Director Kim Jee Woon 김지운 Kim Ji Woon

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Dir. Kim Ji Woon (김지운 Kim Jee Woon)

Producer, Auteur, Writer and Actor.. well, sometimes


Kim Jee Woon
Birthdate : July 6, 1964
Family : Older sister, theater actress Kim Jee Sook
Status: Still single
Background : Seoul Institute of the Art, drops out to be a theater actor/director before becoming a movie director
Film buddies: Dir. Peter Chan, Lee Byung Hun
Talent Agency: CAA (Creative Artist Agency)
Debut : 1998 The Quiet Family

Awards & Appreciation
Best Screenplay at the 1st Cine21 Scenario Public Subscription Contest
Best Screenplay at the Premiere Scenario contest in Korea in 1997
Best Director at Fantasporto Film Festival in 2004
Best Director at 41st SITGES Film Festival 2008
Maverick Award from 28th HIFF 2008
Best Director at 29th Blue Dragon Awards 2008
Arena Magazine-Audi Korea's A-Award 2008
Best Director at 11th Director's CUT Awards 2008

South Korean director Kim Jee-woon was born in Seoul in 1964. He began his career as a stage actor and then a stage director, directing the plays Hot Sea (1994) and Movie Movie (1995). Going on to screenwriting, his screenplay Wonderful Seasons won the award for Best Screenplay at the Premiere Scenario contest in Korea in 1997. In the same year, Kim's second screenplay, The Quiet Family, a dark comedy, won him the prize for Best Screenplay at the 1st Cine21 Scenario Public Subscription Contest. He made his directorial debut in 1998 with this screenplay. The Quiet Family won the Best Film Award at Portugal's Fantasporto Film Festival, and was an ofifcial selection at the Berlin IFF. Kim followed this by writing and directing The Foul King, which became the box office sensation in Korea for the year 2000. It was the #1 movie in Korea for six months, being watched by over 2 million people. The film received domestic and international acclaim, screened at numerous international film festivals, and sealed Kim's reputation as one of the leading directors in Korea. A Tale of Two Sisters, a horror film based on a traditional Korean folk tale, won the awards for Best Director and Best Film at Portugal's Fantasporto Film Festival in 2004. (source)

Links
cine21 » KOFIC » movist » daum
hancinema » wikipedia » imdb

photo gallery » daum

link to videos » daum (thanks to Huangsy for the highlight)

Stage Play
1994 Hot Sea
1995 Movie Movie

Screenplay
1997 - Wonderful Seasons
1998 - The Quiet Family
2000 - The Foul King
2001 - Coming Out
2002 - Three (Memories)
2003 - A Tale of Two Sisters
2005 - A Bittersweet Life
2008 - The Good, the Bad, the Weird
2010 - I Saw The Devil

Films
1998 사랑의 힘 The Power Of Love cine21

1998 The Quiet Family » cine21 » wikipedia

2000 The Foul King » cine21 » wikipedia » soompi thread

 2001 Coming Out » cine21 » wikipedia

2002 Three (Segment: Memories) » cine21 » wikipedia

2003 A Tale of Two Sisters » cine21 » wikipedia » soompi thread

2005 A Bittersweet Life » cine21 » wikipedia » soompi thread

2008 The Good, the Bad, the Weird » cine21 » soompi thread

 2010 I Saw The Devil
 2011 Doomsday Book
 2013 The Last Stand (Hollywood)
 The X (2013)

The Age of Shadows (2016)

인류멸망보고서 2008 cine21

Acting Cameo
2005 A Bittersweet Life (opening espresso scene)

    


Gratitude
CINE21, koreanfilm.org, wikipedia, imdb, daum, various movie & media portals, misc soompi sharing 

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Editing in progress

FIRECRACKER TIGER'S EYE ON.. KIM JI-WOON

Discovering Korea's most versatile movie stylist..

In the unofficial battle to claim the crown of Korea’s “coolest” director, perhaps the closest contenders to Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook are young pretender Ryoo Seung-wan (see Tiger’s Eye on Ryoo Seung-wan) and the chameleonic Kim Ji-woon. All three directors have made roughly the same number of features, and all three have shown themselves to be consummate cinematic stylists. Collectively their work stands as a testament to the vitality of contemporary Korean movies, and has been pivotal in the international acknowledgement of the Korean movie scene as one of the most exciting in the world. They’ve all worked with Korea’s most exportable talent Choi Min-sik, and actors such as Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun crop up in more than one of the filmmakers’ movies. It’s no coincidence that the Korean representatives in the two pan-Asian horror portmanteau movies in the “Three” series to date have been, first, Kim (Memories in 2002's Three), and more recently, Park (Cut in 2004's Three Extremes).

Of the three however, it is Kim that can claim to be the most versatile or unpredictable. Whereas Park spent over three films (the so-called “Vengeance Trilogy” plus his segment of Three Extremes) working out variations on the classic movie theme of revenge, and Ryoo’s films largely fall into the action mould, even when they are also comedies such as kung fu CGI hokum Arahan, Kim has moved from film to film nurturing a Kubrick-like propensity to buck the trend, and to put out films standing in distinct contrast to those which preceded them. Park Chan-wook may have pulled a rabbit out of the hat with his recent sci-fi comedy romance I’m a Cyborg... But That’s OK, with mixed results but Kim has forged his career to date on genre hopping, with almost uniform success.

Indeed, it’s hard to pick out a bum note in a filmography that encompasses kooky, spooky comedy-horror The Quiet Family (header image), on-the-nail satire of mindnumbing normality through the lense of pro-wrestling, The Foul King (left), and sophisticated horror-psychodrama A Tale of Two Sisters (above). Although it has its ardent admirers, style over substance gangster flick A Bittersweet Life represented perhaps Kim’s first wobble: wrapped up in the slickest of packages it can be easy to overlook the thinnest of plots. Still, while Hong Kong cinema can look back in satisfaction at a history of superlative gangster movies, A Bittersweet Life at least represented a vital Korean counterpoint (at least in the modern era), something nailed home by the recent Yu Ha mob movie A Dirty Carnival, superior though not without its flaws. Typically though, having got there first, Kim has now opted to break more new ground with his latest project The Good, the Bad and the Weird (below). While there are precedents for an “Oriental Western” genre, in Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng’s Tears of the Black Tiger or the knockabout “palabok” westerns of Filipino action star Lito Lapid in the late 70s, the movie certainly seems to represent a Korean first. Set in 1930s Manchuria against the backdrop of Japanese imperialist expansion from Korea into China, the movie pits three Korean exiles, the titular characters, in a search for buried treasure that takes in Russian, Chinese and Japanese rivals.

One consistent factor that Kim’s newest film is set to share with many of his previous works is a sly sense of humour, something that ensured the success of The Foul King (and a rare case of a Korean comedy fit to travel, though its unavailability seems to argue otherwise) and witty vampire’s confession short Coming Out (2001), and something that Japanese modern master Takashi Miike presumably picked up on when adapting The Quiet Family into zombies-meets-The Sound of Music gem The Happiness of the Katakuris. While A Tale of Two Sisters didn’t require Kim’s wit, and A Bittersweet Life would have benefitted from it, The Good, the Bad and the Weird certainly seems to carry the right credentials, among them the appearance of Song Kang-ho as “The Weird”, perhaps no coincidence that it is the first time he has worked with Kim since enjoying the lead in The Foul King. A reminder that - in Kim’s case - weird is almost always good, and never ugly.

Credits: firecracker-media.com

Thanks to the highlight by deka_if at the News thread, article from korea.net

September 10, 2008

Visual stylist - Director Kim Jee Woon

The ticket sales of "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" surpassed the 6-million mark at the domestic box office on Aug. 10, emerging as the most successful Korean film in the first quarter of this year. [note: GBW now stands at 7.3 million admission]

Director Kim Jee-woon is behind the strong performance from the star-studded cast and $17 million budget.

Born in 1964, Kim studied dramatics at the Seoul Institute of the Art. But he quit the school early and learned theater acting following his older sister Kim Jee-sook, who is a veteran actress. He appeared on stage and also directed some plays, experiencing the real theatrical world.

In 1998, he made his debut as a filmmaker after his scenario for the film "The Quiet Family" won a prize. In the same year, the black comedy about a strange family involved in serial killings was invited to three leading international fantastic film festivals including Portugal's FantasPorto, Spain's Sitges Film Festival and Brussels International Fantastic Festival.

Then he directed "The Foul King (1999)," a drama featuring a salary man dreaming to be a professional wrestler, and participated in a Korea-Hong Kong-Thailand joint project producing an omnibus film titled "Memories" in 2002.

In 2003, he succeeded in satisfying both movie fans and critics with the horror movie "A Tale of Two Sisters." The movie sold over 3 million tickets at the domestic box office. The Hollywood remake of the movie, whose English title is "The Uninvited - A Tale of Two Sisters," is scheduled to be released in the United States next year.

In 2005, the Cannes Film Festival finally invited him and his film "The Bittersweet Life," which is considered to be the greatest honor given to a talented filmmaker.

For actor Song Kang-ho, who is well-known for his roles in Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" and Bong June-ho's "Memories of Murder," this is the third time to work with director Kim after "The Quiet Family" and "The Foul King."

"Director Kim has a unique art world. He makes his own version in whatever genres he takes. Because he always makes me expect something different, I have wanted to work with him again," Song said at a news conference for the latest "The Good, The Bad, The Weird."

By Lee Ji-yoon - KOREA.net

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Editing in progress

조용한 가족 The Quiet Family 1998

INFO

Cast Park In-hwan, Na Mun-hee, Song Kang-ho, Choi Min-sik, Go Ho-kyung, Lee Yun-seong

Links wikipedia » cine21

Film Festivals & Awards

Best Screenplay at the 1st Cine21 Scenario Public Subscription Contest 1998

Best Film at the Fantasporto International Film Festival

An Official Selection entry at the Berlin International Film Festival

Synopsis

A family decides to sell up, leave the city behind and buy a hotel in the mountains.At first, business is bad and no one comes by the hotel. Finally, a guest checks in, but soon after he commits suicide in a very unusual way. To avoid bad publicity, the family decides to bury him in the backyard and all is well -until another guest arrives and soon the bodies start piling up. A black comedy from Korea, The Quiet Family are hosts you won't forget.

