Synopsis
Bong Joon Ho, the acclaimed South Korean director of 'Parasite', shares that his Oscar success has not intensified the pressure on his work. He discusses the challenges of aging in filmmaking and expresses pride in his cast for the upcoming film 'Mickey 17'.Key Takeaways
- Bong Joon Ho remains unfazed by Oscar success.
- 'Parasite' made history as the first non-English film to win Best Picture.
- His new film 'Mickey 17' has a significantly larger budget.
- He addresses themes of AI and societal anxiety in his work.
- He expresses pride in his casting choices for 'Mickey 17'.
Los Angeles, Feb 23 (NationPress) South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, who achieved Academy Award acclaim with his film ‘Parasite’, has asserted that the Oscar victory has not imposed any additional "pressure" on his creativity.
The 55-year-old director's film 'Parasite' made history as the first non-English language film to secure the Best Picture award at the 2020 Academy Awards, winning accolades for Best Director, International Film, and Original Screenplay, according to ‘Female First UK’.
He remarked to ‘The Guardian’, "It changes nothing". However, he acknowledged that his success has likely contributed to increasing the budget for 'Mickey 17', which reportedly costs ten times more to produce and helped in assembling an international cast, yet he maintained that he does not feel heightened pressure.
When questioned about the potential pressure stemming from his achievements, he stated, “The biggest thing (during production) was, as I’m getting older, I feel a bit weaker, and my stamina is not as strong, so I have to fight against my ageing body and mind. The middle-aged film-maker.”
As reported by ‘Female First UK’, ‘Mickey 17’ features Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a character who enlists for a perilous role in a space-colonization endeavor and is cloned each time he meets his end. The director expressed being "quite proud" of his casting choice for the lead.
He stated, “He was truly the nucleus of this story. I can’t even imagine this film without Rob. I’m also quite proud of myself for thinking of him for this role.” Naomi Ackie also appears as Nasha, and the ‘Snowpiercer’ director believes she was an equally outstanding selection. He noted: “Without Nasha’s strength, this film would be so much more difficult to watch … And Naomi was the perfect actor for that. There’s a sense of purity in her eyes.”
The director aimed to address societal anxieties regarding AI and emerging technologies within the film, while also providing a sense of reassurance. He reflected, “We all know that things are just getting worse and worse. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. We keep seeing incredibly advanced technology come out, AI and everything, but so much fear and anxiety surrounds that too. But at the same time, I wanted to show that amid such anxiety, fear and pessimism, people like Mickey – just, y’know, everyday people – somehow get through.”
“That’s a piece of optimism amid the suffering that I wanted to ultimately deliver”, he concluded.
