Oscars 2020: Bong Joon Ho wins Best Director for 'Parasite', pips stalwarts Scorsese, Tarantino and Mendes
Bong Joon Ho bagged the 'Academy Award for Best Director' for 'Parasite' at the 92nd Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Sunday. The award was announced by Spike Lee. Talking about the award, Joon Ho said: "Thank you, after winning best international feature I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax."
The director also quoted Scorsese. "I studied his films in school and I never thought I would win," he said. "And Todd and Sam are great directors I admire. I would love to get a Texas Chainsaw and share the award with all of you," he said to a rapturous response from the crowd.
Other nominees in the category included: Martin Scorsese ('The Irishman'), Todd Philips ('Joker'), Sam Mendes ('1917'), Quentin Tarantino and ('Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'). 'Parasite' was nominated for six categories and the black comedy-thriller has currently swept three awards.
Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Choi Woo-Shik, and Park So-dam, and follows the members of a poor household who scheme to become employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating the household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals.
'Parasite' has had a staggering run at the awards so far. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, it won the award for 'Best Foreign Language Film'. It received four nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Film Not in the English Language, 'Best Original Screenplay.' It also became the first non-English film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for 'Outstanding Performance' by a Cast in a Motion Picture.