The Bong Joon Ho-directed film marks the first Asian winner of a screenplay Oscar, while the ‘Jojo Rabbit’ helmer is the first Academy Award winner of Maori descent.

AceShowbiz –
“Parasite” continues to make history during this award season. The South Korean film nabbed the Best Original Screenplay at the 92nd annual Academy Awards, which is currently airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The black comedy thriller film was written by Bong Joon Ho, who also directed the film, and Han Jin Won. This marks the first Asian movie ever to claim the original screenplay Oscar. The movie beat out other nominees, including “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Quentin Tarantino), “Marriage Story” (Noah Baumbach), “1917” (Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns) and “Knives Out” (Rian Johnson).

“Thank you, great honor,” Bong Joon Ho said when accepting the award. He dedicated the win to his country, saying, “We never write to represent our country, but this is very personal to South Korea.” He also thanked his “wise wife” and the film’s actors, who stood on the stage behind him. Han Jin Won additionally showed her gratitude to the Korean film industry in her speech.

The Best Adapted Screenplay, meanwhile, went to Taika Waititi who wrote and directed “Jojo Rabbit“. It’s the first Oscar win for the filmmaker and makes him the first person of Maori descent to win an Oscar.

Waititi, who is also known for his work on Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok“, credited his mother for his win, revealing that she gave him the book on which the film was based. He dedicated the award to “all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and write and dance and who are the original storytellers.”

Other nominees in Best Adapted Screenplay category were “The Irishman” (Steven Zaillian), “Joker” (Todd Phillips and Scott Silver), “Little Women (2019)” (Greta Gerwig) and “The Two Popes” (Anthony McCarten).

Both “Parasite” and “Jojo Rabbit” won an award each in the same category at the 2020 WGA Awards, so their Oscars win was not really a surprise. They are also vying for the Best Picture Award against “1917”, “The Irishman”, “Joker”, “Little Women”, “Marriage Story“, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Ford v Ferrari“.