"Taking Woodstock" centers on the colorful life of a Greenwich Village-based interior designer and part-time Catskills hotel manager who headed the Bethel, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce. He issued the permit for the legendary 1969 concert on his neighbor Max Yasgur's farm.

It is based on Elliot Tiber's 2007 memoir "Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life," which he wrote with Tom Monte.

The project is set up at Focus Features, and will be adapted by the studio's CEO, James Schamus. Lee and Schamus' most recent collaboration was Focus' Chinese-language drama "Lust, Caution," which earned $66 million worldwide.

The writing-directing pair had their breakthrough indie hit with the gay-themed comedy "The Wedding Banquet" in 1993, and Lee directed Focus' biggest hit, the gay Western "Brokeback Mountain," in 2005.

There have been several Woodstock documentaries, but few narrative films touching on the festival, one of the few being Tony Goldwyn's "A Walk on the Moon."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter