Bong Joon-ho Admits That Weinsteins Butchered Snowpiercer for US Release

Steve Barton |

Oct 7, 2013

Source Name:

Variety

Source Url:

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/bong-joon-ho-hints-at-snowpiercer-discord-1200702475/

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/sep13/snowpiercer-s.jpg

Bong Joon-ho Admits That Weinsteins Butchered Snowpiercer for US Release When we originally found out that the Weinsteins had gotten their grubby little hands on Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer, we were incredibly worried about how much of a mess they were going to turn the film into in the process of editing it for American audiences.

We breathed a big ol’ sigh of relief when the Korean filmmaker came out about a month ago and said that the cuts weren’t all that bad, but now it seems that may not exactly be the case.

According to Variety, Bong Joon-ho is actually quite unhappy with the cuts that have been made to his film, telling audiences at the South Korean Busan Film Festival that the screening taking place there would the only way to see the film as it was intended to be seen. “We are still in discussions about the cut, but it is clear that this is the only director’s cut you will be able to see,” Bong said.

The Weinsteins have final cut of the film in all English-speaking territories, which unfortunately means that the majority of us will only be exposed to the butchered version. Apparently up to 20 minutes of footage have been excised from the film.

Sigh.

The English-language directorial debut of Bong Joon-ho (The Host), the film stars The Avengers’ Chris Evans, The Help’s Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Alison Pill, Tilda Swinton, and Song Kang-ho. Based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige, Snowpiercer is set in the not too distant future, where a new Ice Age has wiped out most of the human race. With a revolt brewing onboard, the Snowpiercer is a train of Earth’s lone survivors that travels around the cold world.