Oscar Hopeful Octavia Spencer Joins Sci-Fi Drama Snow Piercer
Posted 02.05.12 by BrentJS
The cast of Korean director Bong Joon-ho's (The Host) first English-language movie, the post-apocalyptic drama Snow Piercer, was already impressive, but it just got even better. Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans was the first to sign on, but he was soon joined by two-time Academy Award-nominated actor John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton). Now, the cast has gained another Oscar contender as THR reports Octavia Spencer (The Help) has also joined the cast.
An adaptation of '70s French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, Snow Piercer was originally written by Park Chan-wook, the director of the 2004 Korean adaptation of Oldboy, but Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay adaptation. The movie is set in the future after a failed experiment to stop global warming has kicked off another Ice Age. All life on the planet has died off except for the passengers aboard the Snow Piercer, a train powered by a perpectual-motion engine that circles the globe. Over time, a class system evolves on the train, but a revolt threatens to destroy the fragile society. There has been no word on the characters that Evans, Hurt and Swinton will be playing, but THR has revealed that Spencer will play one of the passengers who "joins the revolt in order to save her son."