Through objects from his personal archive, Bong Joon Ho reveals his inspirations and creative processes for his films including Snowpiercer, Parasite and Mickey 17
Published with Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
From his earliest short films through his international breakthrough The Host and the Oscar-winning Parasite, the films of Bong Joon Ho defy simple categorization. Whether set in 1980s Korea or an imagined future time and space, they address issues that are transnational and universal: class disparity, social injustice, the environmental crisis and political and moral corruption. Bong embeds social critique into deeply humorous, unexpected and thought-provoking stories, and his protagonists are everyday people--often unlikely heroes--who confront the absurdities of modern life. With unprecedented access to the filmmaker's archive and personal collection, Bong Joon Ho: Director's Inspiration features storyboards, notebooks, concept art, models, props, behind-the-scenes photography and more. The book includes a new interview with Bong by film scholar Nam Lee, essays by exhibition curator Michelle Puetz and film critic Amy Taubin, and personal reflections by friends and colleagues that give insight into the Academy Award-winning director's inspirations and creative process.
Bong Joon Ho (born 1969) is an Oscar-winning director and writer whose films include Memories of Murder, The Host, Mother, Snowpiercer, Okja and Mickey 17. His 2019 film Parasite was the first South Korean film to win the Palme D'Or at Cannes and the first non-English film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
"Horror opened me up to new possibilities for survival ... I saw power in freakery and transgression and wondered if it could be mine."
The relationship between horror films and the LGBTQ+ community? It's complicated. Haunted houses, forbidden desires and the monstrous can have striking resonance for those who've been marginalised. But the genre's murky history of an alarmingly heterosexual male gaze, queer-coded villains and sometimes blatant homophobia, is impossible to overlook. There is tension here, and there are as many queer readings of horror films as there are queer people.
Edited by Joe Vallese, and with contributions by writers including Kirsty Logan and Carmen Maria Machado, the essays in It Came from the Closet bring the particulars of the writers' own experiences, whether in relation to gender, sexuality, or both, to their unique interpretations of horror films from Jaws to Jennifer's Body.
Exploring a multitude of queer experiences from first kisses and coming out to transition and parenthood, this is a varied and accessible collection that leans into the fun of horror while taking its cultural impact and reciprocal relationship to the LGBTQ+ community seriously.
An exclusive look at one of the 21st century's most iconic and distinctive American filmmakers, replete with archival materials and contributions from beloved Hollywood voices
An archive is always a time machine, but the archives of Wes Anderson take us on a journey not just through time, but through layers of stories and the experiences of storytelling--on paper and on film. This volume chronicles these stories with a deep dive into Anderson's personal archive, celebrating his 30-plus years in cinema. From the start of his career, he has maintained a rich library of notebooks, drawings, paintings, Polaroids, props, puppets, sets and costumes from his films. Presented here, these objects are enhanced and illuminated by Anderson's long-time collaborators, including actors Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton; composer Alexandre Desplat; musician Seu Jorge; and music supervisor Randall Poster. The book also features an extensive interview with Anderson himself, reflecting on his films and working process.
Wes Anderson: The Archives accompanies the first retrospective exhibition of Anderson's work, curated by La Cinémathèque française in Paris and the Design Museum in London. It is the first book to be produced in such close partnership with the filmmaker himself.
Wes Anderson, born in 1969 in Houston, Texas, is a renowned American filmmaker celebrated for his unique visual style, quirky characters and whimsical storytelling. His most notable works include The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The French Dispatch (2021). Anderson has received numerous awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Grand Budapest Hotel, as well as multiple Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards.
