Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

[rubie]

January 7, 2020

 

Byunghun posted a belated Happy New Year post on his IG today. He must have been so busy the past few days/weeks due to the nonstop movie promos for Ashfall and TMSN. We too, can barely keep up with everything.. but it's great to finally get a message like this.

 

Looks like he's reminiscing his T1000 days.. smart thinking, Byunghun-ssi..using his fingers (peace sign) for 2020. 

 

Wishing all of you a lot of smiles in 2020
#terminatorgenisys

 

[rubie]

Source: CJ Entertainment

 

BAEKDUSAN+ Disaster / comedy / impressive food
This house is all good!
All-star Mukbang scene 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

[peonie]

@closetserialaddict

 

I agree 100% with @rubie.   Please do not allow your mom to watch "I saw the Devil".  It will spoil her image of LBH.  My favourite LBH Drama is "Beautiful Days". After I watched this, I became obsessed with LBH and searched information every where about him.   (Your mom has to bear with 3 un interesting episodes, thereafter, it is unstoppable.   Honestly., I have never done that for any actor in my whole life.  If your mom does not enjoy watching movies and dramas on the laptop screen, may I suggest that you invest in an Apple TV. Once your lap top is connected to Apple TV and your Apple TV is connected to you TV screen, Voila.  

[rubie]

1/7 Looks like BH has a new CF filming today, not sure for which product.  Maybe a new endorsement for 2020?

 

Photo: apples0205

 

 

Photos: 하하핫 @YKYfVIGVPxvNhoi

 

 

[rubie]

Their reaction the first time seeing the small camera that doesn't look like a camera. 

 

  

BH at the Cultwo Radio Show, 1/6

MJ at the beginning of her show last year

[rubie]

Source: ViBLE

 

It's been a while since we tweeted! We are also working hard on the app in the new year. #ViBLE #Bible #Yunoyunho #Park Chan-wook #Lee Byung-hun #coming_soon_

 

[rubie]

Source: BH Entertainment

 

 

[rubie]

ASHFALL is finally taking a break from the number 1 spot at the Korean Box Office, with an accumulated 7.67 million admission. Now at number 3 after two new Hollywood releases on January 8, it's still too early to say anything. As they say good things doesn't last forever but we'll never say never either!  ASHFALL Fighting!

 

January 9, 2020

 

Even without a hit, studios are still spending big: Local blockbusters struggle to profit but expect more in 2020

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

Clockwise from top are scenes from new films coming up in 2020: the local sci-fi blockbuster “Seobok,” musical film “Hero,” drama film “The Man Standing Next” and comedy “Secret Zoo.” [CJ ENTERTAINMENT, SHOWBOX, ACEMAKER MOVIE WORKS]

The centennial of Korean cinema turned out to be a record-setting year, with 220 million movie tickets sold in 2019. While many local film distributors see the growing numbers as a sign that the industry is growing, the reality is that the business continues to struggle to make a profit at the box office.

 

For instance, “Ashfall,” which was released in December, raised eyebrows months before its release due to its immense production cost of 26 billion won ($22.4 million). In order for the film to reach its break-even point, it needed to sell 7.3 million tickets.

 

As of Tuesday, the film has sold 7.6 million admissions on its 20th day of release, but judging from slowing ticket sales and the upcoming release of films such as “Dolittle” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” this week, it seems the film will have trouble reaping a significant profit.

 

Over the past few years industry experts have seen a jump in the number of local big-budget films being made. According to an annual report released by the Korean Film Council, in 2018, the average production cost of 40 commercial films that qualify as big-budget films (costing over 3 billion won to make) was 7.9 billion won, an increase of 7.8 percent compared to 2017.

 

However, the estimated profit made from those 40 films was found to be a deficit of 17.3 percent, a sharp decline compared to the year before when it reached a surplus of 18 percent. This was the first deficit recorded since 2012, and experts say that the primary cause lies in the lack of popularity of big-budget movies.

 

Nevertheless, a slew of expensive films of various genres are on the docket and already generating a buzz, as studios hope to attract audiences with star-studded casts and advanced visual effects (VFX) technology.

 

One of the most anticipated projects of the year is the tentatively titled “Seungriho.” The film is the first local large-scale sci-fi movie and is reported to have cost 24 billion won to make. Director Jo Sung-hee, who achieved success for his 2012 romantic fantasy film “A Werewolf Boy,” and actor Song Joong-ki reunited for the film seven years after last working together.