Review

Squeamish about corpses? Want to do something about it? Well, watch The Quiet Family and you’ll see enough to cure you for life. Either that or you’ll lock yourself in your bedroom and refuse to come out.

The genre is black comedy, and it is really quite black. If you can’t laugh at Mother, Father, Uncle, and Son trundling a pair of suicide-pact lovers into the woods in wheelbarrows, then I suggest you steer clear. If you’re revolted at the thought of having to re-bury several corpses of assorted vintages because the roadworks will go through their graves, then give this film a miss. And if you’d grimace, not laugh, at the sight of one of the corpses struggling free of his plastic wrapping and lurching about, only to get a good crack about the head with a shovel, then you probably shouldn’t watch.

And that would be a pity, because you’d miss one of the best films to come out of Asia. Ever. The first film by director/writer Kim Ji-woon, it’s absolutely meticulous in terms of timing, pace, and characters: everything that makes a comedy work is fine-tuned in every detail. It’s an incredibly strong first film, but considering Kim went on to make The Foul King, A Tale Of Two Sisters, and A Bittersweet Life, we shouldn’t be surprised.

From the opening credits the film grabs your attention: a point-of-view meander through the newly-purchased lodge, to the mellow strains of a hip hop version of a Tijuana Brass classic. The music throughout supports the action (or inaction) without drowning it, in a manner which should bring tears to the eyes of anyone who, like me, has been forced to sit through too many films drenched in violins. I love the whole soundtrack, from the Stray Cats rockabilly to the pert Schubert piano to the Partridge Family “I think I love you” over the end credits. You might find yourself singing along.

What can I say about the cast? Given that it includes two of the best actors in Korea, in Choi Min-shik (Old Boy, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) and Song Kang-ho (Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, Memories of Murder, JSA (Joint Security Area)), you’d think that would be enough. But it ain’t. The rest of the cast are fully capable of wresting the spotlight from the two heavyweights: my favourite is the actress playing the mother, Na Mun-hee (seen recently as the ailing gran in Crying Fist).

I’ve left it until now to mention that this film was remade by Miike, as Happiness Of The Katakuris, and I’ve done this deliberately. In my never-humble opinion, this film is much better in a lot of ways, including cast, soundtrack, and consistency, to say nothing of the fact that I don’t much like musicals. But if you saw Miike’s film and liked it, you may well like this one: there are few similarities beyond the basic plot, so it will feel like a whole different film.

9 torrential rains threatening exposure out of 10

by Alison Jobling via heroic-cinema.com

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Editing in progress

반칙왕 The Foul King 2000

Actors: Song Kang-ho, Jang Jin-yeong, Jang Hang-seon, Park Sang-myeon, Lee Won-jong, Shin Gu, Song Yeong-chang, Jeong Ung-in, Kim Seung-uk, Kim Su-ro

Links: cine21 wikipedia soompi thread

Synopsis

Im Dae-ho (Song) works in a bank and lives with his father. The bank's administration craving for results makes his average day a living hell. His lack of punctuality does not help him either. One day after work he walks by a pro wrestling gym and decides to go in. A fan of the “sport”, eager to learn how to get free from his boss's head-lock, he convinces the owner — a former “star” — to let him train and join competitions.

The Foul King is one of the films on which director Kim Ji-in build his reputation of being one of the most interesting authors of modern South Korean cinema. This portrait of a bank clerk becoming a wrestling fighter in his free time was also a major hit in the local box-office in 2000.

Song Kang-ho starred in a number of films since the mid-nineties, such as Kim's former work The Quiet Family (1998), following No. 3 (1997) and preceding the mega-hit Swiri (1999). In the first two films Song was just another one amongst a vast cast and in Swiri he played Han Seok-gyu's sidekick policeman. In The Foul King, however, he finally got the opportunity to play the main role, making way to become one of the most important actors working presently in South Korea. Joint Security Area (2000), where the actor plays a North-Korean soldier, would have its premiere a few months later and would turn out to be a major commercial success of a whole other dimension.

Although formally a comedy, with some moments of humour that get right on target, The Foul King really intends to be a serious portrait of a desk clerk, diminished at home and at work, which finds an escape in wrestling and also perhaps a kind of armour in this new identity that will enable him to win “out there” in a competitive world where, according to his boss, “only the strong survive”.

Here the split personality does not work the same way as in super-hero fiction — to protect an identity while the other fights crime —, but Kim still plays around those same concepts, as in the scene where the “hero” decides to come back and confront a gang of teenager punks wearing his combat outfit — an occasion for special appearances by Shin Ha-gyun and Go Ho-gyeong, Mi-na from The Quiet Family. In much the same way, his boss emerges as an archenemy of sorts.

The wrestling fights relevance is rather limited in the narrative. To a certain extent, we feel as though we were watching a film about that sports modality but stepped out without witnessing some of the predictable outcomes. It all turns out to make perfect sense for it is, after all, the character's escape from his normal life.

By wearing the costume or assuming the identity of “The Foul King”, Dae-ho may feel his self-confidence and inner strength grow but, on its own, this does not certify that his work and his emotional life will cease to be chaotic. In his skin Song kang-ho gives us a role also quite worthy for its physical component: the actor trained and performed some of the most difficult movements that could have easily had serious consequences.

Although not as successful as Kim Ji-un's former and subsequent titles, The Foul King reasserts the director's proficiency on genre cinema, skilfully managing the transition between different languages, from comedy to the sports film, with some moments out of an horror film, by the way he uses the camera and the soundtrack (but, quite remarkably, without ever getting into spoof territory). The sequence labelled as the “horror headlock” seems to send us back to a scene from Ju-on, what could make sense if the Japanese film was not due for its premiere for over two years.

Credits: asia.cinedie.com

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Editing in progress

커밍아웃 Coming Out 2001

INFO:

Actors: Shin Ha-gyun, Gu Hye-ju, Jang I-ji, No Eul, Kim Il-ung, Im Won-hee

Links: cine21 wikipedia imdb

The film opens with a man being interviewed about his sister, who has recorded a video diary in which she makes a shocking confession to her friends and family. Purporting to be a true story, the bulk of the film is presented as a reconstruction of actual events.

Hyun-yoo announces to her younger brother Jae-min and his girlfriend Ji-eun that she has an important confession to make, and asks them to record it on video. After issuing an apology to her parents, she reveals that she has been hiding a painful secret and is not like normal people; she is in fact a vampire! Jae-min and Ji-eun initially think she is playing a prank, but to prove her sincerity Hyun-joo bites into her wrist and starts to suck her own blood. She goes on to disclose further details of her life as a vampire, and dispels many of the common myths associated with the legend. Having heard of others like her overseas, she has decided to join a community of vampires living in England.

Going out at night to attract less attention, Jae-min films his sister as she feeds on a young woman in a telephone box. He and Ji-eun later talk to the woman, who remains unharmed, and she tells them that the experience was not painful, likening the sensation to an electric shock. The events prove to them that Hyun-joo is telling the truth.

Some time later, Ji-eun visits Hyun-joo who is now living in England. Curious to know how it feels being bitten by a vampire, she asks Hyun-joo to suck her blood. Choosing the inside of her thigh, Hyun-joo begins to feed on her friend.

Movie plot copied from wikipedia, image from filmfestival.gr

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쓰리 Three (Memories) 2002

INFO:

Actors: Kim Hye-soo

Links: cine21 » wikipedia

Reviewed by Rob Daniel

While never threatening the feature length film, the horror anthology is a sub-genre that has steadfastly clung onto life. Usually the first victim of the horror anthology is quality; for every 'Dead of Night' we have 'Creepshow', 'The Monster Club' and 'Tales from the Crypt'.

But, Asian horror cinema has proved more adept at transferring the short story tradition to the big screen, most notably with the (over-rated) 'Kwaidan' (1964). Shan-si Tung's 'Yinyang Jie' (Blood Reincarnation - 1974) is arguably more impressive, and the late nineties saw the tradition flourishing with 'Mei Mong Leung' (Nightmare Zone – 1998), the delightfully titled 'Faces of Horrid' (1998) and the 'Troublesome Night' series.

In 2002 Asian horror anthologies went ambitiously upmarket with 'Three'. Uniting three high profile Asian directors, 'Three' gives them free reign to explore life’s darkest regions, unfettered by linking stories or narrator. Disappointingly, despite this freedom only Hong Kong director Peter Chan's 'Going Home' impresses. Ji-woon Kim and Nonzee Nimibutr, representing Korea and Thailand respectively, prove unable to adapt to the short story format.

After suitably unsettling opening credits, 'Three' opens with Kim's episode 'Memories'. For audiences unfamiliar with 'Ring' or any other Asian horror movie of the past five years, 'Memories' will be an effective little chiller. But, reliance on a jerky, shuffling woman, face obscured by black hair and an arsenal of false shocks has become lazy horror shorthand.

The story is sufficiently intriguing for the short film format: a man’s wife has disappeared and all efforts to find her prove futile. The woman awakens, amnesiac, in a quiet street and attempts to get home. But, both wife and husband are plagued by terrible visions, most notably the man witnessing his spouse inquisitively probing a gaping head wound.

Writer/Director Kim debuted with the wonderfully askew 'The Quiet Family' (which in turn inspired Takashi Miike's unforgettable 'The Happiness of the Katakuris') and has enjoyed recent success with 'A Tale of Two Sisters'. Here he shoots with a keen eye for dreamy, disquieting imagery, but his script is surprisingly derivative and guessable, making 'Memories' ultimately forgettable.

