NEON has acquired the North American rights to South Korea's top filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite from CJ Entertainment. The highly-anticipated drama marks Bong's comeback to Korean language film following Okja and Snowpiercer, and his fourth collaboration with Song Kang-Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host, Memories of Murder) who stars in the film. Parasite marks the 5th collaboration with NEON CEO, Tom Quinn and director Bong Joon-Ho. Quinn released Bong’s Snowpiercer to become one of the highest grossing multi-platform titles of all time while at the helm of RADiUS.
Penned by Bong, Parasite is a peculiar tale about two families who are worlds apart yet somewhat alike, portraying a striking reality of the world we live in. The film, which just wrapped production, also stars Lee Sun-Kyun (A Hard Day, Our Sunhi), Cho Yeo-Jeong (Obsessed), Choi Woo-Shik (Okja, Train to Busan), Park So-Dam (The Priests), and Chang Hyae-Jin (Poetry).
Director Bong remarked, “We’re very excited to partner with Tom Quinn and the team at NEON, it’s like reuniting a great team of old friends."
Kwak Sin Ae and Jang Young Hwan from Barunson E&A Corp are producing, with CJ Entertainment handling international sales and set to distribute in Korea.
The deal was negotiated by NEON and CJ Entertainment on behalf of the filmmakers. NEON is planning a 2019 theatrical release.
NEON most recently acquired some of the most anticipated titles at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, including Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman, which will be released on December 7th, Tom Harper’s Wild Rose starring Jessie Buckley, and The Biggest Little Farm which made its acclaimed debut in Telluride. Coming off its success with Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers, NEON released Ali Abassi’s Border to one of the best foreign language openings of the year.
About NEON
2018 was a record-breaking year for NEON, with the release of Craig Gillespie’s runaway hit I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie and the Academy Award® winner for best supporting actress, Allison Janney, as well as Matt Spicer's Sundance and Independent Spirit Award-Winner Ingrid Goes West. Two years after inception, the company continues to push the boundaries and take creative risks on bold content.
NEON acquired three of the most talked about features at this year’s Sundance Film Festival: Reinaldo Marcus Green's Monsters & Men, winner of the Sundance Dramatic Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature; Sam Levinson's Assassination Nation; and Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling which has just surpassed $13m at the box office. Upcoming releases include: Border, Sweden’s entry for best Foreign Language film; Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum; and Todd Douglas Miller’s Apollo 11.
After their successful collaboration on I, Tonya, in January 2018, 30WEST (Dan Friedkin's and Micah Green's strategic venture) partnered with NEON's Tom Quinn (Founder & CEO) and Tim League (Co-Founder) to become majority investors in the company.
