Let Parasite have its moment.
The Bong Joon-ho-directed film made history at the Academy Awards this year as it became the first film not in the English language to win the Best Picture award. In the stunning-but-welcomed upset, the thriller triumphed over fellow acclaimed films like Quentin Tarantino’s Once Up on a Time … in Hollywood, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.
When the cast and crew took to the stage to accept the trophy, they were, understandably emotional. (As were we!) First, producer Kwak Sin-ae took the mic, saying the victory feels like “a very opportune moment in history.” But when producer Miky Lee tried to have a few words, the mic was turned off and the cameras panned to presenter Jane Fonda to close the show.
The audience wasn’t having it, though. People shouted and booed and clamored until a general cheer of “Up, up, up!” rang through the Dolby Theater. As the cameras panned the room, viewers could see Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, and Margot Robbie were joining in on the chant. Ultimately, the Oscars producers caved, and turned the mic on again. The crowd cheered.
When the audio resumed, Miky Lee gave some well-deserved praise to director Bong Joon-ho. “Thank you for being you,” she said. “I like everything about him: his crazy hair, the way he talks, the way he walks, and especially the way he directs.”
Thankfully, so did the Academy.