![]() ![]() “That was probably the best comment that I got. “People were telling me, ‘This is really original, how did you come up with something so strange?'” he said. “A number of laborers committed suicide a lot of them are still struggling to this day.” Hwang Dong-hyuk Getty Images for Netflixīut Hwang couldn’t get arrested. “I’m aware of what happened after the Sanyo Motors strikes,” said Hwang. What kind of games would I be willing to participate in for the money? What if they were more easy? Maybe like a child’s game? Yeah, I’d be up for it.”Īs he conjured the story, Hwang drew from his own life and his family and friends’ experiences, as well as the long labor strife at Sanyo Motors. Hwang came up with the nugget of “Squid Game” back in the 2008 recession, when he was in deep debt, and reading Japanese mangas like “Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji,” “Liar Game” and “Battle Royale.” He thought: “What if I were given the chance? Would I be up for it? Would I go enter these games? There is a huge cash prize and I’m so in need of money, but I’m too scared to to participate. We had only heard of the show being very popular in the United States, but to really see and meet with the Hollywood directors and actors who were telling me that they enjoyed the show so much - it was such a great feeling.” “I almost felt like we were at the center of attention,” said Hwang, “because so many people were coming up to our table wanting to say ‘hi’ and take photos. ![]() “Squid Game” was nominated in four categories and won three, including Best Stunt Ensemble and Best Male Actor and Female Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon, respectively. And it didn’t hit him how beloved the series was until he flew to Los Angeles for the February 27 SAG Awards, the first big live awards show after the pandemic. After a torturously long writing process, and an eight-month shoot that was so stressful that the first-time showrunner and director lost six teeth, Hwang anticipated that his first foray into episodic television might hit big in Korea.īut he didn’t expect “Squid Game” to be a global hit. Korean auteur Hwang Dong-hyuk had written and directed four local features when he intuited that Netflix might be interested in expanding his “ Squid Game” screenplay, which had been collecting dust for over a decade, into a series. Welcome to It’s a Hit! In this series, IndieWire speaks to creators and showrunners behind a few of our favorite television programs about the moment they realized their show was breaking big. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |