‘Snowpiercer’ Director Joon-Ho Bong Opens Up About Harvey Weinstein

When director Joon-ho Bong’s Snowpiercer finally arrives in the United States, the flick won’t contain the same footage as the international cut of the flick.

According to various reports, Harvey Weinstein doesn’t think North American moviegoers can handle the film in its original form. As a result, he asked the filmmaker to make a handful of changes and alternations ahead of its release. Not surprisingly, fans of the South Korean direct were simply appalled by the idea.

During a recent chat with Vulture, the Snowpiercer director addressed the problems Weinstein had with the flick. According to the filmmaker, a lot of the cuts had to do with story’s tempo. Depending on who you ask, roughly 20 minutes of footage was reportedly excised from the US theatrical version.

“They think of the movie as a R-rated movie, so it’s not a matter of violence, some carnage or something. It’s just a matter of duration and tempo and speed. There’s no set number of required minutes to be cut, or anything like that. We’re just playing with it, and they let us choose,” Joon-ho Bong told the publication.

The filmmaker continued, “I understand their situation, their point of view. They want to make it easier for the audience to understand the ending. But at the same time, I love a little bit more ambiguity.”

According to First Showing, the original version of Snowpiercer actually tested higher with audiences in the United States than the Weinstein cut. Why the distributor seems determined to release a butchered edit of the flick is still unclear. However, the filmmaker seems hopeful about the original version’s chances.

Joon-ho Bong told Twitch:

“Some aspects are a little bit exaggerated. Some people misunderstood that there already exists a North American version with 20 minutes cut out. But that kind of version doesn’t exist. Officially the negotiation is still going on, and I’m trying my best to keep my own version. And also the CJ people [the Korean investors/distributors] are trying to confirm the release date, the marketing plan and many other things they are still negotiating.”

Snowpiercer tells the story of a group of people who survive during the second Ice Age by traveling around inside a massive locomotive. When problems arise between the classes, a revolution begins. Unfortunately, a US release date isn’t available as of this writing.

What do you think about the changes Harvey Weinstein wants to make to Snowpiercer?

[Image via The Weinstein Company]