Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

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Photo: che.ng
Electric Cinema, Notting Hill

Best way to start the day: breakfast with one of your favourite Korean actors (LBH) from one of your favourite Korean films (I Saw The Devil). Even better: LBH literally standing a metre away. #leebyunghun #leejehoon #jungeunchae @leafilmfest ©

 

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Finally, fan-photos of MJBH in London  THE FORTRESS Opening Gala
 
Photos: kugnaaa ODEON

 

 

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October 21, 2017.

 

Lee Byung Hun sightings at the London East Asia Film Festival

 

 

 

With Hyejung Jeon, Festival Director.

 

Source:  various websites via Angel 70

 

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October 21, 2017.

 

Lee Byung Hun and Hwang Dong Hyuck at the opening of London East Asia Film Festival (A translation) 

 

 

 

The 2nd London East Asia Film Festival opened today.    “The Fortress”, starring South Korean actor, Lee Byung Hun and others,  was selected as the opening film.   Lee Byung Hun and Director Hwang Dong Hyuck went to London to attend.

 

Fans screamed the moment they saw Lee Byung Hun appearing in a well cut suit.  Japanese fans presented flowers and shouted “Hun sama”.  When interviewed, Lee Byung Hun said he was pleased that “The Fortress” was selected as the opening film.  He is very curious to learn the British fans’ impressions after viewing the movie. 

 

“The Fortress” is an adaptation from a historical novel by Kim Hoon.   It portrayed the war of 1636 when Hong Taiji led the Qing army and invaded Korea.  King Injo (Park Hae Il) fled to the NamHan Fortress.   The Qing army surrounded the fortress and both sides started confrontation. 

 

There is a major disagreement between Lee Byung Hun who portrayed Choi Myung Kil (a minister representating the peace faction) and Kim Yun Seok who portrayed Kim Sang Hun (a minister representing the war faction).  With no room to advance or to retreat, King Injo faced a difficult dilemma:  whether to maintain lives or dignity.  The Korean media dubbed this movie as “The Avenger Union”, interaction between award winning actors.

 

Hwang Dong Hyuck, who directed “The Crucible”  is directing a historical costume movie for the first time.  He said that after reading the novel,  he was very touched by the beautiful and sad dialogue between the two ministers.  This is also one of the main reasons for him to direct this movie.  He said although the movie described a story that happened 380 years ago, yet there are subtle similarities with the current situation in Korea.  In the movie, King Injo struggled between the Qing and the Ming dynasties.  A lot of Korean audiences felt that King Injo’s situation is similar to the current South Korea, sandwiched between The US and Mainland China.  The surrounded NamHan  Fortress is now the South Korean society.

 

Huang Dong Hyuck said: “ The question is Hong Taiji Donald Trump or Xi Jinping?”.  This triggered laughter on the spot.  

 

Source: http://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/201710200114-1.aspx 

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October 21, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun's Weibo posting (a translation) 

 

 

“As a winner last year and as an award presenter this year, once again participated in the Buil Film Awards.” 

 

Source: LeeByungHun0712weibo.com

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Clip & image: CJ Entertainment USA @cjent_usa

 

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Published on October 20, 2017 by HALLYU WORLD OFFICIAL

 

Lee Byung-hun arriving at LEAFF 2017

 

 

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October 22, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun at London East Asia Film Festival

 

 

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From Minjung's IG, it seems that the couple is still in London, taking a break while attending some private functions with friends after the LEAFF opening. They're enjoying a lot of sight-seeing and plenty of good food as well! Perhaps, it's just LBH & LMJ apart from their team and probably going to LA and meeting JH & his halmoni there, like they did last year.

 

Photos: tgp0128 // miel_heo
Jinjuu Soho 

 

 

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Published on October 20, 2017 by CCTV+

 

London East Asia Film Festival to Screen 50 Specially-curated Films

Attendees at this year's London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF), which opened Thursday night in the UK capital, will have the opportunity to watch 50 specially-curated films over the eleven-day festival at venues across central London.

 

 

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Photo: kirakumi257

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Belatedly found this update about THE FORTRESS. Despite the sad nature of the history, the movie adaptation based on the novel have reignite the interest among the Korean public which is no small feat. At number 4 Korean B.O., the movie may exceed 3.8 million admission these few days, hopefully. 

