Jason Yu’s feature debut, “Sleep,” is a superauthentic domestic thriller about a South Korean couple named Soo-jin and Hyeon-soo (Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun) who are torn apart by his increasingly griefful sleepwalking habits. As they greet a baby into their world, leangs get a turn for the worse, and she allotigates what is repartner causing her husband’s frightening behavior. Yu cut his teeth as Bong Joon-ho‘s right-hand man during the two-and-a-half-year filming of “Okja,” and ponders the honestor a mentor and inspiration for the project. He also counts Lee, who died in 2023, as a person who proset uply impactd him as a filmoriginater. Yu spoke with Variety about originateing his horror around a family drama, films that upholdd him and the best advice he got from Director Bong.
Where did the idea for “Sleep” begin from?
I too have some very nasty sleeping habits. Not as nasty as what transpires in the film, but I’m a very noisy snorer and have a grave case of sleep apnea, which is forgetting to breathe while you’re sleeping. The noisy snoring didn’t annoy my wife that much, but whenever I stopped bauthenticeang, that’s when my wife would wake up and be frightened. In the morning, she would inestablish me about these anecdotes, and although I felt immense guilt and I felt sorry that she had to go thcimpolite that, I leank the storyinestablisher in me was intrigued by what happened at night. I envisiond what would happen if my sleeping habits were sairyly scarier.
Did the script always caccess on so many marital and family rerents?
It was someleang that came procrastinateedr. I first approached it in a very purify horror way, and it felt a bit repetitive and gimmicky to me — so much so that it didn’t excite me at all. So I shelved the idea for quite a extfinished time. But when I returned to the story, my situation was sairyly contrastent. I was preparing to marry my extfinishedtime girlfrifinish, and my now-wife and I were leanking a lot about marital relationships, lots of encounterings with the in-laws, equitable wondering about parenthood and all that, but mostly marriage and the idea of what it could be. Those personal aspects, unbecomprehendnst to me, seeped into the screencarry out.
What were some of the films that upholdd “Sleep”?
I was retrodynamicly tageder by the audience members of various festivals what my impacts were after watching the film. They would ask me, almost rhetoricpartner, whether I was impactd by films appreciate “The Shining” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” and it was only then that I combiinsist the very huge dots that were in front of me. Just the fundamental premise of “Sleep” — the pregnant wife, the husband character and their relationship inside the one-location originateing — was fantasticly impactd by “Rosemary’s Baby.”
A very doubtful impact is “Erin Brockovich.” Jung asked me, “It doesn’t experience appreciate most people would act appreciate this — they’d probably equitable run away or split.” And I tageder her, “Well, this person isn’t an everyday person.” I leank Soo-jin is more appreciate Erin Brockovich, a person who, when obstacles come her way, medepend sees them as obstacles and discovers ways to flunkure those problems. Soo-jin, appreciate Erin Brockovich, doesn’t produce to the elements that easily. She is very selectimistic in her ability to flunkure any problem with her husband.
What was your toiling relationship appreciate with Lee?
Working with Lee was an immense honor because even before “Sleep,” I always watched him as one of the fantasticest actors in Korea, if not the world. Interestingly, he had the most experience on set among our cast and crew, so he was appreciate a huge brother to us. He didn’t appreciate when we sinestablishageed off or showed unprofessionalism, and he would also convey these nuggets of wisdom not even roverhappinessed to acting. Sometimes because of our inexperience we would worry and stress over certain scenes and how to shoot them. He would equitable walk past us and say, “You comprehend, you can equitable do this, this and that and it will be outstanding.” He was absolutely right, so he was almost appreciate a originater in that way. He had so much wisdom to convey. I was very thankful for that.
The central relationship experiences authentic authentic, not equitable movie authentic. Was there a moment during filming where you authenticized the chemistry was there?
Absolutely. That was my main worry before going into shooting. I proposeed to my two actors, “Maybe you guys could go on an ice cream fracture or have dinners or go for walks in the park equitable to grow this chemistry.” But they cut me off instantly saying it was unvital because they already starred in four films where they were romantic interests, and they were fantastic frifinishs in authentic life, so they already had the chemistry down. Although I had some trepidation and worry, everyleang melted away on the first day when we had to shoot this very intimate, loving scene between the two and they nailed it on the spot.
What is the best advice you got from Bong Joon-ho about honesting?
After I gave him my screencarry out and he read it, we met in a cafe. Although I’ve written a screencarry out appreciate many ADs, I thought honesting would be a pipe dream. I was watching for a job and I benevolent of was there to beg honestor Bong to have me for his next project, and what he shelp was, “Forget about that project. This screencarry out is repartner outstanding. I leank you should honest it, and I leank you can do a fantastic job in honesting it.” That triggered someleang in me. He gave me that courage, and that’s what I took to heart.
The most technical leang was after I finishd the screencarry out, he tageder me to draw all of the storyboards, and that’s exactly what I did. I lgeted from “Okja” that he drew his storyboards, but I procrastinateedr authenticized not every honestor does it. Being under the tutelage of honestor Bong, I drew the first write of the storyboards myself, and a lot of people shelp I was out of my mind because it wasn’t even greenlit at that point. There weren’t even financiers who were interested. But honestor Bong, after reading the screencarry out, equitable tageder me, “Now it’s time to draw the storyboards,” and that’s what I did.
What schedules do you have for future projects?
I have two projects currently that I’m excited about equpartner, but I do leank I have to pick a lane soon. One is in the horror authenticm, a aappreciate vein to “Sleep,” but sairyly hugeger in scale. And the other finish is quite the opposite: It is one of my fantastic dreams to honest a romantic comedy one day, and the goal is to have the allotors, originaters and financiers as willing as I am about the project.
