Film critic and programmer Tony Rayns attended the July 29th Seoul premiere of Snowpiercer and received word about Weinstein's plan to gut the film for US audiences. "TWC people have told Bong that their aim is to make sure the film 'will be understood by audiences in Iowa ... and Oklahoma.'" In other words, they think a certain section of the US will be too dumb to grasp certain elements of the movie. Rayns continues, "Leaving aside the issue of what Weinstein thinks of its audience, it seems to say the least anomalous that the rest of the English-speaking world has to be dragged down to the presumed level of American mid-west hicks." Rayns spoke to director Bong Joon-ho who told him that the majority of the cuts would come "in the form of character detail", basically turning what is apparently a deep and thought provoking sci-fi film into a straightforward action movie -- and as if that wasn't enough, voiceovers will now be added to the opening and closing of the film. Rayns reckons the UK will be protesting the cuts and he hopes that Australia will follow suit, but it's unlikely that American audiences will escape "Harvey Scissorhands'" dumbed down version of Snowpierecer. Thoughts?
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.