Netflix IncHuang Dong-hyuk, the writer and director of the hit South Korean drama Squid Game, said in a recent interview that the success of the Squid Game did not bring him great wealth.
"I'm not that rich," he said. But I have enough money. I have enough money to support my family. "
He added: "Netflix Inc didn't give me a bonus. Netflix Inc paid me according to the original contract. "
The South Korean survival drama became the most watched show ever seen by Netflix Inc in its first month of release, with more than 132 million users watching for at least two minutes. In fact, according to Netflix Inc's internal documents, the company estimates that the show, which cost about $21 million to produce, will create a value of nearly $900m for it.
Huang Donghe, 50, said he drew inspiration from his family's financial difficulties when writing the script. He said he went bankrupt while writing the screenplay and had to sell his laptop for $675 at one point.
In addition, the pressure to produce programs for Netflix Inc was so great that he lost six teeth. "it's exhausting. In the course of filming, I kept coming up with new ideas and revising the show, so the workload increased exponentially. "
However, Huang Donghe hinted that the second season of the Squid Game may be an opportunity for him to strive for more revenue. "of course there are rumors," he said. This is inevitable because it is so successful. I'm thinking about it. I have a very high-level picture in my mind, but I won't start to do it right away. I really want to make a movie. I'm thinking about which one to do first. I'm going to talk to Netflix Inc. "
Despite the dark theme, squid games have become a global phenomenon, spawning countless memes, videos, this year's most popular Halloween costumes and some real-life "squid games" challenges, of course, eliminating the risk of death.
This is what Hwang Dong-hyuk has always thought. "I want to create works that resonate not only from Koreans, but also from all over the world," he said. This is my dream. We live in a world of squid games. "
He said that he did not make a "profound" statement on capitalism, "very simple!" I believe that the global economic order is generally unequal, and about 90% of people think it is unfair. During the pandemic, people in poorer countries could not be vaccinated. They were infected with the virus and even died in the street. So I do try to send a message about modern capitalism. Like I said, it's not esoteric. "
Huang Donghe said: "when I am working on this project, my goal is to stay at the top of Netflix Inc's US ranking for at least one day." But in the end, it achieved even greater success, becoming the most watched program in Netflix Inc's history. This is very surprising. This shows that the global audience resonates with the message I want to express. "