Having previously acquired the distribution rights to Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer, The Weinstein Company is reportedly cutting out as much as 20 minutes from the film for its release in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, according to IF.com.au. Film festival programmer Tony Rayns told the site that Weinstein is making the cuts so the film can be more accessible to American audiences. Director Bong Joon-ho has said the cuts would “eliminate much of the character detail, which would make the film seem more like an action movie.” It is also reported that Weinstein is adding opening and closing voice overs to the film.
The film, based on the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige,” is set in a future where, after a failed experiment to stop global warming, an Ice Age kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snow Piercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews.
Chris Evans, Song Kangho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Brewmner, Alison Pill, John Hurt and Ed Harris star in the thriller. A North American release date has yet to be set.
