Bong Joon-Hohas Spike Lee to thank for his colorful English vocabulary.
On Wednesday night, the South Korean director of the Oscar-nominated filmParasite,took home the award for best foreign film at the African American Film Critics Association Awards.
During his acceptance speech, Bong Joon-Ho revealed that while he was studying English in college, he learned curse words from Lee’s films.
“I came from a place very far away. I live in South Korea,” he began his speech, with the help of a translator. “On campus, we held several illegal film festivals where we would have unofficial screenings at local cinematheques. We would screen a lot of American indie films and create subtitles ourselves.”
“The movies I did subtitles for wasJungle FeverandDo the Right Thing,”the director added, which was met with a laugh from the crowd. “At the time, my English wasn’t that good, so subtitling it was quite an experience. I had no idea there was such various curse words in the English language. Thanks to Spike Lee, I learned so many things.”
Bong Joon-Ho then revealed that did have the opportunity to meet Lee but was disappointed when he forgot to tell the fellow director about how he used to subtitle his movies.
“I was so excited and honored I made sure to take a picture right away, but things were so hectic I didn’t get a chance to tell him I subtitledDo the Right Thing,”he said. “If I meet him again, I would love to tell him. If any of you are acquainted with him, please let him know.”
Gotham/FilmMagic; Frazer Harrison/Getty
Sharon Choi and Bong Joon Ho.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
The thriller first premiered at the2019 Cannes Film Festivallast May, where it became the first Korean film to win the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize of the festival. Since then, the movie has also won best foreign language film at the2020 Golden Globes.
Parasite,which follows two very different families as they become unusually entangled, is now up for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
source: people.com