More at dragonsdenuk.com

Translated gist provided by Hyc from original article at MyDaily via news.yahoo.kr

The Warlords' director Peter Chan from Hong Kong was visiting Korea and promoting his new movie from 21-24 January, 2008. He paid a visit to GBW filming site at Paju, and met with Dir. Kim Jee Woon.

The two directors had collaborated in "Three" a 2002 international Asian horror movie collaboration consisting of three segments by three directors from three countries. [(Memories, directed by Kim Ji-Woon (South Korea), The Wheel, directed by Nonzee Nimibutr (Thailand), and Going Home, directed by Peter Chan (Hong Kong)]

Dir. Kim Jee Woon and Dir. Peter Chan

Updates article article article article

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Editing in progress

장화, 홍련 A Tale of Two Sisters 2003

INFO

Cast Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Yeom Jeong-ah, Kim Kap-su

Links » cine21 » wikipedia » soompi thread

Festivals & Awards

Best Director and Best Film at Portugal's Fantasporto Film Festival in 2004

REVIEW

Dear Editor: Hello there, it is so nice to correspond with you. I am briefly taking over from our mutual associate Professor Kim, who is at this moment, shall I say, indisposed. It is all my fault, really: I was kibitzing like Martha Stewart crashing a church bazaar, until his fuse went out and he bellowed at me, "Why don't you write one!" Well, did he think that I would back down from a delicious challenge like that?

Ah, forgive my distracting digressions, I shall get right down to the point. A Tale of Two Sisters is a work of art. Yes, Jeff Koons can have an ivory statue of Michael Jackson and his chimp carved and painted, and call it a work of art. A Tale of Two Sisters is a real work of art, I am sure you know what I mean.

Surely A Tale of Two Sisters is the most beautiful Korean film made in the last three years, if not ever. Professor Kim insists that One Fine Spring Day and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Oh horrors!) are equally or more beautiful: I say he needs a new pair of contact lenses. Time and again my eyes would just tear up from taking in so much visual pleasure: you could stare at intricate, hypnotic wallpaper patterns or creases in the odd-colored curtains for minutes and would not be bored. Technical aspects are superb, brilliant, I am running out of superlatives: costume design, set design, cinematography, lighting, all absolutely distinctive and exquisitely orchestrated. Ah, we shan't forget the evocative music score, especially that sorrowful waltz.

And acting! Those darling young actresses playing the teenage sisters, Im Su-jeong (Su-mi) and Mun Keun-yeong (Su-yeon), are not anorexic, skinny-nosed fashion model types. I approve! Im projects the sullen defiance of a precocious teenager, but effortlessly expresses her inner pain and confusion when needed. My heart just aches watching Mun's emotionally battered, retreating looks. From the moment Yeom Jeong-ah (H, Tell Me Something) playing the wicked stepmother enters the scene, doing that amazing slide-on-your-heels walk and spurting out dialogues in a mock-cheerful, scrumptiously malicious tone, she commands my rapt attention. I am a little disappointed that the film does not end with her bone-freezing cackle (Ooh, delicious shudders!).

What, you ask whether the movie is scary? Does Arnold Schwarzenegger have pectoral muscles? Just check out The Girl Under the Kitchen Sink, why don't you! Eeeek!

I heard there was much grumbling in the internet, et cetera, about the plot and "surprise ending" not making sense. If anything, I think the film errs in trying to explain too much. It ambitiously attempts to juggle three climactic revelations: Climax 1, where some characters are shown to be not quite what they are, Climax 2, a sequence involving the stepmother and that darned closet, and Climax 3, where the origins of the psychological trauma for the protagonist are revealed. Not to make a too fine point about it, after Climax 1, the final part of the film feels like an extended epilogue, when it should have come to a close with a bang. Having these many multiple endings also inevitably creates dissonance in the movie's world-view. The audience is likely to remain confused whether anything genuinely supernatural was responsible for the proceedings.

With this film, Director Kim Jee-woon in my humble opinion has proven himself to be a world-class filmmaker in his own right, so I only wish he had the self-restraint to resist being too greedy, like that... gross... gentleman in that scandalous Monty Python movie who must have a mint julep for a dessert when we all know he shouldn't. I really do think if he excised Climax No. 2 altogether, pruned Climax No.3, and brought the film under one hour and forty minutes, we would have had an uncontested masterpiece in our hands.

But why, even Aunt Liz's 14-karat diamond ring has a flaw in it. I think Two Sisters is in fact Kim Jee-woon's best film so far (Professor Kim is shouting that The Foul King is still better. My lord, those pro-wrestling shenanigans over this disturbing and achingly sad, almost innocently erotic fairy tale? Talk about perversity of academics!). Oh, let Hideo Nakata or Miike Takashi or one of those gentlemen go ahead and make something as refined and touching as Two Sisters. Really, let them try.

Well, I must say I really do hope that this gem of a motion picture is widely seen and appreciated in the world: I am so glad that it proved a match for that glorified sunglass commercial Matrix Rebooted (No? Reloaded? As if I care!) at the domestic box office. Gotta go now, I forgot to tell you that I have locked Professor Kim in the closet, and I better let him out before... something happens. Do forgive me for my manners, or lack thereof.

Happy viewing and re-viewing now!

Signed, Yours Truly, Yuhn Myikuk via koreanfilm.org

October 24, 2008

Another Korean hit movie remade in Hollywood

A 2003 Korean horror film has joined the ranks of other Korean movies that have been, or are going to be, issued as American remakes. The Uninvited, to be released in the United States on Jan. 30, 2009, is a remake of Janghwa, Hongryeon (the title translates as “Rose and Lotus” but the film was known as A Tale of Two Sisters in its international release).

Earlier Korean films to be remade in the United States include The Lake House (a 2006 remake of Il Mare), My Sassy Girl in 2008, remade from the 2000 Korean smash hit of the same name. Other Korean films to which rights have been bought for Hollywood-ization include My Wife is a Gangster, Oldboy and JSA. In the case of A Tale of Two Sisters, DreamWorks are reported to have paid US$1 million for the remake rights.

All this is a significant recognition of Korean film as a rising force in global cultural content creation. It comes only a decade after many in Korea feared that the end of the screen quota system (which guaranteed that domestic movies got a minimum number of screening days in cinemas each year) announced the death knell for the local film industry. Korean cinema is back, and it is back with a vengeance.

A Tale of Two Sisters was, upon its release in 2003, the most successful Korean-made horror movie yet made. The plot is, in fact, an old one, stemming from a folktale of the Joseon Dynasty which was also named “Rose and Lotus,” after the names of the two main characters. It had earlier been adapted to film in Korea in 1956, 1962 and 1972. The tale is a complex one, involving two teenage sisters, and their father who has remarried. The girls suspect their stepmother is up to no good, and when horrible things start to happen, their suspicions seem to be confirmed.

BBC’s Collective website describes the movie thus: “Two girls return from hospital to an oppressive country house presided over by a wicked stepmother. It’s a Gothic fairy tale set-up, with a malignant specter coming out at night to terrorize the teens. But the scares are all about the atmosphere -- gloomy woods, dark bedroom corners, even the wallpaper prickles. Technically brilliant, it’s hellishly frightening too.”

Kim Ji-woon as wrote and directed the original, and it starred popular Moon Geun-young and Im Soo-jung. The film attracted a surprise amount of overseas attention: Internet movie database imdb.com links to 250 external reviews of the film, and 154 user comments, as well as 9,376 votes, giving it a ranking of 7.5 out of 10. A Tale of Two Sisters was nominated for several awards at various international film festivals. Notably, Im Soo-jung won the Best New Actress Award at the Pusan International Film Festival in 2003, and Kim Ji-woon received the festival trophy for best film at Screamfest, an annual horror film festival held in Los Angeles.

The remake has been directed by up-and-coming English brother Charles and Thomas Guard, and produced by the same people who made the American remake of Japanese horror classic The Ring. A trailer and story information are available here: http://www.uninvitedmovie.com

By Jacco Zwetsloot, Staff Editor Korea.net

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Editing in progress

달콤한 인생 A Bittersweet Life 2005

INFO: coming soon

Actors: Lee Byung Hun, Kim Young Chul, Shin Min Ah, Hwang Jung Min, Kim Hoi Ra

Links: cine21 wikipedia soompi

Film Festivals & Awards

58th Festival de Cannes (May 15th, 2005) » Out-of-Competition International Screening

The 38th Edition Sitges Festival (Oct 9-18th, 2005) » Best Original Soundtrack - Dalpalan and Jang Yeong-gyu

25th Hawaii International Film Festival (Oct 20-30th, 2005)

26th Blue Dragon Awards (Nov 29th, 2005) » Best Cinematography - Kim Ji Yong

4th Annual Korean Film Awards (Dec 5th, 2005) » Best Supporting Actor - Hwang Jung Min

25th Korean Critics Awards (Dec 12th, 2005) »

Top 10 films of 2005 » Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun » Best Music Dalparan, Jang Young-Gyu

13th Chunsa Film Art Awards (Dec 15th, 2005) » Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun

42nd Baeksang Arts Awards (April 14th, 2006) » Best Actor - Lee Byung Hun

The Deauville Asian Film Festival 2006 » Best Action Film "Action Asia" Prize - Dir. Kim Jee Woon

January 10, 2007

An Interview with Kim Jee-woon

by Paolo Bertolin

Kim Ji-woon is among those contemporary Korean directors who don't need an introduction. Since his debut with The Quiet Family (1998), his films have met with commercial success and admiration from domestic audiences, while garnering him a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world. His ambitious contemporary adaptation of a popular Korean folk tale in A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) was his first film to be granted theatrical release in most international markets. Last year, his most recent effort, A Bittersweet Life (2005), was invited to Cannes Film Festival, where it screened out of competition and established Kim as one of those few directors capable of registering with both audiences and critics, both at home and abroad. The following conversation with Kim took place in March 2006 at the 3rd Florence Korean Film Festival, where a retrospective of his work took place.

