UPDATE: A representative for CJ Entertainment has clarified that the company is not currently in formal discussions or negotiations to remake the film.
If you’re a film and TV fan, there are certain terms that are likely always going to send a shiver down your spine. “Reboot,” “revival,” “spin-Off,” and other terms just get thrown around so much, and almost always point to an inferior project. And perhaps at the top of that spine-tingling list is “American remake.” Sadly, it appears that trend of taking a critically-acclaimed foreign language work and Americanizing it for those that don’t like subtitles is alive and well, with the latest victim, err, example being Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite.”
That’s right, according to IndieWire, CJ Entertainment, the company that brought audiences the recent Palme d’Or-winning film “Parasite,” is in early discussions about adapting the film for an English-speaking audience.
Francis Chung, vice president global business and head of U.S. productions at CJ Entertainment, said, “We are in very early talks right now [about ‘Parasite’].”
After it’s award-winning premiere at Cannes, Bong Joon-ho’s family drama/thriller has seen a huge box office debut in its home country of South Korea. And considering it’s easily one of the most anticipated films of the year for many who read this website, it’s clear why CJ Entertainment would be interested in remaking the film for a wider audience. But as Jeff Goldblum so famously said the studio is “so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Of course, “Parasite” is far from the only foreign-language film that has been given the American remake treatment. And with many of them, the American versions become so popular that people tend to forget that there was even another version to begin with.
If they do move forward with a “Parasite” remake, it’ll be interesting to see who they get to adapt it. Bong Joon-ho has worked on English-language films in the past, with “Okja” and “Snowpiercer.” So, it wouldn’t be completely crazy to think that some studio would pay him a lot of money to revisit the film. However, that doesn’t strike me as something that would interest the filmmaker.
Either way, if you are someone that would rather check out the original film instead of waiting for the American remake, “Parasite” is scheduled for an October 11 release courtesy of NEON.