Fresh off wins at the Critics Choice and the Golden Globes, it’s clear that the industry shows no sign of ever stopping from drinking up every drop of the soda pop that is Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters.
On Thursday morning, the film picked up both Animated Feature and Original Song for “Golden,” which broke records on the Billboard and Spotify charts and was recently nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year.
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Speaking to Deadline, co-directors and co-writers Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans reflected on the grueling nights that brought them to this golden moment and the affirmations of taking a chance on making a quirky, exciting and empowering animated story infused with Korean culture. “I have 14 years of experience making other people’s movies. And I felt like, OK, it’s time to do something that I wanted to see. I’ve been wanting to work on a movie like this and just waited and waited,” Kang said. “As somebody who kind of grew up in the industry, you start to see behind the veil about how these things are made. And you ask yourself, ‘Can I do this? Can I take on a movie? Can I write a dialogue that is going to be spoken and millions of people around the world are going to listen or hear it?’ And apparently, that is how things get made. So, I said that it was my turn to do that now. And it was scary pitching an original movie, but I believed so much in the possibility of what this concept could become.”
Appelhans added, “Animation is an awesome community filled with really passionate people who love the medium, and there’s a shared love across all the studios and films. This is a very personal film for both of us. It was weird and hard, and there were a lot of things we were doing that didn’t have a roadmap, which was even harder. Then, on top of that, it was hard to figure out how to integrate music in the way that we did. Then it was hard to get everyone to buy into these female characters. Then it was hard to fight for the Korean-ness to be in the DNA of every scene. But then here we are [in awards season], and we get this acknowledgement from our peers, and it’s essentially them saying to you, ‘I see what you did.’ And that means a lot. It’s game recognizing game.”
Considering that KPop Demon Hunters is Netflix’s most-streamed movie to date, Kang reflected further about the journey from concept to screen. Despite many years in the making and many late nights mulling over decisions, the team refused to cave in to the pressures that come with making an animated feature. “As a director, you run into times when you’re like, ‘Is this crazy? Is this concept stupid? Are people going to like this?’ Then you start to gather a crew, and when Chris came on, he was like, ‘This is amazing.’ So, you just feel energized every time someone comes in to contribute and thinks it’s amazing too. So, you start to really believe that this dream can come true with all these people coming in. And then, when you’re working those late nights, it’s hard, but you think more about not letting down all those people who believe in you and your vision. That’s what got me through those late nights. I just kept believing in this idea from seven years ago. Chris and I operated from a place of, let’s just put everything out there and not have any regrets. Let’s take things as far as we want to take it. And I’m so glad we did, because it’s so validating that our weird ideas and sensibilities lead us here.”
Co-songwriter EJAE also noted that she was ecstatic about “Golden” getting nominated for Original Song, calling it “incredibly surreal” to have worked with her co-writing partners Mark Sonnenblick and fellow HUNTR/X group members REI AMI and Audrey Nuna. “Being a part of this film has made so many different dreams come true at once. I never thought I would ever perform live. I never thought my song would be on the Billboard Hot 100. I never thought I would be part of a film, let alone one about Korea, where I’m from. So, this means everything to me and I’m proud of everybody who worked on the film, and all the hard work is paying off.”
When asked to tease anything at all about the inevitable and upcoming sequel movie, currently set to release in 2029, Kang and Appelhans form a friendly cone of silence: “There’s a lot to say but nothing we can say right now,” Kang said with a laugh.
But how about EJAE? How is she dealing with the pressure of a sophomore comeback when the heights reached in the first film are already at record-breaking highs? She’s cool as a cucumber when she answers. “I’m always thinking about that. That’s part of my songwriting process. How do I get better? There’s nothing new going on right now. I’m continuing to watch movies and listening to a lot of different music. I’ll continue to keep working hard. I put a lot of pressure on myself anyway, because I am my worst critic and a perfectionist. I’ll just keep hustling.”
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