Movies
‘The Host’ Director’s ‘Parasite’ Comments on the Gap Between Rich and Poor
There’s not a whole lot known about Okja and The Host director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which will hold its World Premiere at Cannes on May 14th. What we do know is that it follows the character of Ki-taek and his unemployed family as they take a peculiar interest in the Park family – until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Park spoke to Variety about his expectations going into Cannes, getting a bit humble in explaining that he expects the film to get lost in translation: “I doubt whether the film could be 100% understood [by foreign audiences],” he explained. “Parasite is full of details and nuances that are specific to Koreans.”
He then goes on to explain the social commentary behind the film, which is more relatable than he thinks.
“Parasite is a story of two families from extremely different environments coming across each other. It deals with the laughter, the horror and the sorrow of people living together,” Bong explained. “It might sound self-contradicting, but the different backgrounds of the two families also mirror the universal gap between rich and the poor.”
Song Kang Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) stars as Ki-taek alongside Lee Sun-kyun (A Hard Day) and Cho Yeo-jeong (Obsessed) as the Parks, and Choi Woo Shik (Okja), Park So-dam (The Priests) and Chang Hyae Jin (Poetry) as, respectively, Ki-taek’s son, daughter and wife.
Neon acquired North American rights and will release the film this summer.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.