 

Actor Kim Tae-ri will also appear in the film playing the lead role of a spaceship captain. Actor Yoo Hae-jin plays a robot, and his character is the first robot made through motion capture technology used in a local film. The character is being animated by VFX house Dexter Studios, who also created the effects in the “Along with the Gods” series (2017/2018) and “Ashfall.”

 

“Seobok” by director Lee Yong-ju is about a former agent from the information bureau (played by Gong Yoo) who is on the brink of death. He eventually meets the world’s first human clone named Seobok (played by Park Bo-gum) to learn the secret to eternal life. The film is said to have cost 16 billion won to make.

 

Another highly-anticipated title is director Yeon Sang-ho’s “The Peninsula,” which will take audiences to a world four years after the zombie apocalypse that erupted in “Train to Busan” (2016). The movie stars Kang Dong-won, whose character is on a mission to fight off the powerful zombies.

 

On a slightly different note, the film “Emergency Announcement” (tentatively titled) by director Han Jae-rim is set on an airplane on alert due to a viral epidemic happening outside. The 15-billion-won film stars the duo from “Joint Security Area” (2000) - actors Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun - playing characters working together to survive.

 

Spoiler

 

Stories related to North Korea are still a popular theme in the local film industry. The director of “The Berlin File” (2012), Ryu Seung-wan, is returning to the big screen through “Mogadishu,” which is based on a true story of workers from North and South Korean Embassies escaping the Somalia civil war in the 1990s. A cast of veteran actors including Zo In-sung, Kim Yoon-suk and Huh Joon-ho will appear in the film, which cost 15 billion won to make.

 

“Summit: Steel Rain” by director Yang Woo-suk places the three leaders of the United States, North and South Korea in jeopardy when they are trapped in a North Korean nuclear submarine. Actor Jung Woo-sung, who portrayed a North Korean spy agent in “Steel Rain” (2017) plays the South Korean president in this film, and Kwak Do-won plays a North Korean secondary leader who leads a military coup. The North leader is featured by Yoo Yeon-seok.

 

Many renowned directors are also expected to make a comeback this year. Director Lee Joon-ik, who was behind the black-and-white film “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet,” is back with black-and-white film “Jasaneobo” based on a historical figure Jeong Yak-jeon (1758-1816), who is a scholar from the Joseon Dynasty (1319-1910). “Jasaneobo” is the marine biology book that the scholar researched for and wrote during his 14-year-exile.

 

The film goes on to describe how the renowned scholar (played by actor Seol Kyung-gu) writes the book along with the help of a local peasant named Chang-dae (played by Byun Yo-han).

 

Director Yim Soon-rye is the first female director to work on a blockbuster worth more than10 billion won with her upcoming film “Bargain” (tentatively titled). Actors Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin will take on the roles of a diplomat and a National Intelligence Service agent on a rescue mission to save a Korean kidnapped in the Middle East.

 

Director Yoon Jae-kyun is behind the first local musical film “Hero” about the independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910). Actor Jung Sung-hwa, who’s played Ahn on stage since 2009, will play the lead role.

 

BY NA WON-JEONG, KANG HYE-RAN AND LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

 

 

THE MAN STANDING NEXT Daum Gallery (here)

 

 

[rubie]

Source: CJ Entertainment

 

His daughter.

Meet Kim Si-A, the young acting genius.
Ri Jun Pyung x Sun Ok, reunion scene 

 

[rubie]

More TMSN stills, thanks to fans' sharing on twitter

 

Source: @hhminee

 

 

 

[p.v.wong]

THE MAN STANDING NEXT will be at Cultwo Radio Show

 

 

 

[peonie]

@p.v.wong  Thank you so much for sharing this video.   It will be great if we can get sub titles for this Radio Show.   The hosts are so funny and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  

[closetserialaddict]

@peonie @rubie

 

Ok, won't let mom watch "I saw the devil"... Never seen mom besotted with any actors before.. haha.. I don;t think she will change her mind about LBH after watching this movie BUT she will probably feel traumatised by the gory scenes. In fact, i can't imagine her watching it at all beyond the part when Choi Min Sik starts chopping someone up.. 

 

I think she might like Shiri.. i have the series on DVDs.. We are that old school. But mom is worse than me.. They just threw away their DVD player.. so she can only watch LBH when she's at y place.. 

 

Anyway, an apple TV is a good idea.. i shall put that on the list for when i can remember. 

 

Speaking of my folks, i think Beautiful Days is somewhere in their house. I shall go look for it.. But i remember LBH had an awful hair colour (and style in it).. oh well, i still look forward to binge-watching it during CNY

 

Has anyone seen the movie in which LBH played a down-and-out boxer with an autistic brother? How's that one.. 

