Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” has found a North American distributor.
Neon has acquired the North American rights to the South Korean auteur’s latest, which is expected to premiere later this year at Venice.
“No Other Choice” is based on Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel “The Ax.” It follows a middle-aged man who is laid off from his longtime job and becomes increasingly desperate. When he discovers the other people who are up for the same position he starts … thinning out the competition. The novel was previously adapted in 2005 by Costa-Gavras (his daughter is one of the producers of the new film).
Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin play the husband and wife, with a supporting cast that includes Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won and Yoo Yeon-seok.
Neon and CJ ENM previously teamed on “Parasite,” which was a critical darling and awards powerhouse, eventually becoming the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Neon also acquired the rights to Park’s masterpiece “Oldboy,” which they remastered and re-released.
“No Other Choice” was produced by Park and Back Jisun of Moho Film and Michèle Ray Gavras and Alexandre Gavras of KG Productions, and executive produced by Miky Lee of CJ Group.
Park’s last film was the Hitchcockian thriller “Decision to Leave” from 2022. He also co-created “The Sympathizer” for HBO in 2024, ultimately directing three episodes and writing seven episodes. He also co-wrote and produced the Netflix historical epic “Uprising” in 2024.
