ – the inside story of Four Weddings and a...

The low-budget romcom about Britain’s upper middle classes launched the careers of its writer Richard Curtis and Grant. Cast and crew share their stories – from Liz Hurley in that dress to Amber...

theguardian.com
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For today's @guardiang2 cover interview I spoke to Shannon Lee about the loss of her father Bruce and her brother Brandon, what she thinks of The Crow reboot and why she gets hate mail from Quentin Tarantino fans theguardian.com/film/2024/ap…

Life without Bruce and Brandon: Shannon Lee on losing her superstar father and brother

How do you survive when the two most important men in your life die at a tragically young age? The daughter of martial arts hero Bruce Lee describes what kept her going – and how she is preserving...

theguardian.com
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Crazy Rich Asians star Jing Lusi has so many heartbreaking stories about growing up as a Chinese immigrant in the UK. We talk about her new ITV show Red Eye, confronting racists in the street, and being asked to simulate sex with a chair in an audition theguardian.com/global/2024/…

‘The roles on offer were prostitute or takeaway worker’: How Jing Lusi defied racist stereotypes –...

She is one of the first east Asian actors to play the lead in a big British drama, and her new show Red Eye is a nerve-jangler. She discusses culture shock, sexism and the sheer joy of making Crazy...

theguardian.com
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Plus, @K_imbot takes a deep dive into Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in an ace making of; @jamie_graham9 gets the explosive story on Civil War; @JordanFarley makes (imaginary) friends with John Krasinski; and @_ann_lee chats with with longtime TF fave Melanie Lynskey...
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Perfect reading material for the long weekend here! I loved talking The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and the filmmaking team about stunts, set life and Barbenheimer...
Total Film
@totalfilm28 Mar 2024
Our new issue featuring The Fall Guy is on sale NOW! Also featuring Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Civil War, Jerry Seinfeld, Melanie Lynskey, John Krasinski and loads more besides. Full details here >> gamesradar.com/total-film-la…
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Loved chatting to @melanielynskey for an in-depth look at her incredible career and latest role in The Tattooist of Auschwitz for the new issue of @totalfilm
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This is my obit of Guardian production editor Julie Reid – smart, principled, super funny, totally Guardian (in the best sense) and simply loved by all of us here theguardian.com/media/2024/m…

Julie Reid obituary

Other lives: Guardian journalist whose sense of empathy made her supportive of colleagues and aware of what readers liked

theguardian.com
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I'm #teambarbie all the way. I make the case for why Barbie should win best picture at the Oscars (it won't but a girl can dream!) theguardian.com/film/2024/ma…

Why Barbie should win the best picture Oscar

Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster hit has become a cultural phenomenon and reignited cinema after the pandemic – it’s also daring, subversive and fun

theguardian.com
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I interviewed Kevin Adkisson aka Kevin Von Erich, the former wrestler and real life inspiration behind The Iron Claw, about the harrowing tragedies that have shaped his life theguardian.com/culture/2024…

‘I don’t believe in a curse’: the wrestler who lost his five brothers

In 1980s Texas, Kevin Adkisson and his family, the Von Erichs, were wrestling superstars. But by 1993 all of his brothers had died. He describes his love for them – and how he survived the impossible...

theguardian.com
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Glad I got to vent about why watching Poor Things made me feel so uneasy theguardian.com/film/2024/ja…

‘She’s bound and gagged for laughs’: is Poor Things a feminist masterpiece – or an offensive male...

The Oscar contender about a sex-crazed young woman with an infant’s brain is dramatically dividing cinema-goers. We asked cultural commentators for their verdicts. Warning: contains spoilers

theguardian.com
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Let's all have a good cry! I wrote about The Iron Claw and the transformative power of men's tears on screen theguardian.com/film/2024/ja…

Real men sob in spandex: wrestling movie The Iron Claw and the power of tears

In this true-life tale of TKOs and tragedy, there are dreadful consequences for a bunch of wrestling brothers who are too scared to show their real emotions. Could it change how men cry?

theguardian.com
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In today's @guardian - a special festive G2 issue edited by me featuring lots of incredible writers talking about a Christmas that changed their lives theguardian.com/lifeandstyle…
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Wrote a little something about the last Christmas my mum was alive theguardian.com/lifeandstyle…

A Christmas that changed me: the miracle of my last months with my mother

As a family, we put more effort than usual into our celebrations that year, as Mum struggled with cancer. It taught me something indelible and important

theguardian.com
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Wrote about the magical cinematic wizardry of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron for The Guardian's best films of 2023 theguardian.com/film/2023/de…

Best movies of 2023 in the US: No 8 – The Boy and the Heron

Addressing loss and grief, Hayao Miyazaki’s dazzlingly surreal animation has the tender, solemn air of an artist reflecting on his own spellbinding legacy

theguardian.com
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Have had a blast editing this year's Christmas That Changed Me special issue. First up, we have an interview I did with McFly's @TomFletcher, where he talks about winning a trip to Lapland with Chris Tarrant when he was 7 to meet Santa (so Christmassy!) theguardian.com/lifeandstyle…

A Christmas that changed me: at seven, I won a magical trip to Lapland with Chris Tarrant

We slept in log cabins, went ice fishing and found Santa, all of which was broadcast live. When the producers asked me to sing Silent Night, it was the start of my career

theguardian.com
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