I am now looking forward to watching The Man Standing Next... What else is there to look out for? 

[closetserialaddict]

pssst.. has anyone else noticed LBH's hair is thinning?  #dontshootmeforpointingthatout.. 

[rubie]

@closetserialaddict Speaking of Beautiful Days, I have to confess I almost did not watch the drama because of that blond hairstyle+look ... but when I heard his voice and felt the screen presence, there's no going back.  Because BD was filmed in the early 2000s, the hairstyle was the trend in Korea at the time. I remember watching All About Eve after Beautiful Days with Jang Dong Gun sporting the same style (white streaks) and it didn't look good on him either. But anyway, like @peonie, BD is my LBH deal, a forever classic. When the Korean Wave was booming back then, Winter Sonata (come to think of it, BYJ sported the wavy orange-dyed hair) was insanely popular with many citing it as the Korean drama that started it all. For me, it's Beautiful Days, all the way. Of course, after that I started watching whatever LBH series and movies that I could find. Luckily in All In, the hairstyle was in black and back to normal again.

 

KEYS TO THE HEART is not bad, not bad at all. It's mainly a family drama with some comedy light-hearted moments as well as the compulsory tearjerker. LBH is nothing like his charismatic IRIS/ISTD persona.. just an out of luck regular guy with childhood scars and big heart. He has a great chemistry with Park Jung Min who as the autistic brother is another excellent actor. I especially like seeing LBH acting with actress Yuh Youn Jung, she's an amazing actress. It's definitely an appropriate movie to watch with the family ... totally not like I Saw The Devil. 

 

Here's the movie thread, if you're interested to know more and would like to share your thoughts later.. please do, ok.

 

 

THE MAN STANDING NEXT will be the one he's focusing now. Let's just hope the movie will be well-received in Korea. The content is already a controversial topic and hopefully Dir. Woo would redeem himself too. His previous movie, Drug King with SKH was not good.

 

After the TMSN promos, we'll be waiting for at least two confirmed project: Emergency Declaration (movie) and Here (drama). Not sure which one will come out first as both have not started any filming, that we know of. Can't wait for both, of course! 

 

As for, LBH's hair is thinning.. hmm.. maybe a bit.. maybe not. He is getting older that's for sure but still looking younger than other actors in the 40+ years range. The 1970s style for TMSN, the way his hair was combed made it look like he's thinning.   However, the non-filming casual and simple straight-cut looks good on him, even giving that boyish aura.

[rubie]

THE MAN STANDING NEXT is coming.. 

 

Source: CINE21

Cover No.1239

2020-01-14 to 2020-01-21

 

 

Ha Jung-woo Talks About His Acting With Lee Byung-hun

 

By William Schwartz on HanCinema.net

 

This time last year the career of Ha Jung-woo was in a less than stellar position. His big Christmas flick "Take Point" did quite poorly at the box office, only taking in four hundred thousand admissions, with a yearlong gap until his next release. Nevertheless, "Ashfall" made up for that shortfall this year, and Ha Jung-woo will soon appear in "The Closet", a mystery genre horror thriller with Kim Nam-gil with low expectations that will almost certainly be exceeded.

 

In a recent interview Ha Jung-woo relished the chance to work with co-stars. He spoke highly of Lee Byung-hun in "Ashfall", describing his comedic style as being highly familiar through his other work, though this was their first collaboration. Ha Jung-woo said they were always watching each other for cues, clashing over the distinct objectives of their characters.

 

Though "Ashfall" is not a comedy, Ha Jung-woo has emphasized how his rapport with Lee Byung-hun was built on humor. As Ha Jung-woo saw it, Lee Byung-hun was playing the more traditional hero, as opposed to Ha Jung-woo's at times more bumbling character. Ha Jung-woo has also admitted that "Ashfall" had a predictable story, that he knew as much from his first script reading, but that the project appealed to him because of the opportunities for character expression.

 

According to Ha Jung-woo his scenes and Lee Byung-hun's scenes were filmed separately to maximize their mutual impact and culture clash. The electric shock scene was the first one where they met. Independence was also prioritized in terms of individual jokes, with Ha Jung-woo having more of an independent gag style.

 

Beyond mere acting, Ha Jung-woo also had strong praise for Lee Byung-hun's stamina, describing him as having the energy of a twenty-something. Ha Jung-woo called Lee Byung-hun an acting machine in this regard. Of course, Ha Jung-woo is no slouch himself in this department, as following the release "The Closet" he will be set to start filming for "Boston 1947" and "Kidnapped".

