Director Quotes

My movies are based in genre, which is a universal language. Everybody speaks it.

I view myself as a genre film director. I do make genre films, but I don't like to follow the conventional codes for genre films. I try to convey messages about society through these broken codes, and this time I'm very pleased indeed to have been able to make the film with these fabulous actors. We have all these very peculiar stories which I love and which are portrayed by the various actors. I think we've obtained a very, very satisfying result and I'd like to thank all the actors up here with me.

I follow my instinct — that's what I always try to do. For example, a priest has a Bible next to him and the lawyers use the book of laws, but we directors have no Bible — we just have our instinct. For example, if something doesn't go well in the course of the day, we go back home and we watch the films of our mentors, Hitchcock in my case, Claude Chabrol, Ki-young Kim. I watch their interviews as well — that's the kind of thing I do for the time being.

I work a lot on my storyboard but I don't necessarily think specifically about that i.e., at this point in time it's going to be comedy, at the next moment it's going to be drama. I follow my instinct when I'm shooting — I don't calculate everything in detail i.e., will the gin & tonic be made with 40 per cent of gin and 60 per cent of tonic? I focus basically on the situation, the actual moment in time. I think spectators are more used to seeing genre films. As a director, quite frankly, I don't think about all these things in any conscious way. It's when I look at the end result, the final film, I suddenly realise, yes, maybe this scene looks very carefully thought out beforehand, but that's not the case.

No matter where I am working, I cannot make a film without 100% creative control and final cut. If there is such a guarantee, I can work anywhere. As I know that Hollywood does not work that way I don’t have any solid plans to work there at this time.

I am a fan of the monster and horror genre but that’s not my style as a director. I don’t get attached to a genre or use one as a starting point for a project. It’s always about a certain impulse I feel towards a person or a story that starts a project for me and whatever that is decides the genre. For me, the genre is not the goal but a result. The unexpected success of THE HOST can be mentally burdening sometimes but in its aftermath, my work has become more free and risk-taking. This is what I am striving for.