'Hope' director offended by remark from reporter at Cannes

"Hope" director Na Hong-jin on Monday said that he was "offended" by a reporter’s comment that said she did not recognize the film’s Asian cast at a press event following the sci-fi action movie's debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The reporter, after addressing actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, said, "I don't know the rest of you," seemingly in reference to the Korean lead actors Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon and Canadian actress Taylor Russell, who were also present at the press conference.

“I felt offended hearing something like that,” Na said at a press conference for “Hope” at a theater in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, when asked about the comment made at Cannes.

"But I didn't think that was the place to say I was offended," he said. "I don't want to talk about that anymore."

The incident had drawn wide attention in Korea, with many onlookers calling the comment "racist" as the reporter at Cannes did not acknowledge the Asian cast or Russell, who is of Jamaican descent.

Na had responded then to the reporter's question — whether he had cast Fassbender and Vikander, a married couple, as a "package" deal — that he had long admired Fassbender and cast each actor separately. 

The director on Monday also said he cast Hwang in "Hope" as police chief Bum-seok because he had written the scenario with the actor,  whom he had worked with in the occult thriller "The Wailing" (2016), in mind. Na added that he asked Zo to play a hunter after hearing good things from director Ryoo Seung-wan, who worked with Zo on the movie "Smugglers" (2023) and recently, "Humint"; and Jung as a rookie police officer after being recommended by Hwang.

"Hope" releases in Korea on July 15 and in the Unites States and Canada in September.