Oscars yield to Bong Joon-ho and ‘Parasite’

Auteur Bong Joon-ho of “Parasite” has become the first South Korean director to win an Oscar, and he has broken down barriers in a big way with four trophies, including the festival’s most coveted award -- for best picture. At the 92nd Oscars on Sunday night, Bong received four Oscars for “Parasite” -- best international feature film, best original screenplay, best director and best picture. It turns out the Korean movie had been making history not just for its ho

Feb. 10, 2020

‘In the Absence’ raises international awareness of Sewol ferry disaster

Director Yi Seung-jun’s “In the Absence” missed out on the award Oscar for best short-subject documentary Monday, but leaves the Academy Awards having broken new ground as the first-ever Korean documentary to be nominated. “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” a documentary on Afghanistan girls learning to skateboard and gain confidence in life, took home the prize. “In the Absence” deals with the Sewol ferry sinking in April

Feb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ makes Oscars history with four wins

Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho made history with his feature film “Parasite,” winning four awards at the Oscars on Sunday, including the coveted award for best picture. “Parasite” became the second film ever to win the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture together, after the 1955 romance film “Marty” by Delbert Mann.   The awards ceremony for the 92nd Academy Awards was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. Attended by renowned f

Feb. 10, 2020

Bong Joon-ho trains his eyes on class divide

Director Bong Joong-ho and his film “Parasite” were the toast of this year’s Oscars. The dark satire-thriller made history, nabbing four awards, including the prized best picture award, at Monday’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. While the film may have been unfamiliar to many international audiences, South Korean film enthusiasts and fans of Bong know that the movie is an amalgamation of the director-screenwriter’s past works. During his press conference after he

Feb. 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] 8 stars of ‘Parasite’

When “Parasite” became the first non-English-language movie to win the top honor of best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, actor Lee Sun-kyun joked, “I am a little embarrassed. It feels like we are parasites of Hollywood now.” He was being humble. Bong Joon-ho’s satire-thriller “Parasite” on Monday won best picture, best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Kor

Feb. 10, 2020

Executive producer of best picture ‘Parasite’ thanks Korean audience

While filmmaker Bong Joon-ho made history with “Parasite” by winning the best picture award at the Oscars -- first non-English language film to get the honor and the first time in the event’s 92-year history that a foreign film has won four awards in a single night -- Lee Mi-kyung, vice chairwoman of CJ Group, thanked the Korean audience for their “straightforward opinions.”   Lee, also known as Miky Lee, is the executive producer of the film. “I would

Feb. 10, 2020

Oscars’ best director Bong Joon-ho honors Martin Scorsese

Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho of “Parasite” won the best director at the 92nd Oscars held in Los Angeles, Monday. 　 “After winning (the best international feature), I thought I was done for the day and was ready to relax,” Bong said in his acceptance speech. “When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is ‘the most personal is the most creative,’” he said. “That quote came from our great Marti

Feb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ wins best picture at Oscars

Korean satirical-thriller “Parasite” won best picture at the Oscars on Sunday, making history in its home country and the international film scene. Director-producer Bong Joon-ho shared the honor with co-producer Kwak Sin-ae, CEO of film production company Barunson E&A. With the award, “Parasite” became the first foreign-language picture to win the most coveted prize in film. Conquering the Oscars, Bong and the “Parasite” team have reached what may

Feb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ Bong Joon-ho named best director: Oscars

South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho was given the Oscar for best director at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday. The director of the epic comedy-horror “Parasite” has become the first South Korean director to win the award. With “Parasite,” Bong is the second director of a non-English-language film to be honored as director at the Oscars, following Alfonso Cuaron, who won it for the Spanish-language drama “Roma” from last year. Bong Joon-ho previously mad

Feb. 10, 2020

With best int’l feature, Bong Joon-ho says he is ‘ready to drink’

After clinching the Oscar for best international feature, filmmaker Bong Joon-ho of “Parasite” said he is “very ready to drink.” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently changed the name of the category from “best foreign language film” because the old name was seen as outdated. 　 　 “The category has a new name now, from foreign language film to international feature film. I am so happy to be its first recipient under the new name,&rdq

Feb. 10, 2020

Oscars kick off with politics and historic 'Parasite' win

HOLLYWOOD (AFP) -- The Oscars kicked off Sunday with a historic early triumph for South Korea's black comedy thriller "Parasite" -- tipped to battle war epic "1917" for the night's top prize -- as winners including Brad Pitt struck a political note. Hollywood's biggest night began with a vibrant musical medley, which addressed a swirling row over the lack of minorities and female directors on the star-studded nominee list. "We celebrate all the women who directed phe

