Now and Ben: Bong Joon Ho on Mickey 17, British winters & his iPad obsession

It’s ‘Mickey 17’ release day, and Ben is chatting to Director Bong Joon Ho in today’s episode to celebrate.

Starring Robert Pattinson as an expendable worker on a colonized ice planet, the new film from Korean cinema’s modern master sees protagonist Mickey ‘re-printed’ over and over again. Frequently killed in his dangerous daily tasks, ‘human printing technology’ allows Mickey to be simply reborn, with his memories intact. But when he makes it back to base unexpectedly alive one day, he finds he’s already been reprinted—coming face to face with his latest iteration. His girlfriend may be loving it, but the law, upheld by Mark Ruffalo’s villainous Marshall, is not.

Ben sits down with the ‘Parasite’ Oscar winner, and his legendary translator Sharon Choi, to unpack this dark comedy sci-fi satire... to name some of the genres this madcap movie might be. Nobody makes them like Director Bong. He reveals the secret real-life location of his ice-planet (complete with mountains of salt standing in for snow), the challenges of working with two Robert Pattinsons, and his obsession with his comfort-blanket iPad.

Check out the ‘Now and Ben’ back catalogue for more conversations with cinema’s most exciting creative talents, including four-time Oscar winning director of ‘Anora’, Sean Baker, ‘Peaky Blinders’ writer Steven Knight, and Hollywood royalty Angela Bassett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices