Things are moving swimmingly for OKJA, the upcoming monster flick from THE HOST director Bong Joon-ho. The film is currently in pre-production, and it's been announced that Netflix and Brad Pitt's Plan B shingle have joined the project as backers, with Netflix investing and Plan B co-producing. It has also been confirmed that Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald will indeed star in Bong's SNOWPIERCER follow-up.
Bong on Netflix and Plan B teaming up for OKJA:
It really is a fantastic opportunity for me as a film maker. For ‘Okja,’ I needed a bigger budget than I had for ‘Snowpiercer’ and also complete creative freedom. Netflix offered me the two conditions that are difficult to have in hand simultaneously. Also, Plan B Entertainment has also produced bold and daring films. I expect the adventurousness of Plan B to blend with ‘Okja'.
Bong went on to reveal some new details on his creature feature, which will follow "a rural girl from Korea’s Gang-won Province who travels between Korea and the US," with 40% of the film set in the US and the other 60% in Korea.
It is a bulky animal, but with a mild and kind spirit. The film is about a warm friendship between a country girl and a brute with stories. To me, the crazy world surrounding Okja and the girl looks more like a monster. I want to depict the two characters’ bizarre journey and adventure across the tough world in an original fashion.
Production on OKJA will begin this April, and the film is expected to hit US theaters in the first half of 2017.