Park Chan-wook brands prospect of streaming killing cinemas ‘heartbreaking’

Park Chan-wook says streamers killing off cinemas would be “heartbreaking”.

The ‘Old Boy’ director, 59, added if he was handed a huge amount of funding by the likes of Netflix he would make a version of Émile Zola’s 19th Century-set book ‘La Bête Humaine’.

He told NME when asked if he thought cinemas had as bright a future as the small screen: “It’s so complicated, and things are changing by the minute. Some festivals are still excluding streaming films, and I obviously understand the concerns.

“But what complicates things is films like ‘The Irishman’ and ‘Roma’, which I adore, and which were only able to come out with the quality and budget available thanks to streaming platforms.

“It’ll be a such a heartbreaking loss if we cannot watch great films like that in theatres, but if you force me to choose, I choose to live in a world where I can still see The Irishman and Roma, by any means.”

Park, whose new detective drama film ‘Decision to Leave’ has already won him Best Director at Cannes, added when asked what he would do with a huge Netflix budget: “Do you know (French author) Émile Zola‘s book, ‘La Bête Humaine’? This didn’t really cross my mind until now, and I can’t really imagine ever having that much money in my hand, but I would absolutely love to film an adaption of that book.

“It’s set against the backdrop of the Paris railway in the 19th century, so it would cost a lot. Actually, I don’t even know if I’d need that much money… there’s another project about the citizens of Leningrad surviving the Nazi siege during the Second World War too.

“I’d love to make a survival drama about that, using the music of Shostakovich. That would probably be pretty expensive – I hope it happens!”