Mickey 17 is Bong Joon-ho’s first film since he won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for Parasite. He is among the few directors and certainly even fewer non-western directors to be an audience draw, no matter who the stars are. Which is why it’s been such a conversation, all these changes in release dates for the film which is finally scheduled for release at the end of the month in South Korea and on March 7 everywhere else – even though filming was completed over two years ago. Originally it was supposed to be March 2024. Then they pushed to January 2025, then April 2025, and now it’s March.
Word is Director Bong and the studio were in disagreement over the final cut. Since with this Warner Bros title, there was also the David Zaslav of it all, and whether or not he was interfering with the artist and blah blah blah concerns about whether or not it will perform at the box office. Cinephiles, in general, were like, how dare you, this is man is an auteur. In the end, according to Director Bong, he prevailed – we will see his cut.
The world premiere of Mickey 17 happened last night in London (the cast was junketing there this week which means they did actually put some budget behind this since reporters were brought in) so now we have our first reactions. And it does not sound like it’s a flop, at least not critically. Though some have been slightly more reserved in their initial response, the reserve I’ve seen is basically a quibble. Most of it, at this point, has been praise. Adam McKay’s even weighing in, offering his thoughts on the film and engaging in the comments below about how frighteningly timely it is.
Whether or not Mickey 17 will be accessible on the financial level that they’re hoping for remains to be seen. But one of the box office factors here is Robert Pattinson and he, too, reportedly was part of the reason why the release date changed – his availability for press and promotion was critical. And, as we have seen, Rob has definitely come to play. We saw how game he was in Korea, we’re about to see whatever nonsense he’ll be bringing to his junket interviews when they start rolling out after this week’s junket, and last night on the red carpet…
This is an excellent suit, I love the length of the jacket, the pin on the lapel, the fit of the pants, and that he wore it without a shirt underneath.
Also note these shoes and the satin wrap around the toe!
Steven Yeun’s suit is also great – oversized cargo pants, sort of 80s balloon cut but contemporary. God this man is fine. And the two films he’s currently promoting happen to co-star Twilight’s Bella and Edward, LOL. Love Me, his movie with Kristen Stewart, will be released on streaming next week.
Other Mickey 17 team members in London include the film’s villain, Mark Ruffalo, Anamaria Vartolomei, Naomi Ackie, and the consistently brilliant Toni Collette, who makes everything better. We don’t talk about this enough, do we? How universally appreciated Toni is? “Toni Collette, meh” is what no one has ever said or thought, anywhere at any time.
And LOOK AT HER. In this shimmering caped dress, feeling the sh-t out of herself, as she should!
This may be her best look of all time, WOWWWW. Look closely, can you see the purple beading scattered across the bust and down her waist? It’s so… unexpected and subtle. But when you realise it’s there, there’s a spark of delight at the discovery. This is a challenge to the BAFTAs on Sunday. Level up everyone, because Toni just threw it down!
