The Writers Guild of America has officially booted Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar from its membership after determining the two worked on HBO’s 2024 miniseries “The Sympathizer” during the 2023 writers’ strike.
The seven-episode adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning 2015 novel starred Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr., and was co-created by Park and McKellar. The guild says neither filmmaker contested their expulsion.
Park, 61, whom I was surprised to learn was even a member of the WGA, remains one of South Korea’s most internationally celebrated filmmakers, with credits including “Oldboy” and The Handmaiden (2016). His latest film, “No Other Choice,” will compete at this month’s Venice Film Festival.
The WGA has been gradually revealing names of strike violators, noting in a memo to members that the board had decided to make all disciplinary outcomes public. Seven writers were previously disciplined, with some penalties upheld and others overturned following member votes earlier this year.
While the guild did not release details on the specific violations committed by Park, and McKellar, it’s quite obvious what the rule they violated. Writers were obligated to put their pens down and stop writing the minute the WGA strike began.
“The Sympathizer,” which starred Robert Downey Jr, had filming taking place from November 2022 through May 2023. The WGA strike began in May 2023, so the only conclusion I can come up with is that there some on-set rewrites during the final month of shooting on Park’s series.