Director Bong Joon Ho’s new film “Snowpiercer,” hits theaters today on June 27, 2014 and Examiner.com had the opportunity to see the film at a special screening at MoMA. Seventeen years after the Earth has frozen over with the last of humanity confined to a train, a hero emerges to take down the destructive world order put forth where classism is the key to keeping the train alive. Deemed the Steven Spielberg of this generation, Director Bong Joon Ho is infectious in his first English speaking film.
After years of ill-treatment of the tail end passengers, a final revolt is carried out aboard the locomotive in order to overthrow the conductor who resides at the head. In a fight to the finish between the powerless vs. power, lives are sacrificed for the greater good of mankind. And while traveling the different sections of the 20 car train – Snowpiercer, things begin to become clearer as to why a balance of chaos vs. order, anxiety vs. happiness, and the rich vs. the poor must remain in order for the human race to prevail. With distribution in over 150 countries, the film has finally made its official U.S. debut today.
Knockturnal.com did get the chance to exchange words with the creator and writer of the film Bong Joon Ho and Kelly Masterson. Read our exclusive interviews below:
Bong Joon Ho is the Director/Creator. We spoke with him via an interpreter.
Q: What were the themes in the French Graphic Novel, “Le Transperceneige” that inspired you to create “Snowpiercer”?
The original concept of the graphic novel that it takes all inside of a train, that was exciting. And then of course, inside the train are humans, the last survivors of mankind. I was driven by their struggles.
Q: “Snowpiercer” being your 1st English Speaking film, what was it like getting such a great cast together?
I feel very fortunate. Having actors like John Hurt who jumped on board very early on, even before there was a script, helped to really build and assemble a great cast. And having such esteemed actors who other actors also respect, helped to gain the interest in the project, and made it easier to put the it all together.
Q: How does it feel to be at the receiving end of all the success that has followed since first premiering the film?
In the movie, the train circles the world and it takes one year to make one revolution, and similarly, the film opened in Korea, then we took it to France, Germany, Italy and Japan, and it took almost a year to get to this point to be finally releasing the film in the US; especially to be here at this moment tonight is a real honor. This is my 307 interview for “Snowpiercer.” (laughs)
Kelly Masterson wrote the screenplay.
Q: How did this collaboration between you and Bong Joon Ho come about?
It was like a stroke of lightning. I never met him, he never met me, he picked up the phone and called me. He’d seen a movie that I’d written that he liked and thought I was the right guy, that was as simple as it was. I knew his work and jumped at the opportunity to work with him.
Q: Explain the process of putting it all together.
It was really very simple and very un-Hollywood. So he called me, we met in LA, we spent a couple days talking about it, I went home and wrote a draft, we would talk every Monday. After like 10 weeks, we had a script and that’s the script he shot. That never happens {laughs}. And the other thing that’s so strange was that I never spoke to anyone else except Bong Joon Ho, no producers, no stars, no money people, nothing, just talking to the creator. He had a clear vision of what he wanted, and my job was to help him create the characters and tell the story that he wanted to tell.