“I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax,” said Parasite director Bong Joon Ho via his translator Sharon Choi when he took the stage to accept the Oscar for Best Director. Bong collected his second Oscar for the night as he already collected trophies for Best International Feature Film as well as Best Original Screenplay along with Jin Won Han
While on stage he was very gracious and cited a quote when it comes to his work: “”When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is, the most personal is the most creative.” This quote came from his fellow nominee Martin Scorsese.
The audience proceeded to give The Irishman director a standing ovation before Bong went on to give love to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Quentin Tarantino for constantly recognizing his work. He also praised Joker‘s Todd Phillips and 1917′s
Sam Mendes and then said he wish he had a Texas chainsaw to cut the trophy up into five pieces to share with his fellow nominees.
“I never thought I would win,” said Bong. He added, “I will drink until morning.”
Bong is the first South Korean filmmaker to win an Oscar for best director and Parasite is the first Korean film to win the Best International film prize. Since 2010, nine out of the 10 winners for Best Director have not been American.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.