Bong Joon Ho Had to Lie to Harvey Weinstein To Save an Important Scene in ‘Snowpiercer’

One of the most memorable moments in the recent history of the Academy Awards is when the acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho encouraged viewers to expand their tastes, and check out more international cinema thanks to the use of subtitles. It was a suggestion that Bong was in a unique position to make, as he is one of the few filmmakers who was a success in his home country, and found just as much praise when he started making films in the English language. Bong’s first English-language film, Snowpiercer, was heavily anticipated because it was based on a very popular graphic novel. However, Bong has to tell a lie to Harvey Weinstein to save an important moment in Snowpiercer.

Bong Joon Ho Tricked Harvey Weinstein With ‘Snowpiercer’

Although it began production through Moho Film, the company owned by Bong’s fellow South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, Snowpiercer was set to be distributed in North America by The Weinstein Company. Weinstein had earned a reputation for forcing filmmakers to make cuts to their films for the sake of time, even if it contradicted what their intended vision was. Weinstein insisted that a scene involving the guards of the post-apocalyptic train gutting fish in front of the rebel militia led by Curtis Everett (Chris Evans) in order to intimidate them be cut. However, Bong claimed that the fish-gutting scene was of critical importance to him, as his father had been a fisherman. Although Weinstein insisted on removing another 25 minutes from the film, he was forced to comply when Bong’s cut of Snowpiercer had consistently scored higher with test audiences.

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Bong revealed that the “fish story” had been a lie, as he needed an excuse to save the scene for the sake of artistic authority. Although Weinstein had earned the nickname “Harvey Scizzorhands” among directors based on his refusal to give artistic control, he ceded authority to Bong after telling him that “family is the most important.” Weinstein was ultimately forced to comply with all of Bong’s suggestions after a campaign to release the director’s cut of the film was led by actors Tilda Swinton and John Hurt, as well as a passionate group of fans. In retaliation, Weinstein decided to switch Snowpiercer’s distribution to the Radius-TWC arm of his company, which would only release the film in select arthouse theaters without plans for expansion.

‘Snowpiercer’ Became a Multinational Success

Despite Weinstein’s aggressive attempts to squash its potential breakout success, Snowpiercer became a critical darling that was too beloved to ignore, as its strong performance in limited release resulted in an expansion to more theaters. Although the film certainly gained momentum thanks to the star power of Evans, who had appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier just a few months prior, it was also boosted by nearly unanimous praise, as critics hailed the timely politics, brilliant action sequences, and strong visual sensibilities that made Snowpiercer feel like such a unique amalgamation of genres. There was nothing that Weinstein could do to deny that Bong had been in the right, as Snowpiercer would eventually inspire both a graphic novel continuation and a popular TNT series of the same name that starred Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly. It also resulted in Bong’s establishment as a fixture of American cinema; he subsequently worked on the fantasy adventure epic Okja, for which Netflix gave him complete creative control and final cut.

Bong’s fight for creative control on Snowpiercer signifies why he is a great director, as he understands that it is often tiny moments that make a film iconic. While a non-creative executive like Weinstein may have only assessed the film on its length, Bong understood that it was the tiny details, such as the fish-gutting scene, that would be essential to world building. Snowpiercer was certainly not the first film to deal with class dynamics and the effects of climate change, but it was the highly specific way in which Bong anticipated that humanity would reform its society that made it feel like such a breath of fresh air. Bong has made several films that explore the darker aspects of mankind, but it is nice to know that in real life, he was able to claim victory over an actual monster.

Snowpiercer is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.