[irilight]

On 1/6/2020 at 5:10 AM, peonie said:

More photos from the Cultwo Radio Show

@peonie, these are so funny.... I  think this is the first time I am seeing these kind of expressions on LBH. Of course, I am not an expert, like you, @rubie, and others on the thread.  And I tend to not watch comedies either.
 

 

On 1/6/2020 at 7:30 AM, rubie said:

happy new year! So good to see you back at the thread, hope you've been well.

Thank you very much,  @rubie, and Happy New Year to you and everyone else here.
You are always so kind and welcoming here.  Of course, I'll share my opinion, and I look forward to reading other POV's. 
 

6 hours ago, rubie said:

I especially like seeing LBH acting with actress Yuh Youn Jung, she's an amazing actress.

Agreed. She is amazing... I look forward to watchingit.
 

6 hours ago, rubie said:

totally not like I Saw The Devil

I remember it took some editing to have"I saw the Devil" approved for theatrical release. What we saw was quite violent. I cannot - do not want  to - imagine what it was like before editing those scenes out.

I have not seen all these old Drama. They were all in my DramaFever watch list. Sadly,  they are gone...

Thank you for all the information on Ashfall.  I look forward to it. I adore both LBH and HJW.

By the way, I read that jTBC are in the process of buying some movie studios, one of which is Perfect Storm Film. " The acquisition of Perfect Storm Film by contrast was accomplished for around 15 million dollars. The studio is best known for "Take Point" and "Ashfall" "

source

jTBC's Drama are excellent, for the most part. Dare I hope, that so will be their movie productions?

BTW, I read that Ashfall is also #1 in both Taipei and Singapore.

I look forward to "Emergency Declaration."  I hope Jeon Do-Yeon confirms.

I got a kick out of this photo...

#LeeByungHun #이병헌 #TheManStandingNext #AlainDelon





 

[peonie]

January 11, 2020.

 

@closetserialaddict  "Keys to the Heart" illustrated Lee Byung Hun's versatility as multifaceted actor.  His role is that of an elder brother to an autistic brother. HIs acting was intense and showed his inner feelings of being abandoned as a child.  If you like classical music, this movie featured many beautiful piano pieces performed by Park Jung Min.  I read somewhere that he is not a piano player but learned the skills  for this movie.  I also liked "A Single Rider" .  My only regret was that there were not more scenes between Lee Byung Hun and Gong Hyo Jin whom I consider an amazing actress. 

 

@irilight  What a treat to see both Lee Byung Hun and Alain Delon in a trench coat.  Although I detected  some faint likeness in appearance, I believes there  are other similarities, they are both so charismatic and handsome. LOL

[rubie]

This is a belated post translated using Google-translator. I was waiting and thought soompi writers would be highlighting this at the news site as they have translated a similar article for the Kpop artistes (here). Unfortunately the translation for the actors article did not happen. Please let me know in case of errors or misinformation.

 

January 4, 2020

 

New Year Special

Industry Experts Vote for Actors to Shine in 2020

 

Source: News1 (Google-gist, LBH related only)

 

This year, the movie industry is also expected to be active. Rather than one star winning overwhelming votes from experts, highly-anticipated actors in 2020 were evenly voted. Attention is focused on which star who will show the most outstanding performance this year.  

 

 

News1 recently surveyed 20 film professionals for the new year, considering the actors performing in the film industry in 2020.

 

As a result of the survey on the 4th, the stars who received two votes each are actors Lee Byung Hun and Kang Ha Neul. Lee Byung Hun will be meeting the audience on the 22nd in Dir Woo Min Ho's 'The Man Standing Next'. Through disaster movie 'Baekdusan', which was highly successful when released at the end of last year, Lee Byung Hun challenged the North Korean agent role for the first time in his life and showed the actor's acting ability once again. He will continue working in a new movie, 'Emergency Declaration' by Dir. Han Jae Rim alongside actor Song Kang Ho.

