Korean Entertainment News 2012 - 2013

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August 9, 2012

Bae Doo-na invited to Toronto International Film Festival
By Park Eun-jee Korea JoongAng Daily



Korean actress Bae Doo-na has been invited to the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, to be held from Sept. 6 to 16.

The 32-year-old actress will attend the opening ceremony to promote the world premiere of her first Hollywood movie, “Cloud Atlas,” and walk the red carpet with co-stars Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Halle Berry.

An adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same title, the fantasy film consists of six nested stories that will take the viewers from the South Pacific in the 19th century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future.

Bae has been cast as a futuristic, genetically engineered clone. The star-studded movie wrapped up filming at the end of last year and will make its U.S premiere on Oct. 26.

katt

August 10, 2012

New films plumb obscure Joseon period events ... with a comic twist
By Cho Jae-eun Korea JoongAng Daily

‘I Am a King’ marks the return of Joo Ji-hoon to the big screen.



Historic comedies “I Am a King,” and “The Grand Heist” both opened in local theaters on Wednesday. Provided by Lotte Entertainment and Next Entertainment World

Two new historic comedies, “The Grand Heist” and “I Am a King,” opened in theaters this week, giving local box office leaders “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Thieves” a run for their money.

Both are set during the Joseon era (1392-1910) and loosely based on actual characters and events. While in the past, local films based on this period tended to focus the synopsis on eroticism or power struggle, the two new movies focus on relatively obscure events with a modern, humorous touch.

“I Am a King” marks the return of Joo Ji-hoon to the big screen after a three-year hiatus after the completion of his mandatory military service and the infamous drug scandal in which he was involved in 2009. Joo, who plays two roles in the film, Prince Choong-nyeong (who later becomes King Sejong) and a slave, Deok-chil, expressed his determination to get back in the good graces of the public during a recent press conference.

“I was always short for time because I was playing two roles,” the actor said.

“For the two months that I spent trying to get into the role, I talked to the director almost every day to prepare .?.?. If the film attracts more than three million people, I promise to walk around the Daehagno area wearing the slave costume.”

The film, director Jang Kyu-sung’s fifth feature after “Small Town Rivals” (2007), is set in the three months before the prince becomes King Sejong. While to future generations, King Sejong would stand as a legendary figure for his creation of the Korean alphabet and advancing the country’s scientific research and law, as Prince Choong-nyeong he was known to be a bit of a reclusive bookworm. With this premise, the film borrows from the plot of “The Prince and the Pauper,” in which the prince runs into a slave, Deok-chil, and disguises himself as the slave and ventures outside the palace. In the process, he begins to understand how people outside the palace walls are living, often in extreme poverty.

“If the film was based on a fictional king, it would have been easier for me to exaggerate the comic elements, but because the king is a real historical figure I had to control the comedy and also portray the journey of how the prince becomes the wise king,” said the director.



In contrast to the self-discovery theme of “I Am a King,” “The Grand Heist” is similar to group action blockbusters like the U.S. hit “Ocean’s Eleven” series. In “The Grand Heist” a gang of 11 thieves tries to steal ice blocks from the royal storage, Seobingo, during the last years of the Joseon era. Without a refrigeration system, ice during those days is said to have been even more valuable than gold. Cha Tae-hyun, famous for playing goofy, lovable comic leads including in his breakout film “My Sassy Girl” (2001), is Lee Duk-moo, a laid-back bookseller and custard son of the royal court’s cleaning official who somehow becomes the leader of the heist group.

Like Jang of “I Am a King,” the director of “The Grand Heist,” Kim Ju-ho, said he was particularly cautious in bringing modern cinematic elements to the film because it is based in the past. “Action films like ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ center on people steeling money and disappearing, but in a historic film, I thought it was more appropriate to add other pretexts and moral elements so as to differentiate it from other films,” said Kim, during a press conference last month.

Meanwhile, Cha said he was glad to play another comic lead role.

“I think my strength as an actor lies in the comic genre,” he said.

“And I think the public still wants comedy from me more than anything else.”

katt

August 10, 2012

'The Thieves' tops 8 million viewers
YonhapNews

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean box-office hit has continued to break records with over 8 million viewers, and is expected to reach the 10 million mark next week.

   "The Thieves," featuring 10 Korean and Chinese thieves teaming up to steal a valuable diamond necklace at a Macao casino, drew 8,098,952 viewers in the first 16 days through Thursday, data from the Korean Film Council showed on Friday.