A Bittersweet Life looks quite different from your previous films, which all fall into the genre categories of comedy and horror. What are, in your own view, the differences and elements of continuity with respect to your previous output?

It was not on purpose that I made A Bittersweet Life different from my previous films. I just wanted to explore the noir genre, tell the story of this character, and tackle the themes that you see in it. By bringing together these needs, the end result is something quite different from anything I have done before. Yet such an outcome is not due to my choosing for a departure, but just to the necessity of finding a style that better suited the genre and storytelling specificities.

Concerning the elements of continuity, I would say that irony is still present. With the word irony I refer to the ironic aspect of life that everyone experiences, and I myself experience as well. The ironic nature of life to me also comprises the problems and accidents engendered by the lack of communication between people. For example, in The Quiet Family the ironic aspect is displayed through the fact that everything goes the opposite way from what the title family desires. In The Foul King (2000) a shy and peaceful bank teller ends up becoming a wrestling sensation, and this is ironic in itself. In Two Sisters the tragic irony is represented by the fact that those memories that one would like to forget the most stick instead to the conscience like a ghost, and you really cannot get rid of them.

In A Bittersweet Life a very bad reversal of fortune occurs to the protagonist. He then starts looking for the reasons behind it in external factors, eventually setting out for vengeance. In the end, only after he accomplishes his vengeance, he realizes that the real reason for his misfortune was right inside himself. Unfortunately he comes to understand that only when close to death, and this represents a very tragic irony. At the core of Bittersweet Life lies once again an example of lack of communication. In this case it is not just lack of communication between individuals, but between someone and his very self.

Regarding A Bittersweet Life, you have more than once stated that you were inspired and influenced by the works of French auteur Jean-Pierre Melville.

From Melville I think I have taken two things, one at the level of meaning, and the other at the level of expression. From the point of view of deeper meaning I think I have tried in this film to transpose into images the vanity of life, by taking a cynical and detached stance in exposing such vanity. At the level of expression, I borrowed the indirect, oblique manners of narrative in Melville. I tried to reproduce his ability to use gazes, the body language of actors, the sheer weight of atmosphere, the meaningful presence, absence and variation of light; all in all, his ability to speak without words.

The mise en scene in your films seems to reveal an utmost, almost obsessive, care for details, often resulting in stunning visual compositions. What is your approach to the conception of single sequences? Do you rely upon storyboards?

Yes, I do use storyboards and I also work in close contact with my production designer. However, when it comes to the final visual presentation, the fashion of narrating on the screen, the result is all determined by my choices. In A Bittersweet Life this is especially true because I took great care and interest in all aspects of composition. For example, I myself have carefully designed and supervised all the choices related to the relationship between the character and space inside the frame, or all the choices related to the use of music.

Melville's declared influence aside, A Bittersweet Life displays some very recognizable visual quotes or references to other films.

I personally like very much the films of the Coen Brothers and of Quentin Tarantino because you can see that they willingly include quotes and references to other directors and other films.

The overall visual style of the film is of course indebted to Melville, yet in sequences of action, I would say that my main references were Kill Bill or Scarface, especially for the final gunfight.

What can you say about the emblematic composition where Sun-woo and his boss face each other in front of the writing La Dolce Vita ? [A reference to Federico Fellini's classic, winner of Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1960 -- the title translates in English as The Sweet Life, just as Dalkomhan Insaeng, the original Korean title of A Bittersweet Life]

It is clearly intended as an ironic touch. It is a blatant irony that in between these two people, who are perhaps at the most dramatic and unfortunate point in their lives, there stands writing saying La Dolce Vita or the sweet life. Of course, life is not sweet at all, and the effect created by the juxtaposition of the characters and the writing in this peculiar situation is one of distancing, perhaps of cynicism highlighting the incongruity.

There is a big paradox lying behind the narrative curve of A Bittersweet Life. Not only does Sun-woo never consummate his love for Hee-soo, he never even pronounces it! Yet, he undergoes a disproportionate punishment, facing tremendous consequences for something that only stayed within his mind.

The character of Sun-woo is a mirror reflection of what really happens in life. Sometimes you suffer from love pains, and eventually discover that you lost your love just because of some small, silly reason. It often happens in life that big tragedies originate in something really small. Most people tend to look for explanations only in bigger, visible events, while overlooking smaller, apparently insignificant happenings. To counter this common sense I have intentionally conceived a character who experiences a tragic fate just because of a small mistake.

In A Bittersweet Life I also wanted to talk about love, love that remains unexpressed, love that looks and suffers in silence. This depiction of love is reminiscent of a quote from Jacques Derrida saying that even the love that only looks suffers. In order to effectively portray a character loving from afar and never expressing his innermost feelings, I needed an actor capable of expressing himself through small details, leaving most on the inside, and that is why I cast Lee Byung-hun and relied a lot on his performance.

In its second half, A Bittersweet Life veers into a chronicle of vengeance. This motif of vengeance has been at the centre of a much discussed trilogy by Park Chan-wook. Do you think there are differences in the approach to this theme between Park's films and yours?

In Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance the protagonist is able to accomplish her vengeance and thus experiences some sort of catharsis. In my film too the protagonist accomplishes his vengeance. Yet, this process is voided of any consequence since, as soon as he brings the vengeance to completion, the avenger himself dies. Vengeance thus proves to be useless. The main point here is that, while pursuing his vengeance, Sun-woo realizes that his real problem was inside himself. The pursuit of vengeance is eventually instrumental to this process of self-awakening, a tool to understand the truth about oneself.

What can you say about the two Buddhist parables opening and closing the film?

As for the one at the beginning, I intended to open A Bittersweet Life with some narration in voice over. I thought this parable on the wind and the tree could perfectly fit with the main theme of the film, so I chose it. The one at the ending came up as a perfect conclusion while making the film. I mean that it was not meant to be there from the beginning; it just came up as the perfect answer to the questions I was asking myself when I started the film.

What about the very final shot, where Lee Byung-hun boxes against his own reflection?

That is the key sequence expressing the essence of the character. It is an effective manner of projecting the character's inner self to the exterior. Sun-woo is a character whose idea of himself is entirely determined by the ideas others have of him. He thinks of himself only as reflected in other people's view of him, and he believes to be like that. He is a character who has never questioned himself before.

In the last scene, when Sun-woo boxes against his reflection, I wanted to convey the idea that, in the battle against himself, he lost. If you look carefully at the ending, you will notice that his reflection disappears first, leaving only the glass and outside panorama before the credits.

Credits: Paolo Bertolin, FLORENCE March 2005 via koreanfilm.org

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Editing in progress

좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 The Good, The Bad, The Weird 2008

Release date July 17, 2008

Production cjent.co.kr

Cast Song Kang Ho, Lee Byung Hun, Jung Woo Sung

Official Website www.3nom.co.kr

Related links cine21 imdb.com barunsonfilm

SOOMPI thread HERE

Film Festival & Awards

61st Cannes Film Festival - Worldwide Premiere (Out-of-Competition)

Gala Screening at the 33rd Toronto Film Festival

35th Telluride Film Festival

Screening at 27th Vancouver International Film Festival

Open Talk & screening in the Panorama section at the 13th Pusan International Film Festival

In-Competition at 41st SITGES Film Festival

» Best Director Award - Dir. Kim Jee Woon » Best F/X Award

Closing Film at the 28th LV-Hawaii International Film Festival

» Maverick Award - Dir. Kim Jee Woon » Lifetime Achievement - Jung Woo Sung

Screening at The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival

Screening at AFI Fest 2008 in Los Angeles

Opening Film at the Singapore Korean Film Festival

In- Competition at the 2nd Asia Pacific Screen Award in Gold Coast, Australia

» Achievement in cinematography award

3rd London-Korean Film Festival 2008

29th Blue Dragon Awards 2008

» Best Director: Kim Ji Woon » Best Cinematography: Lee Moo Gae

» Best Art Direction: Jo Hwa Sung » Top Box Office Award

7th Korean Film Awards 2008

» Best Art Directio: Jo Hwa-sung » Best Cinematography: Lee Mo-gae

» Best Visual Effect: Jung Doo-hong, Ji Jung-hyun, Heo Myung-haeng

» Best Sound Effect: Kim Kyung-tae, Choi Tae-young

August 1, 2008

Kim Jee-woon on a Loving Homage to the Masters

“The Good, the Bad, the Weird” by director Kim Jee-woon has drawn more than 4.5 million viewers in just two weeks after it hit local theaters on July 17. The Chosun Ilbo spoke to the director of this most talked-about Korean film of the year.

Rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival in May will have boosted his confidence. Appearing in sunglasses against the strong sunshine, Kim stressed the aesthetics of “handmade” filmmaking. He said sincerity is needed not only in the film's theme or attitude. "I work as though making the movie by hand. I give all I have in filming." He offers the example of a bowl. "Some potters exert the utmost effort not only in the function but also in color and pattern. I'd be happy if viewers question how the film was made rather than why, and if it's dubbed 'the Korean film with the best action sequence' rather than a perfect entertainment.”

Director Kim Jee-woon

The unlikely combination of entertainment and dedicated craftsmanship makes sense after watching the film. “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” follows three men (played by Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung) who hound each other across lawless Manchuria in the 1930s in pursuit of a treasure map. It features a speed, scale and rhythm never before seen in a Korean film, especially in the opening scene of a train ambush, a market sequence in the middle, and the final chase and battle on the plains.

The version released at home is 10 minutes longer than the one showcased in Cannes, with different editing. Some praise the home version as “friendlier,” while critics say it's less speedy and rhythmic. Kim said the criticism would come only from film buffs who have watched the film more than once. But he is confident that ordinary Korean audiences watching the film for the first time will enjoy it from start to finish.

