Springing ‘Crouching Tiger’ on U.S. Audiences

TIMES STAFF WRITER The buzz began the first time it hit the big screen. Whether it was at Cannes, Berlin,Venice or Toronto, the epic martial arts romantic drama “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” immediately began building momentum, hitting Hollywood like a typhoon. For the record: For the Record Los Angeles Times Wednesday March 28, 2001 Home Edition Calendar Part F Page 2 Entertainment Desk 2 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction Marketing campaign--The Academy Award marketing and publicity campaign for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was handled entirely by Sony Pictures Classics, which released the film. The film he thought would be a sure-fire flop has actually made history: It has become the biggest-grossing foreign film of all time, making more than $100 million to date, shattering the former record set by the 1998 Italian movie “Life Is Beautiful,” which made $58 million. It’s a great honor to me, to the people of Hong Kong and to Chinese people all over the world.” PETER PAU, accepting the cinematography award for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”