 

Film Actors selected by the industry representatives:

 

Male Actors

 

2 votes

Lee Byung Hun

Kang Ha Neul

 

1 vote

Song Kang Ho

Hwang Jung Min

Kim Yoon Suk

Seol Kyung Gu 

Lee Jung Jae

Kang Dong Won

Yoo Ah In

Jo Jung Seok 

Kim Woo Bin  

Park Bo Gum

Jo Woo Jin 

Jung Sung Hwa

Im Si Wan

Nam Joo Hyuk

 

Female actors

 

2 votes

Jeon Do Yeon

Kim Tae Ri

Chun Woo Hee

Ra Mi Ran

Jeon Jong Seo 

Jeon Yeo Bin

 

1 vote

Kim Hye Soo

Kim Go Eun

Lee Jung Eun

 

Spoiler

Industry representatives participated in the survey (direct quote from automatic translator)

 

Kang Dong-young Team Manager (Lotte Culture Works PR Team)
CEO Kang Hyo-mi (First Look)
Gil Young-min, CEO (Manufacturer JK Film)
Representative Kim Jong-do (Tree Exeter)
Representative Tae-Joo Kim (Rosk)
Kim Hong-sun (Direction of 'Transformation' 'Must Grab')
Director Park Joo-seok (Filmist)
Ji-Hye Yang Team Leader (Next Entertainment World PR Team)
Representative Hyung-seok Yoo
Inho Yoon Team Manager (CJ Entertainment PR Team)
Director Yoon Jong-bin (Directed by 'The War of Crime')
Soyoung Lee (People Entertainment)
Jae Eun Lee (CJ Entertainment)
Jung Sang-jin, CEO

Representative Choi, Joon-ho
Director Han Jae-rim (Directing 'The King' and 'Original')
Representative Hwang, Geun-ha

 

Photos: awesome_hyeminee

 

[peonie]

January 11, 2020

 

Behind the scenes video of “The Man Standing Next”  (a translation of the video from Chinese.  My apologies for any misinterpretation)

 

 

WMH = Director Woo MIn Ho
LBH = Lee Byung Hun,   Kim Kyu Pyeong
LHJ = Lee Hee Joon

GDW = Gwak Do Wan

LSH = Lee Sung Min

KCS = Kim Choong Sik ?  (the original writer)

 

WMH:  “The Man Standing Next”  recounted pressing stories 40 days before the 1979 assassination. Why could people only shoot at the President?  This was how the movie began.

 

LBH:  There was the  presidential assassination in 1979 and this movie was based on this incident:

 

LHJ: I could not forget the day I received the script for the first time. I remembered reading the script in my room and I was beside myself with excitement.  I then went out to the living room and kept on gulping water.   

 

LSM:  It is like making a thick soup in a jar

 

GDW: It was an interesting book that I read in college. A story which I dearly would like to perform. However, because the story is so explosive, it is not a work that can be easily shot.

 

KCS:   Excluding the Namsan Ministers of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency as not part of South Korea is unreasonable.  Not writing about them is a dereliction of duty.  As a journalist of the era, you must have a sense of mission. You must write it down.

 

LBH:  It is today,

 

GDW:  I am interested to find out the message of a live audience ?

 

LBH:  There is no bias on any one side.  The movie is based upon the records and testimony of the original work

 

GDW: A lot of effort was made to have a neutral audience, and to shoot calmly.   Although the content of the side stories are numerous, there are many dramatic flashes.

 

LBH:  Using telephoto lens to show subtle conflicts and emotions,  is this not the charm of the movie?  The psychological changes in the characters during the 40 days, I think, should be accurately captured.

 

WMH:  I wanted to control the tone of this movie as much as possible  to have the retro feel of the 70s.

 

Mr. Cho, Artistic Director:    In fact, from the perspective of the story, it is inevitable that Washington D.C. in the US and Paris, France will allow people to be immersed in that era because they retain a lot of space of that era,  especially in front of the  statue in the Lincoln Memorial and the US Capitol.

 

WMH:  An important event  happened in Paris, France.  Place Vendôme is a very gorgeous square.  Trying to obtain permission to shoot was a bit tricky.  We were told that we were the first Korean film company to shoot.  Therefore, even if we were to take one shot,  we have do an excellent job.  In particular,   a lot of thought has been put on art and scenery materials.

 

Mr. Cho:  Scenes from the Blue House are the most frequent, I want to show the dividing line of the upper echelon of people in power.  The space of Kim Gyu Pyeong, although small seems very bright because the wall is made of marble. That pattern is like Kim Gyu Peong’s heart. The situation in  Gung Jeong Dong is like it is now.  It showed that the shooting was performed just like the actual space.  We have reseached a lot of material based on true  stories.

 

LHJ:  What makes this film meaningful to you is the ability to look back again on the past and modern history that we have forgotten.

 

GDW:   I would nod my head as I watch the movie.

 

LSM:   I think it is fun to watch this  movie.

 

LBH:  “The Man Standing Next” will be released soon. I hope everyone will look forward to it.  Thank you.

 

Source:  https://www.weibo.com/tv/v/Iog74aJ2O?fid=1034:4457817508085811