By [For the month of July, we will be covering the New York Asian Film Festival and the (also New York-based) Japan Cuts Film Festival, which together form one of the largest showcases of Asian cinema in the world. For our NYAFF coverage, head over here. For Japan Cuts, here.]
As part of our ongoing coverage of the New York Asian Film Festival, I was fortunate enough to interview Mr. Oldboy himself, Choi Min-sik while he was on his smoke break. Obviously, I had to ask him about Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake, but I went in without much expectation. Choi Min-sik is not a fan of the American studio system, and famously stopped acting for several years in protest of its influences on Korean cinema. So I thought that he would be against the remake entirely, but he’s not. He has been following the press on the project but, at the moment, isn’t planning to see the film.
That, however, is not the end of the story. I followed up with a question about his own potential involvement: “If Spike Lee came to you and asked you to cameo in the remake, what would say?”
His response, emphatically (and in English): “Yes!”
Ball’s in your court, Mr. Lee. Make it happen.