The movie is commercially entertaining, but it is more than that in that it serves to link the nearly severed past and present of Korea’s tinseltown, Chungmuro. Of course the title borrows from the iconic 1966 Spaghetti western “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” by Sergio Leone, but less well known is that it pays homage to the 1971 Korean-style western “Break Up the Chain” by Lee Man-hee.

Kim shares a story from when he was first planning the film a few years ago. A couple of young directors and producers agreed to remake masterpieces by filmmakers from the previous generation. "At the time I was arrogant to believe that I would be the first Korean director to produce a western, but later I discovered that directors Shin Sang-ok and Lee Man-hee had already mastered the genre."

Credits: englishnews@chosun.com

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June 4, 2008

Kim to direct remake of France's "Max"

Written by John Hopewell and Patrick Frater

Investment from outside the U.S. continued to fuel high-profile projects at Cannes, as Kim Jee-woon, the sought-after Korean director whose "The Good the Bad the Weird" wrapped the fest's special screenings, signed to helm a remake of 1970s French classic "Max et les Ferrailleurs" (Max and the Junkmen). Thriller is the first to be advanced under a three-picture deal between France's StudioCanal and Lion Rock Prods., John Woo and Terence Chang's Los Angeles production shingle. The Asian filmmakers plan to tap into the Gallic conglom's extensive library of French and English-language titles for possible remakes. "I'm a big fan of French noir, especially Claude Sautet's films, and I'd like to move this one to modern times," Kim tells Variety.

Sautet's "Max" had the titular lonesome detective (Michel Piccoli) setting up some small-time thieves to pull a heist, thinking he'd arrest them and boost his flagging reputation. But Max falls for the gang leader's gal, played by Romy Schneider.

"It will be important to concentrate on the two central characters' relationship and keep the emotions," Kim says.

Pic, to be titled simply "Max," will be made as an English-language retread scripted by Howard Rodman and possibly set in the U.S. Budget and casting have yet to be determined, though StudioCanal says it would aim for significant star power and delivery in spring 2009. Kim says "Max" will be his next helming gig.

"Max" is set up as a production involving Zip Cinema's Lee Eugene, Chang and Woo, and Black Mask Prods.' Hugo Bergson-Vuillaume. StudioCanal's senior veep Ron Halpern will take an exec producer credit. Kim, Lee and Chang are CAA clients.

Development to date is covered by StudioCanal. It's envisaged that "Max" will be fully financed by StudioCanal, which may take international rights.

The Kim deal ties down one of Asia's brightest young helming talent. The reported $17 million budget of "The Good The Bad The Weird," an energetic Korean Western, is on the high side by Korean standards. Its enthusiastic Cannes reception looks set to broaden Kim's considerable following.

'Kim's one of the best directors working today," Chang says. "He can do anything."

Echoes StudioCanal CEO Olivier Courson, "I was incredibly impressed by 'A Bittersweet Life,' and the solitary character there has parallels in 'Max.' "

The "Max" redo also underscores the ranging ambition of StudioCanal's amped-up production strategy under Courson. It's a forceful reminder that, with movies in the mid-budget range or below, a bevy of Gallic companies are moving in on key talent. And their radar's not limited to Europe.

StudioCanal remains fully committed to producing high-profile French films, usually in the $11 million-$19 million range, Courson explains.

But it will also make "auteur films with commercial potential, and more entertainment-driven, 'biggest-budget' films. For the latter, at $60 million-$70 million, we're look for U.S. partners," he adds. "We want to make international titles that are very ambitious and very entertaining. Thrillers fit both descriptions," Courson says.

Further titles will be produced by Will Clarke at StudioCanal's U.K. subsid Optimum Releasing. During Cannes, Clarke announced Brit redos of "Brighton Rock" and 1981 French hitman thriller "Le Choc."

Courson says StudioCanal is "highly interested" in working with Asian talent. Last year, it produced Wong Kar-wai's "My Blueberry Nights." It's now preparing a Johnnie To-helmed remake of "Le Cercle Rouge." That pic, budgeted at roughly $35 million, has a start date of Sept 20.

StudioCanal confirmed its Neil Moritz-produced remake of "Escape From New York" remains on course, even after New Line Cinema's downsizing.

Source: Variety Asia

June 10. 2008

KIM Ji-woon to Remake French Classic

Spotlight auteur, KIM Ji-woon, director of this summer’s most anticipated Korean film, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, is already signed to his next project, a remake of a 1970’s thriller called Max et les Ferrailleurs (Max and the Junkman). It is to be produced by power-duo John Woo and Terence Chang of the upcoming Red Cliff.

To be titled simply Max, the project is the first of a three-picture deal between France’s Studio Canal and Woo and Chang’s production house, Lion Rock. Director KIM, a fan of French noirs, and of Claude Sautet’s original Max in particular, plans to update the film to modern times and possibly set it in the US.

The original starred Michel Piccoli as a down-on-his-luck detective who decides to inveigle a small-time gang into pulling a heist, intending to bust them red-handed and save his failing reputation. The scheme gets complicated when he falls for the girlfriend of the gang-leader.

The new project will be KIM’s first English-language film, with the adaptation to be scripted by Howard A. Rodman (Saving Grace). Producers Woo and Change expressed excitement in working with KIM, calling him one of the best directors working today. Studio Canal, responsible for a number of remake projects, including Johnnie To’s Le Cercle Rouge, will put up main coin and aims to have Max in theaters by spring 2009.

Nigel D’Sa (KOFIC)

http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?...esimul_SNO=1004

[Guest huangsy]

his name is sometimes spelt as Kim JEE Woon

his profile at Daum

http://movie.daum.net/movieperson/Summary.do?personId=145

photo gallery http://movie.daum.net/movieperson/PhotoList.do?personId=145

link to videos http://movie.daum.net/movieperson/VideoList.do?personId=145

His profile at koreanfilm.or.kr

http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?...&pageSize=5

Biography

KIM received domestic and international accolades with his debut feature, < The Quiet Family> , which won Best Film at the Fantasporto International Film Festival. He followed this achievement with his second feature, < The Foul King >, which reached #1 at the box office in korea. He moved into the horror genre with < Three >, co-produced by korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. But it was his first feature horror film, < A Tale of Two Sisters >, that sealed him as one of the leading directors in the world. < A tale of Two Sisters > has been praised at numerous international film festivals and is awaiting its Hollywood version, shich will be produced by DreamWorks

his profile at Movist

http://www.movist.com/movies/movist.asp?id=208

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^ Hi Huang! Welcome & thanks so much for all the links, really appreciate the highlight.. definitely needed more info to update Dir. Kim's profile. I'm now lost in the middle with stuff to edit & update .. quite a task & I couldn't find the head or tail. (always forget how hard it is to start/maintain a thread ^^) Although Dir. KJW doesn't have that many movies.. yet.. his work especially the recent three features are most distinctively special from each other.. already gaining much recognition & well-deserved worldwide appreciation. Not to mention a cool debut with The Quiet Family.. featuring lots of excellent actors, must find this to watch. :blush:

May 16, 2005

Dialogue: Kim Jee-woon

Kim Jee-woon started his career on the stage, as an actor, writer and director. He switched to the big screen in 1998 with the dark comedy "The Quiet Family" and has since then produced a steady run of well-regarded hits. The Hollywood Reporter's Mark Russell spoke with the director about his festival entry, "A Bittersweet Life."

The Hollywood Reporter: "Dal Kom Han In-Saeng," is the Korean name for Fellini's "La Dolce Vita." Is there a connection between your film and the Fellini classic?

Kim Jee-woon: The title indicates some irony, as you will see from the film. Just as my first feature film, "The Quiet Family," told a story about a family that was hardly quiet at all -- stirring up troubles by committing a series of murders -- I thought this film would be a success if people re-examined the title after they watched it. By following an ambiguous life of a man that is not sweet, I tried to make a thoughtful and entertaining movie with the traits and style of an action noir based on many thoughts that were lingering in my mind: Is a life sweet?; Is it possible to dream of a sweet life?; Isn't it (a sweet life) impossible to realize?; To live a sweet life, to what extent should one endure a reality that feels like a nightmare?; Should he pay such a gruesome price for having been swayed by a sweet seduction? It is ironic, but I haven't seen the "La Dolce Vita" by Federico Fellini. I expect I'll receive many questions about this film, so I plan to watch it before I leave for Cannes. I guess the two films may share some similarities in the sense that both deal with the dark and absurd aspects of a life.

THR: Each of your films has been quite different in tone and content. Are there any underlying themes to your films that unite them? What do your films have in common?

Jee-woon: Well... Although I have always dealt with different genres, ranging from black comedy to horror to action noire, I reckon I maintain a consistent cinematic tone. Let's say I am interested in creating the comic and tragic circumstances in life, such as the ironies of life and the breakdown of communications. Perhaps the most consistent element in my films is the lead characters -- they are pitiful, wretched characters. Faced with huge waves of destiny, they resist, strain to fight back, and try to get out to the extent they can. However, they are always reckless, mediocre, or failing.

Photo courtesy dalcom2005/LBH blog

THR: I heard that you use a lot of psychology when you write your characters and stories, especially Freudianism. Is that true?

Kim Jee-woon: Not exactly Freudianism, but I do use a lot of psychology in advancing my story. Sometimes I am so absorbed in describing the psychology of my character, I almost make the 'existential' side of my character evaporate. Yet I think the psychology of the character is very existential. Many critics and journals try to look for a trend in my work, but not for the psychological existentialism of the character.

THR: "A Bittersweet Life" opens and closes with a kind of Buddhist parable. But in between, there is much violence and revenge and rather un-Buddha-like behavior. What is the significance of these parables, and how do they relate to the rest of the film?

Kim Jee-woon: The parables at the beginning and the end are intended as a key to understand this movie. They also contribute to creating the circumstantial mood of the character. This movie is not simply a revenge story, and maybe it is not interested in revenge at all. It is rather a road movie that follows the internal journey of the main character, Sunwoo. This is also a type of coming-of-age movie, which follows a cool character who seems to have a self-satisfied life from the point he begins to question himself and his motives to the point he comes to his own realization.

