A Saskatoon-based author who has already seen his novel become an international bestseller is getting ready to make headlines again.

Yan Martel's book, the Life of Pi, has become a movie.

There are no words in the trailer that was released this week, but it's the visuals that draw people in and that's thanks to director Ang Lee, said Martel.

"He cares about every single aspect of the movie, so it is a visually lush movie. Even if it's only the ocean, which you think is a fairly spare environment, it's a visually stunning, stunning movie."

Martel met with the director and had involvement with the creation of the screenplay, giving detailed written feedback on more than on occasion.

His interest in the film has allowed him to make an appearance in it

"I have a small cameo in the movie, let's see if it survives the editing process, but I have a small cameo," Martel said.

He visited the set, with his parents, of the final days of the filming, when scenes were being shot in Montreal. A majority of the rest of the scenes were shot on the coast of Taiwan.

For some, who think the book is always better than the movie, they might find it difficult to see their work altered to fit someone else's vision. Martel said this isn't the case for him.

"I don't have a sense of ownership I let go because a movie is very different from a book -- hopefully they're not in competition. They're just two different things. The fact is movie will deliver on visuals," he said.

When people read they have ideas in their minds about what people and places look like, Martel said.

"The movie will make that very concrete and extraordinarily vivid, which a book can't do, so I sort of see them as being complementary."

While Martel has an understanding of the movie and knows what some parts of it looks like, he's looking forward to the release in November.

"I'm as curious as anyone else to see it, to see what he's done with it, how he's interpreted the words on the page, the camera angle, how it all flows together. I'll be first in line," he said.

Martel came to Saskatoon as a writer in residence and nearly a decade later, he's still here. Currently he's working on another book, a novel in three parts.

ahill@rawlco.com

Follow on Twitter: @Angelaislost