BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Tilda Swinton’s Heartfelt Note About ‘Parasite’ Director Bong Joon-Ho —Honoree In TIME’s ‘100 Most Influential People Of 2020’ List

Following
This article is more than 3 years old.

TIME Magazine recently named Parasite director Bong Joon-ho in its annual “The 100 Most Influential People” list for 2020. In what now seems like eons ago, Bong Joon-ho took the global stage by storm with his groundbreaking film starring Choi Woo-shik, Song Kang-ho and Park So-dam. From his Palme d’Or win at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, through to his sweep of four Academy Awards in February this year, Bong’s history-making run has fundamentally shaken up all kinds of conversations in the film industry.

A two-time collaborator with Bong (Snowpiercer, Okja), actress Tilda Swinton composed an effusive, heartfelt tribute to the South Korean filmmaker for the list. Previously, Swinton had shared that she was a fan of Bong’s cinema long before they worked together — and “quickly became friends” after meeting.  “Fiercely familial, gloriously silly, unfailingly kind. Diamond,” Swinton wrote about Bong in the TIME Magazine piece. “He is good for cinema from start to finish.”

With Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film in hand, it is safe to say that that Bong won’t be short of work for quite a while. Bong’s future projects include a partnership with Adam McKay to adapt Parasite into a six-hour HBO limited series. There are reports that this remake will star Swinton — currently in Pedro Almodovar’s buzzy new short The Human Voice — alongside Mark Ruffalo.

Another film lined up for Bong is Sea Fog, based on the 2014 Korean feature Haemoo (English title is also Sea Fog). The 2014 Haemoo also had Bong onboard as writer and producer. Bong is set to join this new Participant-led project as producer, with Matt Palmer attached to direct. The original Haemoo film was adapted from a 2007 stage play of the same name, depicting the true story of a fishing-boat crew on a mission to bring a group of undocumented immigrants from China to Korea.

Riding on the wave of his stellar rise, some of Bong’s earlier works like his debut feature Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) and sophomore film Memories of Murder (2003) are currently being re-released. This sparked a flurry of new reviews from publications revisiting afresh the filmmaker’s oeuvre. Returning after 20 years since its premiere, Barking Dogs Never Bite is a dark comedy following the heinous actions of a college professor after he becomes irritated by the sound of barking dogs near his residence. Based loosely on real-life events, Memories of Murder features Parasite star Song Kang-ho as a detective on the trail of a serial murder case.

Follow me on Twitter