X first reported here back in June that Bong Joon-Ho (The Host) planned to adapt the French sci-fi comic Le Transperceneige for the silver screen. In August Todd unveiled the news that Bong's producer would be none other than Park Chan-wook (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Now Variety reveals that not only will the film be in English, it will also be one of the costliest productions to emerge from the peninsula. The project is an adaptation of a French graphic novel by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. Remarking the biblical underpinnings of the story, Variety writes "With shades of Noah's Ark, story is set on a train that is the last refuge for human civilization on the run from a devastating ice age. Train is a microcosm of human society with its different classes of passenger mirroring different political and social strata." Park and associate producer June Lee are at the American Film Market this week in order to promote the special effects-laden enterprise to buyers. They will be meeting with Hollywood studios and American-based talent agents to line up distribution deals and an English-language screenwriter. Casting has already begun, and shooting is expected to begin next year.
Source: Variety
Huh... I was under the impression this project was a few years away from production. Nice to see it on the fast track though.
Alistair -- I appreciate your comments. According to 6bears.com, Jacques Lob conceived the idea of Transperneige with Alexis in the 70s, but the death of the latter set back the appearance of the minor masterpiece. From 1982 onward, the story was published in the magazine "A suivre" [To be continued] with Jean-Marc Rochette. Jean-Marc Rochette, together with Benjamin Legrand - replacing Lob, who died in 1990 - created the 2nd volume of this unforgettable story.
Readers can view a page of the work of Jean-Marc Rochette & Jacques Lob at this address:
http://www.bulledair.com/index.php?rubrique=planche&album=transperceneige1
Thank you very much for the response. It is an amazing comic.
I love the fact that two Koreans are adapting a French comic book into an English language film. There's your global economy!
The comic is really a good one ; one piece of fatalism... hahah
you're right Justin, it's so like globalization. It's the same when Luc Besson turns a french story in english... The next part of globalization will be an american director who shoot a japanese story in wolof :D
It's rather sad, what with regular reports at KBS World and other sites of promises of cooperation between the French & Korean film industries, to see where the actual power (and money) are. I recall how supportive the French were of Korean directors when initial word of reducing the screen quota got out. I could be dead wrong, but I think that if KOFIC modeled itself on the CNC, it's surpassed the French in promoting and supporting domestic production. The French seem to like conducting surveys and collecting data, while the Korean organization goes to great lengths to make largely unknown directors familiar to the world. Like everyone else here I imagine, I prefer my Korean films in Korean, but I have to confess, I'm still eager to see what comes of Im Sang-soo's next project, to be shot entirely in France.
Is there an English translation of the graphic novel available?