50 Fun Facts About Life of Pi

Who wrote the novel Life of Pi?

The Canadian author was born in Spain, grew up across three continents and writes in English though his first language is French.

What is the name of the Bengal tiger in the lifeboat?

The tiger got a man's name through a clerical error that swapped it with the hunter who caught him.

Who directed the 2012 film adaptation?

Shyamalan and Cuarón had both been attached earlier; Lee came aboard in 2009.

What business does Pi's family run in India?

His father's decision to sell it and ship the animals abroad is what puts a tiger in the lifeboat.

In which ocean is Pi stranded?

The ship sinks a few days out of Manila; in the film it goes down into the Mariana Trench.

To which country is Pi's family emigrating when the ship sinks?

The adult Pi tells his story from Montreal, married with a family.

Pi grows up in which Indian town?

Filming began there in January 2011 at the Holy Rosary Church in Muthialpet.

Which animal kills the zebra and the orangutan in the lifeboat?

It is then killed by the tiger, who had been hiding under the tarpaulin all along.

Which literary award did the novel win in 2002?

At least five London publishers had turned the book down before Knopf Canada took it.

What is Pi's full first name?

Schoolmates turned it into 'Pissing', so he rebranded himself after the transcendental number.

Pi is named after a swimming pool in which city?

The Piscine Molitor, which neither of his parents, who did not much like swimming, had any reason to love.

How many days does Pi spend adrift?

Readers have noted that 22/7 is the classic approximation of pi.

What is the name of the orangutan in the lifeboat?

In the second story, she stands for Pi's mother.

Which Oscar did Lee personally take home for the film?

It was Lee's second directing Oscar after Brokeback Mountain; he thanked 'the movie god'.

Who plays the teenage Pi in the film, in his screen debut?

He was a 17-year-old student chosen from 3,000 auditions and trained in ocean survival, yoga and meditation.

Which three religions does the young Pi decide to follow at once?

He says he 'just wants to love God', to the dismay of his parents and all three of his religious mentors.

The floating island is home to a huge colony of which animals?

Hundreds of thousands of them, living on a floating mat of algae.

In which country does the lifeboat finally come ashore?

The tiger walks into the jungle without looking back, which Pi never gets over.

In Pi's second story, which human does the tiger stand for?

The hyena is the cook, the zebra the sailor and the orangutan his mother.

Who plays the adult Pi in the film?

Adil Hussain plays his father and Tabu his mother.

What does Pi discover about the floating island?

By night the pools turn acidic and the plants digest whatever they catch.

Which French star plays the ship's cook?

In the second story, the brutish cook is the hyena.

How old is Pi when the ship goes down?

The story is told decades later by a middle-aged Pi living in Canada.

What does Pi use to signal the tiger during training?

Food is the reward and seasickness the punishment; Pi makes himself the alpha animal.

Pi's closing words to the officials are 'And so it goes with' what?

They have just chosen the story with the animals, and file a report saying they believe it.

How many Academy Awards did the film win?

More than any other film of 2012: director, cinematography, visual effects and original score.

Which studio released the film?

Fox 2000 executive Elizabeth Gabler was credited with keeping the project alive through a decade of development.

In the film, what destroys Pi's raft and supplies one night?

The breaching whale amid glowing plankton is one of the film's signature 3D images.

Who plays the writer in the film, after another actor was cut?

Lee reshot the scenes for consistency with an 'entirely international cast'.

What is the name of Pi's older brother?

Their father makes them watch a goat fed to a tiger as a lesson in respect.

Which Hollywood star was cut from the film as 'too jarringly recognizable'?

He had filmed the part of the writer before Lee changed his mind.

What is the name of the freighter that sinks?

The name is a Kabbalistic term for God's withdrawal to make room for creation.

In the film, what does Pi find inside a flower on the island?

That is how he works out what the island does to anyone who stays.

The tiger's name was inspired by a character in a novel by which author?

Martel noticed real shipwreck victims of the same name too: 'So many victimized Richard Parkers had to mean something'.

How many London publishers rejected the novel before it found a home?

It went on to sell more than ten million copies.

Which US president wrote to Martel calling the novel 'an elegant proof of God'?

The 2010 letter also praised 'the power of storytelling'.

Where was the giant wave tank for the ocean scenes built?

Built in an abandoned airport, it held 1.7 million gallons and was then the largest self-generating wave tank in the world.

Which studio handled the film's visual effects, including the tiger?

It won the Oscar for its work and filed for bankruptcy days before the ceremony.

Which director left the project to make Children of Men before Lee was hired?

Jeunet followed him, started a script, and left too.

Which Indian political event prompts Pi's father to emigrate?

Indira Gandhi's 1975–77 suspension of civil liberties.

What name did the hunter originally give the tiger cub?

The shipping papers swapped the names, listing the hunter as 'Thirsty None Given'.

A novella by which Brazilian author partly inspired the premise?

Max and the Cats has a refugee crossing the Atlantic with a jaguar; Scliar chose not to sue and got a dedication instead.

Martel was born in which Spanish city?

His parents were studying at the university there; the family later lived in Portugal, Alaska, Costa Rica and France.

Martel lives in which Canadian city?

With the writer Alice Kuipers and their four children.

Who co-wrote and sang 'Pi's Lullaby' in the film?

Sung in Tamil, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Which annual event opened with the world premiere in September 2012?

It opened the festival's 50th edition in September 2012.

The film's release was first pushed back a week to avoid clashing with which movie?

Then Fox brought it forward a month to Thanksgiving instead.

The 2021 West End stage version won how many Olivier Awards?

Lolita Chakrabarti's adaptation, with puppetry by Finn Caldwell, took Best New Play.

Which Croatian artist won a worldwide competition to illustrate the novel?

The competition was run by Canongate with The Times, The Age and The Globe and Mail.

Which publisher finally accepted the novel in 2001?

It came out in September 2001 and won the Booker the following year.