Major U.S. distributor to release Bong Joon-ho's English debut film

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's English-language directorial debut film is likely to be released in North America and other English-speaking countries.

The Weinstein Company, a major U.S. distributor, recently picked up the English-language rights to "Snow Piercer" from South Korea's CJ Entertainment, an investor, distributor and production company, CJ said in a release Monday.

Under the deal reached at this year's American Film Market, the American company will distribute the thriller in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, CJ said.

The movie stars top Korean actor Song Gang-ho alongside Chris Evans from "The Avengers," Ed Harris, "The Help's" Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell and Tilda Swinton. Bong and Kelly Masterson wrote the screenplay based on the graphic novel "Le Transperceneige."

The movie is currently in the post-production phase and is set to be released next year in Korean theaters, but it has not yet been decided when and on how many screens the film will be shown in English-speaking regions.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they co-founded in 1979. Among TWC's distributed films are "The King's Speech," which earned the company their first Academy Award for Best Picture at last year's Academy Awards, "The Artist," "The Reader," "Scream 4" and "Apollo 18." (Yonhap News)