Bong Joon-ho Once Lied to Harvey Weinstein in an Epic Troll Move
By Carl Samson
As more begin to recognize the creative prowess of “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho — and ultimately join the growing #BongHive — tales about him have made rounds on Twitter to amuse the internet.
Among them is an anecdote involving Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is currently on trial in New York for five felony charges, including rape, criminal sexual assault and predatory sexual assault, according to The New York Times.
Back in October, Bong told Vulture how he had lied to Weinstein in order to keep a scene from his 2013 film “Snowpiercer,” which The Weinstein Company distributed for theatrical release in the U.S.
The release, however, was delayed after Weinstein requested to have a whopping 25 minutes cut out for “more action” — and Bong was not having it.
Weinstein particularly set eyes on a scene showing a train guard gut a fish in front of rebels to intimidate them. After expressing his desire to remove it, Bong came up with a brilliant lie.
“Harvey, this shot means something to me,” he told Weinstein. “It’s something personal. My father was a fisherman. I’m dedicating this shot to my father.”
Apparently, Weinstein bought Bong’s story.
“You should have said something earlier, Bong! Family is the most important. You have the shot,” he told the director.
Needless to say, Bong was laughing inside.
“I said, ‘Thank you,’” he told Vulture. “It was a fucking lie. My father was not a fisherman.”
A recent tweet about the story has received nearly 168,000 likes, with users hailing Bong for how “legendary” he is.
“F***ing legend,” one user commented.
Meanwhile, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” author Jenny Han recalled a story involving Bong’s son, who happened to be her driver while filming in South Korea.
According to Han, she “went on and on” about Bong and her bet that he would win an Oscar for “Parasite.” Later that day, she learned that her driver’s father is a director — and that his surname was Bong.
“At the end of the day, we’re like, so what do your parents do? He says my mom is a homemaker, my dad is a director. I go, oh? Would I know of his work?” Han recalled.
“There is a slight pause from the driver’s seat and he says, um … a movie called ‘Mother’? And … ‘Memories of Murder’? When I tell you I screamed,” she said. “I called him a 배신자 (“baesinja”), which means betrayer.”
Interestingly, Bong’s son, Hyomin, is also a director. Han invited him to the premiere of “P.S. I Still Love You.”
“Hyomin is a talented filmmaker in his own right, and just as generous as his dad. He was my guest at the ‘P.S. I Still Love You’ premiere and he was super happy to go, even though he’s been doing fancy Oscars stuff all month for ‘Parasite,’” she added.
Users commended Hyomin’s humility and humor.
“I screamed too! [I] didn’t see it coming, WOW,” one commented. “[No] doubt he has a great sense of humor like his dad!”
Elsewhere on Twitter, others have talked and made memes about Bong’s interviews, as well as his post-Oscars photos.
“Bong Joon Ho was listening when Joaquin Phoenix said ‘queer rights’ at the Oscars,” Entertainment Weekly writer Joey Nolfi wrote about the director making his “Oscars kiss.”
Feature Images via David Shankbone (left; license: CC BY 3.0) and Dick Thomas Johnson (right; license: CC BY 2.0)
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