Ang Lee has struck a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) to act as a consultant for its Hong Kong-based production unit Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia (CPFPA) - the company which backed his 2000 Chinese-language smash Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

In his consultant capacity, Lee will work closely with CPFPA to discover new talent and further the ongoing development of Chinese-language projects.

"Working with Ang on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a joy from start to finish," said Barbara Robinson, CPFPA managing director, in a statement. "Ang's commitment in the CPFPA mission to bring great Chinese-language films to the world adds substantial strength to our business."

"There are a great many film talents in Asia waiting to be discovered," said Ang. "They work both in front of and behind the camera and they have wonderful stories to tell."

In addition to Crouching Tiger, which was financed by CPFPA and US sister unit in SPE Sony Pictures Classics among others, Lee directed Sense And Sensibility for Sony's Columbia Pictures in 1995.

Meanwhile in addition to Crouching Tiger, the three year-old CPFPA has an impressive list of projects already under its belt including Zhang Yimou's Not One Less and The Road Home and Tsui Hark's Time And Tide as well as four in various stages of production - Feng Xiaogang's Big Shot's Funeral starring Donald Sutherland and Ge You, Chen Kuo-Fu's Double Vision with Tony Leung and David Morse, an untitled project from Corey Yuen and He Ping's Heroes Of Heaven And Earth.

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