It’s funny to be talking about a remake to a film that I know most of you haven’t had the chance to see yet, but it’s in the works anyways. The Korean film “The Host” (which I thought was really good… but not quite as good some people who seem a little too overly generous with slapping the term “GENIUS” on any Asian film with a subtitle) has been going around smashing a few international markets box office records and has generated a lot of buzz (you can see my review of it from January below).
So, it should come as no surprise that Universal has picked up the rights to do a North American remake of The Host… and they’ll probably get started on it pretty damn soon to take advantage of the existing buzz. The director of The Host (Bong Joon-ho) seems to have a really good perspective on the news:
“If The Host [remake] comes out, and there’s a cool director who takes it on and makes it a real great film, then I’d be very happy… On the other hand, if it’s just crap, I think I’d be happy, too, because then people would be like, ‘Oh, yeah, Bong’s original was really good.’ So, for me, it’s a win-win situation. But Universal has a tradition of doing horror and creature films, so I anticipate that they will do a great film.”
Now, I know what some of you are going to say: “This is stupid. They should just give the original a wider release here in North America”! And I can sympathize with that thought… however… it doesn’t take reality into consideration. Generally speaking, the North American movie going audience doesn’t embrace subtitled films. It’s sad that this is the case… and I wish it wasn’t so… but it is the case nonetheless. It therefore makes a lot more sense for Universal to take the story, and remake it in a form that will be better received by North American audiences. You really can’t blame them.
I loved that Bong Joon-Ho quote too. The guy has a really good way of looking at it.
Still… if you get the chance to see the Original, do it. I think most people would like it.
(Here is the original review I did for The Host back in January)
