The notoriously meticulous executive has a reputation for trimming the fat (or, in some instances, the meat and bones) of certain films to make them more palatable for your average moviegoer; so much so that he acquired the nickname “Harvey Scissorhand.”
His latest casualty is Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer, which grossed more than $21 million in the filmmaker’s home country.
That’s a lotta dough, right? But Weinstein and company didn’t think it would fare so well in the U.S., so they cut about 20 minutes of dialogue and added voiceovers to the beginning and end, presumably to add that Hollywood sheen for American audiences.
Which would all be fine and dandy if execs for The Weinstein Company (TWC) hadn’t specifically mentioned Oklahoma moviegoers as being a reason for the dummyfication.
Film critic and programmer Tony Rayns told IF.com that TWC
“people have told Bong that their aim is to make sure the film ‘will be
understood by audiences in Iowa … and Oklahoma.’” We suppose we’re
grateful that at least Iowans are as slow as we are. It will give us
Okies someone to sit next to at the next Rob Schneider movie.
This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2013.