Angelina Jolie, Ang Lee to team up on 'Cleopatra'

CEBU, Philippines - Oscar-winning director Ang Lee appears likely to direct the historical epic Cleopatra, starring Angelina Jolie, after the Hollywood actress asked him to come on board.

Lee, whose 3D adventure Life of Pi has earned 11 Oscar nominations, said he would read the script before making a decision but added that the project was ''very attractive".

''Sony has asked me to shoot the movie and Angelina Jolie wrote to me to express her wishes to collaborate. We admire each other … the project looks very attractive,'' the Taiwanese-American said in Taipei.

''It's a big-budget movie so I am carefully evaluating it … this is a rare opportunity and I will probably take it.''

Lee returned to his birthplace over the weekend to celebrate after Life of Pi earned 11 Oscar nominations, including for best picture and best director.

The movie, based on the novel by Yann Martel about an Indian boy cast adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger, has become Lee's highest-grossing film ever, earning more than $US450 million ($428 million) in global box-office sales, according to 20th Century Fox. (FREEMAN)