   The film directed by Choe Dong-hoon, who is known for "Tazza: the High Rollers" and "The Big Swindle," has been drawing moviegoers at the same pace as director Bong Jun-ho's box-office hit "The Host."
  


Industry watchers say "The Thieves" will likely attract 10 million viewers around next week if the current pace of ticket sales continues.

   The film drew an average of 250,000 viewers on weekdays in its third week, according to the official data.

   The last Korean film that attracted more than 10 million moviegoers was "Haeundae," a 2009 disaster drama directed by Yoon Jae-gyun.

   "The Thieves," starring top actors and actresses Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Yun-seok and Lee Jung-jae, has raked in more than half of local box revenues, outperforming the Hollywood blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises."

katt

August 10, 2012

Lee Yeon-hee, So Ji-sub Promote Fight Against Cyber Crime
ChosunIlbo

Lee Yeon-hee and So Ji-sub were named promotional ambassadors for cyber crime prevention by the National Police Agency on Thursday.  

They will work to raise awareness and prevent cyber crimes such as hacking and Internet fraud by taking part in various promotional activities.

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August 8, 2012


Korea's 'Doomsday Book' Top Winner at Fantasia International Film Festival
by Etan Vlessing THR l Nate




TORONTO – The South Korean horror sci-fi anthology film series Doomsday Book by Kim Jee-woon and Yim Pil-sung picked up the top Cheval Noir Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival on Wednesday.


The Canadian genre festival’s other big winner was Jason Banker’s Toad Road, which won for best director and best actor for James Davidson.


The top Fantasia jury was led by Gabriel Pelletier, with Jay Baruchel, Sylvain Krief and Maggie Lee also sitting in judgement.


Korean films shined elsewhere in Montreal as the Satoshi Kon Award for achievement in animation went to The King of Pigs, by Yeon Sang-ho, which also received a special mention from the first feature jury.


Other Fantasia award winners included the best screenplay award going to Alberto Marini for Sleep Tight, while the best actress prize went to Majiana Jankovic for her star-turn in the Danish film Beast by director Christoffer Boe.


And the New Flesh Award for best first feature went to Charles de Lauzirika’s crime thriller Crave, and the best animated short film was snagged by Don Hertzfeldt’s It’s Such a Beautiful Day.


Elsewhere, the best international short trophy went to Videoboy, by director Stian Kristiansen, a coming-of-age story that pays homage to 1980s horror films.

katt

August 10, 2012
ChosunIlbo

Actress Kim Hee-sun waves at a press event for her new drama "Faith" in Seoul on Thursday.

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August 10, 2012

'Thieves' stealing the show in Korea
By Park Eun-jee Korea JoongAng Daily



Korean action movie “The Thieves” has set a box office record again with more than eight million viewers, becoming the 10th-most-popular Korean movie of all time as of yesterday.

According to statistics released by the Korea Film Council yesterday, the movie has been seen by 8,098,952 moviegoers since its release on July 25.

Many industry watchers say that “The Thieves” will likely attract 10 million viewers around next week with the current pace of ticket sales.

The film overtakes Hollywood super hero film “The Avengers” as the most-watched movie of this year, raking in more than half of the local box office revenue. It has also surpassed Hollywood blockbuster “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“The Thieves” garnered a lot of attention before its release as the action-thriller stars A-list actors and actresses Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Yun-seok and Lee Jung-jae. The plot centers on a gang assembled in Macau by legendary thief Macao Park (Kim Yun-seok) to steal a $20 million diamond.

katt

August 10, 2012

Like Jang Geun-suk? Put a stamp on it
By Park Eun-jee Korea JoongAng Daily



Jang Geun-suk will be the first Hallyu star to be featured on a Japanese stamp when his “Official Jang Geun-suk 20th Anniversary” set is released.

The Japanese Post Office will be selling the 25-year-old actor’s stamps, commemorating his 20 years of acting, with pre-orders going on sale on Aug. 20.

The stamp set comes in two versions: “1st History” and “2nd History.” The “1st History” version mainly features the early days of the actor’s career, while the “2nd History” version will be about his growth from a young adult to his current status as a megastar.

The merchandise comes with a special folder package that contains never-seen-before pictures, customized postcards, envelopes and stickers.

Jang’s agency recently added another date to the actor’s Japanese tour “The Chris Show 2”. The finale will now be held at the Saitama Super Arena from Nov. 26 to 29.

Jang will also appear at the Summer Sonic 2012 festival from Aug.18 to 19 with his project group “Team H” and is scheduled to perform in Shanghai today.