TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Oscar-winning director Ang Lee says he worked hard during the four-year shooting of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" to give the $100 million art house film appeal for general audiences.

The movie stars Indian Suraj Sharma, who plays a boy who drifts on the open sea with a Bengal tiger and a hyena after a ship carrying the rest of his family sinks.

Lee says that as an art house film, "you can explore the philosophical issues, but for a popular film, we also need to make the audience feel touched."

The film is scheduled to premiere in Taiwan and the United States on Nov. 21.