THR: What's next for you? What kind of movies do you want to make?

Kim Jee-woon: Nobody knows.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Random: Dir. Kim Ji Woon & Lee Byung Hun in 2005

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DIRECTOR KIM JEE WOON ANSWERS EVERYTHING GBW & MORE!

Luckily they weren't serious with "The Good, The Bad, The EVEN WORSE" title .. that would be just hilarious! LOL!

July 25, 2008

Kim Ji-Woon Talks 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird)

Posted by . X . at 2:17am

It would be hard to call it a blessing in disguise, but beggars can’t be choosers. And, possibly, the first thing you can do in a period of crisis is pick up the broken pieces after the earthquake, salvage whatever was left intact and start anew. Among the many negatives this 2008 season brought to Chungmuro, the number 37 could become the lucky spark which restarts that process, that wave of creative energy which once produced some of the very best films in the world, and is now struggling to say anything of note. 37% is the domestic share Korean films recorded during the first half of 2008, as KOFIC recently reported. 26 million people saw the 50 Korean films released so far, making up for 35% of the total income. Only a few of those fifty films will end up breaking even, with perhaps only 추격자 (The Chaser) and 우리 생애 최고의 순간 (Forever the Moment) making any real money.

Yet, there’s another 37% which will make some people smile. It’s the growth International sales recorded compared to last year. Total income went up from 7.4 million US$ to over ten million, particularly with a 1,740% increase in North America and 18% in Asia, despite a sharp drop in European contracts. There’s obviously a reason for such impressive performance in the US and Canada, since it factors in the remake rights of The Chaser and 세븐 데이즈 (Seven Days), but it’s nonetheless a positive sign. Also positive, although expectedly so, was the first week on release for Kim Ji-Woon’s kimchi western 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 (The Good, The Bad, and The Weird), which just hit the three million admissions mark after seven days, as is expected to reach four million by this weekend. Right around this time, two years ago, people were experiencing a similarly phenomenal run by another blockbuster. But, strangely enough, this time the monster is being treated much more gently. What could the reason be?

When Bong Joon-Ho’s 괴물 (The Host) debuted, starting with a crazy 600-screen release, film people were complaining of blockbusters monopolizing the distribution channels. Sure enough, a year later 디워 (D-War) and 화려한 휴가 (May 18) faced similar (and arguably deserved) criticism. Yet, a quick look at last weekend’s box office report and the current reactions emerging about the Manchurian western will be telling: 14 Billion Won spread over 954 nationwide screens, roughly 45% of the entire pie. If that’s not a monopoly, you’d ask yourself what could, but few people are complaining. Why? Because The Good, The Bad, and The Weird is Chungmuro’s new savior, the film which could open the doors of a renaissance, or slam them in the face of whomever is brave enough to ask for funding after that.

This is as much a psychological game as the fall of the screen quota and its aftermath were. When a couple of years ago the industry was hovering around the 60% domestic share and funding was readily available (relatively), people could have gone the Lee Joon-Ik way. They could have spent knowing money wasted today will be money lost tomorrow. But they wasted billions on pretty and empty star vehicles, idiotic jopok comedies, concept films without concept. More or less the cinematic equivalent of a Bugatti Veyron powered by a tractor engine. You can go read all the red ink-stained results, but what really counts is investors’ idea of how the film market is doing. The screen quota, more than anything, threw down a psychological barrier which helped Korean cinema’s diversity flourish for years, at least on paper. And, consequentially, what this endless repetition of flops taught most investors was that Korean films aren’t safe to invest anymore. Unless those three amigos do something about it.

This is why Kim Ji-Woon’s film is so important to the short term health of Chungmuro, albeit director Kim is too modest (or burdened) to admit it. Many of the big names with big projects in need of big funding are still struggling to find investors, and the risk of falling into another GP506 (The Post Guard) affair, with shooting halted mid-flight for lack of finding and later resumed, doesn’t sound so strange after all. For that reason, there isn’t as much backlash about the 900 screens as one would think, and even critics (those who know their trade anyway) understand how important and symbolic the success of this film can become. It’s not pretty to admit, that an entire industry is hanging from a cliff in Grand Canyon, waiting to be saved by a foul king riding a motorbike, the first Dolce & Gabbana-clad cowboy assassin and Giordano’s favorite boy playing with his toy gun.

It’s a bit of a shame, seeing all these elements, superfluous to us movie aficionados but eventually becoming an influence, dictating most of the discourse regarding this work. The fact it brought back the western to Korea after decades, or as critic Oh Dong-Jin points out its technical achievements, its bringing back the energy which Chungmuro had been sorely lacking for over a year. It shouldn’t be forgotten, but it seems it’s playing second fiddle to all those numbers, the worries and psychological games. It’s very likely the film will reach the 7-8 million tickets it needs to land in safe territory, that it will become a solid hit overseas, and you can bet Expression Engine will beg me to stop writing when that DVD we’re waiting for comes out. But, in the meantime, let’s forget about money and listen to the man himself, in a collection of bits and pieces from various interviews, taken during the last week.

Four days after its July 17 release, the film has already sold over two million tickets. It’s really an impressive result, particularly as it came so fast. How are you feeling?

I’m not really the type to, say, get excited if things really go well, or submit to frustration if it’s not the case. I think, in this case, the better than expected opening came thanks to people’s expectations and the fact there was a much higher number of people intrigued by the film than usual. This film is basking in all the madness and insanity the people who made it showed. My hoping for a good result at the box office, unlike my past relative indifference, really comes down to hoping this repays all the efforts of the cast and crew in an explosive way. Even if nowadays the initial part of a theater run is always important, in some ways it could help revitalize the industry a little. The idea that people just need to close an eye on Chungmuro because it’s a crisis doesn’t make any sense. But I think this is an interesting and fun film, and that, spectacle as it may be, I was hoping more people would see it.

Are you planning to make other cuts [ed. Other than the Cannes and Korean ones]?

I’m preparing a new one for the TIFF. I think the cut they’ll see in Toronto is an upgrade of the Cannes one, and will probably become what we sell overseas.

Looking at the film’s atmosphere, shooting couldn’t be anything but a constant battle. Then you had to deal with a record-breaking 17.5 Billion budget, you were constantly running against the clock. It must have been really something.

It seems I lived the last few months screaming “faster” and “stronger.” It’s as if I became a track & field coach for the Olympics (laughs). While shooting I always felt this huge barrier in front of me, as if it was something I couldn’t overcome. I wasn’t running against the clock predicting how it would end, I just kept wondering what I could find beyond that barrier. So there was this desire to throw it down. We kept pushing to the limit, not only myself but everyone involved in this film. I think the result will be felt in the final film. Kim Hye-Soo said, after watching the film, that it was just crazy. That’s the mood. It could feel like excess to some people, not allowing them to sink into the film emotionally. But, then again, other people will see this as a madness-drenched spectacle, and could bask in it. I’d like people to just bask in the film’s audiovisual pleasures, that’s all.

When you introduced the film at the press screening, you said “it’s not a masterpiece or anything, but I made it being sincere about its spectacle roots.” Didn’t that put an end to all criticism?

I was just hoping this would be remembered as having “the best chase scene,” or the “best opening action scene.” It doesn’t have that universal appeal of the classics. I just hope people will talk of all those epic, monumental moments affecting and exciting viewers, be it casual filmgoers or film buffs.

You’ve been criticized for poor scripts before, so didn’t that automatically make you react to the similar criticism about this film?

What I was focusing on in this film was something else, so I just created a basic skeleton of a story. People think storytelling is always pivotal in films, but there’s more to film that simple narrative; films can be enjoyed in many other ways. I just think story is one of those elements. That’s how I worked all those years. But some critics keep beating on the same point, focusing on the lack of narrative. Those people need to understand what the director is trying to do first, and then they can judge if he did that well or not. They keep ignoring what I’m trying to do, and just project what they’re thinking about my style regardless of what I’m doing, so it’s not really constructive criticism. Doesn’t help the viewers, nor themselves.

I’m curious, when you decided the title would become the current one, why did “The Ugly” change to “The Weird?”

First, I didn’t really plan to use this title. A Bittersweet Life [ed. Korean title is the same as Fellini’s La Dolce Vita], and the short film I’m putting the finishing touches on [ed. Titled in Korean like Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures] used titles from existing films, so at least this time I didn’t want to repeat myself. But no matter how much I thought about it, this was the most powerful title I could think of. Something like 황야의 세 악인 (Three Villains in the Wilderness) was also one of the nominations.

Then again, that’s similar to Kurosawa’s 隱し砦の三惡人 (The Hidden Fortress) [ed. Japanese title roughly means “the hidden fortress’ three villains”].

Ha! We also had 좋은 놈 나쁜 놈 더 나쁜 놈 (The Good, The Bad, The Even Worse)! (laughs) That and all the other candidate titles felt a little flat, so we went for this. And of course they loved the title overseas, so that helped. Particularly the importers (laughs). I saw this as a film that had to focus on spectacle carried by strong characters, and “weird” has certain nuances that could help the film. But, you know, there’s also a kind of sentiment attached to that word.

Did you ever plan to open a la The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly showing titles for every character?

It’s true I was influenced by Leone’s film, but I never thought of any parody, homage or remake. I just wanted to transfer the memories of Leone’s trilogy I saw in my childhood, and my fantasies about the great westerns into a Korean film. As a result, I borrowed the characters of that film, but that’s where it ends. The film that’s closest to The Good, The Bad, and The Weird is actually Lee Man-Hee’s 쇠사슬을 끊어라 (Break the Chains).

