Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho wants to make a musical. I could flesh this sentence out, add some words, profess my underlying love for the Korean director, but eh, I don’t think it needs it. “Bong Joon Ho” and “musical” in the same sentence is surely enough to make you smile in these dire times.
Speaking to Empire magazine, Bong entertained the idea of what he might think up next. After Parasite, which won four Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards, the director said that he would “love to make a musical.”
“Characters would begin singing, then think, ‘Oh my God, fuck this, this is too cheesy,’ and stop suddenly.” Incredible.
“There are amazing musical films, like Singing’ In The Rain. But when I watch them, I feel very embarrassed and start blushing. So it would have to be… different,” he said. A Bong musical sounds absolutely divine.
Only time will tell if Bong does make a musical, but in the meantime he is working on two different projects. In a conversation with Variety, Bong revealed plans of two films, one in Korean and the other in English.
“Both projects are not big films. They’re the size of Parasite or Mother. The Korean film is located in Seoul and has unique elements of horror and action. It’s difficult to define the genre of my films. The English project is a drama film based on a true event that happened in 2016. Of course I won’t know until I finish the script, but it has to be set half in the UK and half in the US.” Interesting.
Then there’s also the new Parasite series, which is not a remake. Bong described the series to Variety as an “expanded version” of the film. The series will stream on HBO, with film director Adam McKay (Vice) also attached. As for the cast, Collider reports Mark Ruffalo is being eyed for one of the lead roles. Stay tuned.
If you’re in the sudden mood for a Bong film, you can watch Snowpiercer and Okja on Netflix. Or you can rent / buy Parasite on platforms like Amazon and iTunes.
