Ang Lee grew up in Taiwan, and while he was aware of Woodstock occurring in 1969, let's just say he wasn't familiar with all of the festival's details.

"Acid and marijuana were used," Lee says. "I didn't know that."

Lee would go on to direct "Sense and Sensibility," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Hulk," of all things, before winning an Oscar for directing "Brokeback Mountain."

His latest film, "Taking Woodstock," about the man who procured the permit to allow the festival to happen, opens today. Recently, Lee spoke about the movie, the festival and more.

What was your level of awareness of the festival?

When it happened, I was 14. I was in Taiwan, preparing for my high school's entrance examination. And I was pretty dull and conservative. I knew about top 10 lists of songs, and that was about it ...

I saw it on television in black and white — guys with big hair and guitars. It seemed to be something very cool. I have an impression of that but nothing like the moon landing. That was big, very big.

How did you find out more about Woodstock?

Gradually. Pretty much years later, after I came to the States. In 1980, I was already in New York, in film school. I got a chance to see the movie (Michael Wadleigh's Oscar-winning documentary "Woodstock") at an art-house theater. That was the first time I had a chance to get a closer, bigger look at the event.

Jonathan Groff, who plays Michael Lang, one of the organizers, looks and acts just as Lang did in the documentary.

Today, at age 64, I think he (Lang) still looks the same. We got his blessing. It was a relief; he loved the movie. He was very helpful.

You concentrate more on the creation of the event than the event itself.

I'm very much into this idea that Mike Lang pitched, that it's this new nation, Woodstock nation. I think the idea of Woodstock as something to portray is magical. To restage the whole thing would be impossible, and it would be totally impossible to capture the spirit of it.

Instead you tell the story of Elliot Teichberg (played by Demetri Martin), who got the permit for the festival to try to help save his parents' motel.

The thing about kids leaving the family, it's like the whole boomer generation leaving the family. That's the big picture. I can't capture that. But I think you can portray a small family drama.

Why did you decide to direct a movie about Woodstock in the first place?

It's almost how I develop in life. One thing leads to another. My last picture was "Lust, Caution." I wanted to come up from the water, to the surface and take a little breath.

You choose a wide variety of projects. How do you decide what you'll make next?

Pretty much curiosity, something I care about. And the elements of the material and the combination of things, things I want to explore and try to understand.

You're known for being devoted to the material.

I feel like me and the material belong to each other. And I'm a slave to the material. I feel more slave than master. Once it's done, it's over.