If one looks at your films, you’re not adding images to express a kind of narrative you devised. You first devise a special look, and then add a story and some bones so that it can stand on its own. If we look at this film in particular, the vast Manchurian plains, the bikes and the horses, all the dust and smoke, the rush and the chase. That really seems to be the starting point for this film.

That’s it. I once went on a train ride around Spain, and looking at those vast plains I instantly fell for that image. The only living things you could find were birds, and it felt as if it had no end. Honestly, if you look at Korea, even the top of any mountain is crowded with people. People sometimes need some quiet and solitude, but in Korea where would you possibly feel that? There isn’t much land to begin with. Sometimes it makes me think. What would Korean men have become, if they hadn’t been confined to a peninsula and lived in a vast continental country? That kind of scale and impetuous passion, you know? You can say I was always dreaming of that. I always thought I’d one day make a film about men riding horses on a vast, deserted plain, and the western was perfectly suited for that image. You could say I made this film with those men riding horses on the great plains in mind. So any time I see those men, the horses, the chases. I just get excited, I even want to scream (laughs).

I think this film, just like the Batman series, opened the possibility of making a sequel, changing the villain for instance.

A sequel? Nah. If we’re talking about three women, then I’d understand (laughs). Actually, more than a sequel, I think there’s something important about this revival of the Manchurian action film. There was always a certain interest in action adventure films, but we’ve wasted those expectations on way too many jopok films. This film resurrected the Manchurian Western after decades, and more than anything I hope this becomes the catalyst for a revival, so that other directors can make that vision come true. You could think of 다찌마와 리 (Dachimawa Lee) as something similar, for instance. There are many Korean directors who’d love to shoot a western film. I think Oh Seung-Wook [ed. Director of 킬리만자로 (Kilimanjaro)] could make a really great Manchurian western, and even Choi Ho [사생결단 (Bloody Tie), 고고 70 (Go Go 70), etc.] always loved westerns. I think Lee Myung-Se, Park Chan-Wook and Kim Sung-Soo might just be the same? I hope this film helps paving the way commercially and structurally for a revival of the genre.

SOURCES [Naver], [Naver], [Naver], [Film 2.0], [Movieweek], [Daum], [Daum], [Naver], [My Daily], [Cine21]

Gratitude to twitchfilm.net, photos from CINE21, empas.com

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28th Hawaii International Film Festival 9-19 October, 2008

October 20, 2008

Director wins over audiences and critics

By Gary C.W. Chun

Dennis Oda / doda@starbulletin.com

Director Kim Jee-woon, left, and actor Jung Woo-sung held their awards from the Hawaii International Film Festival, presented during a press conference Saturday. Kim was given HIFF's Maverick Award and Jung the Achievement in Acting Award.

Hollywood has already recognized the achievements of director Kim Jee-woon in its own way. His atmospheric box-office horror hit of 2003, "A Tale of Two Sisters," has been remade in English into "The Uninvited" that stars Elizabeth Banks and Emily Browning and is scheduled to hit theaters in late January.

Kim followed up "Sisters" with 2005's noir-like "A Bittersweet Life," and the director brought the film to the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival.

He returned this year with "The Good The Bad The Weird," his entertaining homage to Sergio Leone's classic "spaghetti Westerns," in particular the Clint Eastwood classic "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

Festival Executive Director Chuck Boller described the film as Kim's "kim-chee Western."

Kim and one of the film's stars, Jung Woo-sung, flew to Hawaii on Friday morning and, after some late-night karaoke, according to Boller, were ready to appear the following morning at a press conference at the Garden Terrace of the Halekulani Hotel.

There, Jung was presented with the festival's Achievement in Acting Award, and Kim received the Maverick Award. They later attended a screening of "The Good The Bad The Weird," followed by a reception at the O Lounge.

Kim has built a reputation as the rare filmmaker whose projects consistently win over both audiences and critics.

The man obviously likes to work in different genres, but he half-jokingly said that, after the taxing experience of making his last film on location, "my next film will have no horses, no three main characters, and not another Western."

Later, in a private interview, Kim quickly answered "Yes!" and laughed when asked if this was the most difficult film he had ever done.

"With this movie, there were two big problems that I was constantly dealing with, mainly creative and budget concerns. ... I know that Woody Allen has said that, 'If I can get 60 percent of what I originally wanted from making a movie, I'm happy.' I'm not trying to compare myself to him, but a director's satisfaction is not necessary for a movie like this one, that was mainly made for a large audience."

But Kim did enjoy trying to replicate Leone's camerawork and artistic sensitivity, as well as the performances that he got from his lead actors (who also included popular stars Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun).

"I gave three different missions to my actors," he said. "With Kang-ho as The Weird, his comic role as the robber had to carry the plot throughout the movie. The Bad, as played by Byung-hun, had to bring tension and emotion to his role as the killer. And with Woo-sung, I wanted him to bring a sense of elegance and 'visual pleasure' as The Good as represented by the bounty hunter."

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

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October 13, 2008

Kim Wins Best Director Award in Spanish Film Fest

By Chung Ah-young

Staff Reporter

Director Kim Jee-woon

Kim Jee-woon, director of Korean blockbuster film "The Good, The Bad, The Weird," was awarded Best Director at the 41st Sitges International Film Festival in Catalonia, Spain, which closed on Oct. 12.

Kim's film also won the award for Best Special Effects. The "oriental Western" featuring exciting horseback races and train rides, is a revisionist western set in 1930s Manchuria, starring top actors Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho and Jung Woo-sung.

Another Korean movie, "The Chaser" directed by Na Hong-jin grabbed the Orient Express Award, or best Asian production motion picture. The Korean thriller is a suspenseful story of a serial murder starring actors Ha Jung-woo and Kim Yun-seok.

The film festival's Best Motion Picture went to "Surveillanc" by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch.

The film festival, created in 1968, is one of the major fantasy film festivals in the world.

Last year, Korean actress Lee Young-ae starring in "Lady Vengeance" directed by Park Chan-wook won the award for Best Actress in 2005 and "The Host" directed by Bong Jun-ho grabbed the Orient Express Award in 2006.

Credits: chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

October 27, 2008

2 Korean Films Win at Sitges International Film Fest

The 41st Sitges International Film Festival, Europe’s biggest fantasy film fest, awarded KIM Ji-woon's The Good, The Bad, The Weird the Best Director prize when it wrapped Oct. 12 in Catalonia. The film also picked up the Best F/X award. Top prize went to Jennifer Lynch thriller Surveillance.

Also awarded was NA Hong-jin's The Chaser, winning the Orient-Express Casa Asia award for outstanding Asian film. KIM's western and NA's thriller were the two top grossing films at the Korean box office this year, collecting 7.1 million and 5.1 million admissions respectively.

NA's The Chaser recently won Best Film at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. The tough crime-thriller follows an ex-cop-turned pimp chasing down an elusive prostitute killer.

KIM’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird revolves around a treasure map, and stars Korea’s top male leads, SONG Kang-ho, LEE Byung-hun, and JUNG Woo-sung. It is set in Manchuria during the Japanese colonial period.

KIM has been to Sitges twice in the past to present his previous films A Bittersweet Life and A Tale of Two Sisters. In 2006, director BONG Joon-ho received the Orient Express award for his monster hit The Host.

Credits: Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)

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* Complete list at the designated thread by Huangsy, GBW with 8 nominations out of 15!

Our thanks & credits to kdramafanusa at the Blue Dragon thread

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?sho...60&start=60

Added images from official homepage (by Helena)

The 29th Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominee List

[For movies released from 2007.10.25 to 2008.10.30]

BEST FILM 최우수작품

Seven Days 세븐데이즈

Forever The Moment 우리 생애 최고의 순간 (이하 우생순)

The Good, The Bad, The Weird 좋은놈 나쁜놈 이상한놈 (이하 놈놈놈)

The Chaser 추격자

Crossing 크로싱

BEST DIRECTOR 감독

Kim Yoo-jin 김유진 (The Divine Weapon 신기전)

Kim Ji-woon 김지운 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Kim Tae-kyun 김태균 (Crossing 크로싱)

Won Shin-yeon 원신연 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Lim Soon-rye 임순례 (Forever The Moment 우생순)

BEST LEADING ACTOR 남우주연

Kim Yoon-seok 김윤석 (The Chaser 추격자)

Kim Joo-hyuk 김주혁 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

Seol Kyung-gu 설경구 (Kang Cheol-Jung: Public Enemy 1-1 강철중 : 공공의 적 1-1)

Song Kang-ho 송강호 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Lee Byung-hun 이병헌 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Ha Jung-woo 하정우 (The Chaser 추격자)

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Copied from GBW-cafe.daum

Dir. Kim at GBW location filming in 100-day China

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November 19, 2008

29th Blue Dragon Film Awards - November 20, 2008

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=256731

Stars gear up to grace the red carpet at Korea’s version of the Oscars

The 29th Blue Dragon Film Awards will be held tomorrow at the KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. The red carpet ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m.

Awards will be given in 15 different categories, including Best Film and Best Director. Nominees for Best Film include “Seven Days,” “Forever the Moment,” “The Good, the Bad and the Weird” and “Crossing.”

Kim Jee-woon (The Good, the Bad and the Weird), Kim Tae-hyun (Crossing), Won Shin-yeon (Seven Days), Lim Soon-rye (Forever the Moment), Kim Yoo-jin (“The Divine Weapon”) are up for Best Director.

Actors and actresses in the running for an award include Kim Yun-seok and Ha Jeong-woo from “The Chaser,” Song Gang-ho and Lee Byung-hun from The Good, the Bad and the Weird, Kim Yun-jin from Seven Days and Moon So-ri from Forever the Moment.

The Best Film nominees were screened at the Daehan Cinema in Chungmuro, central Seoul, from Nov. 9 to 18. Han Jae-rim’s “The Show Must Go On” was last year’s Best Film.