Feb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ named best international feature of this year: Oscars

Director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” took the best international feature Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. The Academy, in announcing the winners of the 92nd Oscars on Sunday, pronounced the South Korean movie as this year’s best international feature film. “Parasite” beat four other successful features -- the Polish drama “Corpus Christi” directed by Jan Komasa, the documentary from North Macedonia “Honeyland,” the French dra

Feb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ Bong joon-ho thanks wife for inspiration

South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won of “Parasite” won the best original screenplay award at the Oscars on Sunday. “It is a lonely job to write a film script. I am not writing to represent Korea, but it is the first Oscar to South Korea,” Bong said in his acceptance speech at the ceremony. “I thank my wife, who always inspired me, and the ‘Parasite’ actors who beautifully delivered the lines on screen.”   Bong shared the honor wi

Feb. 10, 2020

Bong Joon-ho lands best original screenplay with ‘Parasite’ at Oscars

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho of the genre-defying flick “Parasite” clinched the best original screenplay award at the Oscars on Sunday. Bong shared the honor with his co-screenwriter of the movie, Han Jin-won. The writer, who assisted Bong in the director’s English-language film “Okja,” made his official debut as a screenwriter with “Parasite.” In leading up to the Oscars victory, Bong and Han had been named for the top original screenplay at W

Feb. 10, 2020

At rain-soaked Oscars, 'Parasite' hopes to upset '1917'

  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Oscars are here, already. After the shortest awards season in decades, the 92nd annual Academy Awards is getting underway Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The red carpet was rolled out two to three weeks earlier than usual in a bid to freshen up a ceremony and potentially boost ratings. The truncated time table has put the normally bloated Oscars season on a diet (Sunday's show will also, for the second straight year, be hostless) and sent film acade

Feb. 10, 2020

Oscars battle set to begin amid crystals and controversy

  HOLLYWOOD (AFP) -- Hollywood's awards season comes to a close Sunday at the Oscars, with war epic "1917" battling a South Korean thriller for glory as a row swirls over the lack of minorities on the night's star-studded nominee list. A lavish, spiral stage featuring 40,000 crystals at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre will be the glittering setting as the 24 golden statuettes are handed out on Tinseltown's biggest night. Nominees and actors arrived on the red carpet under overcast

Feb. 10, 2020

Will 'Parasite' end with stellar finale at Oscars?

When Bong Joon-ho's tragic comedy thriller "Parasite" debuted at Cannes and won the Palme d'Or in May last year, nobody anticipated that the South Korean film would contend for best picture and five other awards at the 92nd Academy Awards nine months later. But the Korean auteur's seventh feature film about have-nots infiltrating a wealthy family has created strong buzz throughout the U.S. awards season and become a massive hit since its stateside release in October. It is nominated

Feb. 9, 2020

[Video] Why does ‘Parasite’ mix pricey beef into instant noodles?

The food featured in director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” is not just nourishment for the characters but also serves up symbolism and social satire, hinting at social stratification in Korean society. As the movie’s plot gains momentum, one of the foods in focus is jjapaguri -- translated as ram don in the English subtitles. The Korean name comes from its two main ingredients -- the instant noodle brands Jjapaghetti and Neoguri. Bong spices up this otherwise ordinary dis

Feb. 7, 2020

'Parasite' has collected 55 awards at 57 film fests

Bong Joon-ho's sensational black comedy "Parasite," nominated in six categories, including best picture, at the upcoming Oscars, has been invited to 57 film festivals and award events across the world, and collected 55 trophies, its production company CJ ENM said Friday. In May last year, the film about class division through two extreme families embraced the highest prize of Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming a massive hit in 2019 and starting its awards-winning streak

Feb. 7, 2020

Cliffhangers, slam dunks and dark horses at Sunday's Oscars

  (Reuters) - Hollywood's awards season reaches its climax at Sunday's Oscars, with a cliffhanger over the top prize after a season marked by dark horses, renewed anguish over diversity, and a South Korean underdog that could snatch victory from the biggest names in show business. While dark comic book movie "Joker" goes into the ceremony with a leading 11 nominations, it's the immersive World War One movie "1917" that has emerged as the film to beat in the best picture

Feb. 7, 2020