Source: INSIDE JoongAng Daily

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897504

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Thanks to kdramafanusa at the Blue Dragon thread

The 29th Blue Dragon Awards Winner List

[For films shown from 2007.10.25 to 2008.10.30]

CONGRATULATIONS to Dir. Kim Ji Woon!

BEST FILM 최우수작품

Seven Days 세븐데이즈

Forever The Moment 우리 생애 최고의 순간 (이하 우생순)

The Good, The Bad, The Weird 좋은놈 나쁜놈 이상한놈 (이하 놈놈놈)

The Chaser 추격자

Crossing 크로싱

BEST DIRECTOR 감독

Kim Yoo-jin 김유진 (The Divine Weapon 신기전)

Kim Ji-woon 김지운 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Kim Tae-kyun 김태균 (Crossing 크로싱)

Won Shin-yeon 원신연 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Lim Soon-rye 임순례 (Forever The Moment 우생순)

BEST LEADING ACTOR 남우주연

Kim Yoon-seok 김윤석 (The Chaser 추격자)

Kim Joo-hyuk 김주혁 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

Seol Kyung-gu 설경구 (Kang Cheol-Jung: Public Enemy 1-1 강철중 : 공공의 적 1-1)

Song Kang-ho 송강호 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Lee Byung-hun 이병헌 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Ha Jung-woo 하정우 (The Chaser 추격자)

BEST LEADING ACTRESS 여우주연

Gong Hyo-jin 공효진 (Crush & Blush 미쓰 홍당무)

Kim Yun-jin 김윤진 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Moon So-ri 문소리 (Forevever The Moment 우생순)

Son Ye-jin 손예진 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

Soo Ae 수애 (Sunny 님은 먼곳에)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 남우조연

Go Chang-seok 고창석 (Rough Cut 영화는 영화다)

Park Hee-soon 박희순 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Uhm Tae-woong 엄태웅 (Forever The Moment 우생순)

Lim Won-hee 임원희 (Le Grand Chef 식객)

Jung Kyung-ho 정경호 (Sunny 님은 먼곳에)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 여우조연

Kim Mi-sook 김미숙 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Kim Ji-young 김지영 (Forever The Moment 우생순)

Kim Hae-sook 김해숙 (Open City 무방비 도시)

Park Shi-yeon 박시연 (Dachimawa Lee 다찌마와 리)

Seo Young-hee 서영희 (The Chaser 추격자)

BEST NEW ACTOR 신인남우

Kang Ji-hwan 강지환 (Rough Cut 영화는 영화다)

Kim Nam-gil 김남길 (Kang Cheol-Jung: Public Enemy 1-1 강철중 : 공공의 적 1-1)

Ryu Tae-joon 류태준 (Girl Scout 걸스카우트)

So Ji-sub 소지섭 (Rough Cut 영화는 영화다)

Lee Young-hoon 이영훈 (GP506)

BEST NEW ACTRESS 신인여우

Seo Woo 서우 (Crush & Blush 미쓰 홍당무)

Lee Ha-na 이하나 (Le Grand Chef 식객)

Han Ye-seul 한예슬 (Miss Gold Digger 용의주도 미스 신)

Han Eun-jung 한은정 (The Divine Weapon 신기전)

Hwang Woo Seul-hye 황우슬혜 (Crush & Blush 미쓰 홍당무)

BEST NEW DIRECTOR 신인감독

Na Hong-jin 나홍진 (The Chaser 추격자)

Oh Jeom-gyun 오점균 (Viva! Love 경축! 우리사랑)

Lee Kyung-mi 이경미 (Crush & Blush 미쓰 홍당무)

Lee Sang-ki 이상기 (Open City 무방비 도시)

Jang Hoon 장훈 (Rough Cut 영화는 영화다)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 촬영

Kim Byung-seo 김병서 (Go Go 70 고고70)

Kim Tae-kyung 김태경 (Modern Boy 모던보이)

Lee Mo-gae 이모개 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Lee Sung-je 이성제 (The Chaser 추격자)

Hong Kyung-pyo 홍경표 (M)

BEST LIGHTING 조명

Kang Dae-Hee 강대희 (Modern Boy 모던보이)

Shin Kyung-man 신경만 (Go Go 70 고고70)

Oh Seung-cheol 오승철 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Lee Cheol-oh 이철오 (The Chaser 추격자)

Choi Cheol-soo 최철수 (M)

BEST MUSIC 음악

Kim Joon-seok 김준석 Choi Yong-rak 최용락 (The Chaser 추격자)

Dalparan 달파란 Jang Young-gyu 장영규 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Bang Joon-seok 방준석 (Go Go 70 고고70)

Lee Byung-hoon 이병훈 Bang Joon-seok 방준석 (Sunny 님은 먼곳에)

Lee Jae-jin 이재진 (Modern Boy 모던보이)

BEST ART DIRECTION 미술

Kang Seung-yong 강승용 (Sunny 님은 먼곳에)

Min Eun-wook 민언욱 (The Divine Weapon 신기전)

Yoo-Joo-ho 유주호 Yoon Sang-yoon 윤상윤 (M)

Jo Sang-kyung 조상경 (Modern Boy 모던보이)

Jo Hwa-sung 조화성 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

TECHINICAL AWARD 기술

Kim Seon-min 김선민 (The Chaser - editing 추격자-편집)

Shin Min-kyung 신민경 (Seven Days - editing 세븐데이즈-편집)

Lee Chang-man 이창만 (GP506 - special makeup GP506-특수분장)

Visual Insight 인사이트비주얼 (Modern Boy - CG 모던보이-CG)

DTI (The Good, The Bad, The Weird - CG 놈놈놈-CG)

BEST SCREENPLAY 각본

Na Hyun 나현 (Forever The Moment 우생순)

Na Hong-jin 나홍진 (The Chaser 추격자)

Song Hye-jin 송혜진 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

Yoon Jae-gu 윤재구 (Seven Days 세븐데이즈)

Lee Kyung-mi 이경미 (Crush & Blush 미쓰 홍당무)

SHORT FILM AWARD 단편영화상

잔소리

POPULARITY AWARD 인기스타상

Seol Kyung-gu 설경구 (Kang Cheol-jung: Public Enemy 1-1 강철중: 공공의 적 1-1)

Jung Woo-sung 정우성 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈)

Kim Ha-neul 김하늘 (Lovers Of 6 Years 6년째 연애중)

Son Ye-jin 손예진 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

BEST COUPLE 베스트커플

Kim Joo-hyuk 김주혁 & Son Ye-jin 손예진 (My Wife Got Married 아내가 결혼했다)

MOST POPULAR FILM 최다관객상

The Good, The Bad, The Weird 놈놈놈

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WELL DONE & CONGRATULATIONS to the dream team & NomNomNom production.

November 21, 2008

Blue Dragon Award Goes to Sports Drama

The 2008 Blue Dragon Awards chose a sports drama about the silver medal-winning Korean women handball Olympic team as the best movie of the year. In the award ceremony at the KBS Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday, the award for the best film went to "Forever the Moment" directed by Yim Soon-rye. The movie is based on the true story of the women's Olympic team which lost to Denmark in the finals of the 2004 Athens Olympics on penalty shots.

The ceremony, the 29th, was presented by actor Jung Joon-ho and actress Kim Hye-soo.

The award for the best actor went to Kim Yun-seok, who plays a dirty detective who becomes a pimp in "The Chaser." So Ye-jin won the award for the best actress for her role in "My Wife Got Married." Kim Jee-woon won best director for "The Good, the Bad, the Weird." The movie won three other awards, in cinematography and art direction, and for the movie that drew the biggest audience with 6.68 million.

The proceedings turned solemn when Choi Jin-sil was named as the recipient of honorary popular star award. It was 50 days since Choi died by her own hand. Actor Ahn Sung-ki paid tribute to her, saying "The films that she left us will be remembered in our hearts forever."

Credits: englishnews@chosun.com

November 20, 2008

Kim Yoon Seok and Son Ye Jin Crowned Best Actor and Best Actress

After a red carpet event that saw some of the biggest Korean stars attending, the results of the 29th Blue Dragon Awards are finally out. Kim Yoon Seok grabbed the Best Actor Award based on his movie “The Chaser” while Son Ye Jin took the Best Actress Award for her movie “My Wife Got Married” which was breaking box office records just a while ago. The Best Movie goes to “Forever the Moment“, a movie on the South Korean women’s Handball team played by Moon So Ri and Kim Jung Eun. Congratulations to all winners. View the complete list below.

Winning List

Best Movie: Forever the Moment

Best Director: Kim Ji Woon (The Good, The Bad and The Weird)

Best Leading Actor: Kim Yoon Seok (The Chaser)

Best Leading Actress: Son Ye Jin (My Wife Got Married)

Best Supporting Actor: Park Hee Soon (Seven Days)

Best Supporting Actress: Kim Ji Young (Forever the Moment)

Best Newcomer Actor: So Ji Sub, Kang Ji Hwan (Movie is Movie)

Best Newcomer Actress: Han Ye Seul (Miss Gold Digger)

Best Newcomer Director: Lee Kyung Mi (Miss Carrot)

Best Script: Lee Kyung Mi (Miss Carrot)

Best Cinematography: Lee Moo Gae (The Good, The Bad and The Weird)

Best Music: Bang Joon Seok (Go Go 70)

Best Art Direction: Jo Hwa Sung (The Good, The Bad and The Weird)

Best Technical Production: In Site Visual (Modern Boy)

Best Lighting: Kang Dae Hee (Modern Boy)

Best Short Film: Choi Jung Ryul (Nagging)

Top Box Office: The Good, The Bad and The Weird

Popularity Awards

Most Popular Actors: Sol Kyung Gu, Jung Woo Sung

Most Popular Actresses: Kim Ha Neul, Son Ye Jin

Blue Dragon Honorary Popularity Award: Late Choi Jin Shil

Best Onscreen Couple: Son Ye Jin and Kim Joo Hyuk (My Wife Got Married)

Source: Hanfever.com