 

October 18, 2017

 

Match between Novel and Film
From Memoir of a Murderer to Golden Slumber
 

by HWANG Hee-yun / KoBiz

 

 

It is common to make best-selling novels into films. It is obvious that film industry with the lack of new stories cinematizes best-selling novels. However, novel-based movies can’t avoid some kind of evaluation. Because novel-based film’s release must lead to arguments that the movie is better or worse than the original story. 

 

Recently, popular novels are made into movies: KIM Young-ha’s A Murderer’s Guide to Memorization and KIM Hoon’s Namhan Sanseong. The film versions focused more on reproducing the original stories rather than just borrowing motives. These efforts are assumed to achieve the good results. Crime thriller MEMOIR OF A MURDERER attracted 2.6 million moviegoers thanks to SUL Kyung-gu’s performance while historical drama The Fortress which was released during the Chuseok holiday is recording 3.6 million moviegoers. 

 

The films’ releases have raised people’s interest in the original novels. A Murderer’s Guide to Memorization was printed additional 145,000 copies and Namhan Sanseong has been sold 264% more from a month ago. Interest in the original story is skyrocketing as there were 130,000 copies of A Murderer’s Guide to Memorization by May, 2017 since it was published in July 2013.  

 

Novel-based films are likely to continue to be shown although they are not decided to be release. 

 

The most appealing movies among them are Night of 7 Years based on the novel by JUNG Yoo-jung and Golden Slumber, the Korean adaptation of the Japanese novel by ISAKA Kotaro. Will these two write their own history over the original novels? Interesting matches are expected.

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October 23, 2017

 

380,000 flock to WeAJa markets

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

Hundreds of thousands of people across the nation visited the JoongAng Media Network’s 13th annual WeAJa charity flea market on Sunday in Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Daejeon, buying secondhand goods, participating in auctions of items donated by celebrities and participating in a variety of entertainment programs on the sidelines. 

 

Some 380,000 visitors were tallied across the four locations, including 200,000 in Seoul, 100,000 in Busan, 50,000 in Daegu and 30,000 in Daejeon. 

 

The proceeds from the four flea markets, about 124 million won ($110,000) - approximately 58.5 million won from Seoul, 29.5 million won from Busan, 21 million won from Daegu and 15 million won from Daejeon - will be donated to We Start and the Beautiful Store Foundation to help children in low-income families obtain education and medical care. 

 

The WeAJa charity has raised around 1.7 billion won in total since kicking off in 2005. 

 

The prototypes for a pair of watches featuring President Moon’s signature sold for 4.2 million won in the Seoul auction, the highest amount. The donation of the first-ever “Moon Jae-in watches,” usually given out as a souvenir to Blue House visitors, was made by Im Jong-seok, presidential chief of staff. 

 

Moon Jae-in watches cost around 40,000 won but are sold for as much as 2 million by re-sellers online because they are in limited supply. Only 1,000 are made each month. 

 

The winning bidder refused to disclose his name or profession, saying only, “Anything that’s first edition is good. I purchased the watch because the fact that it was the first meant that it’s really significant.” 

 

An elementary school student jumped with joy after her mother’s 2.4 million won bid for a cap once owned by Kang Daniel of boy group Wanna One won the auction. “I’m so psyched!” the girl said, who asked not to be named. “I’m an ardent fan of Kang Daniel!” 

 

This year’s WeAJa flea market was held at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Song Sang-hyeon Square in Busan, Gukchaebosang Memorial Park in Daegu and Boramae Park in Daejeon. 

 

Donations were made by an array of high-profile figures, including President Moon and the first lady, Kim Jung-sook; idol groups Bangtan Boys (BTS), Super Junior and Twice; actors Lee Byung-hun, Gong Yoo and Lee Dong-wook; actresses Gong Hyo-jin and Park Shin-hye; football star Lee Dong-gook and female solo artist IU, among others. 

 

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]

 

 

Source: WeAJa Charity Flea  Market 2017 위아자 나눔장터‏ @2015weaja  Oct 20

 

(BEN SHERMAN / SIZE : US 8 260)

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A Tale of Two Awards 

 

Based on the Grand Bell (Daejong) awards schedule, very likely that Lee Byung Hun will have to return to Seoul this week. The 2017 Daejong Film Awards will be held on Wednesday, October 25. As the Best Actor recipient in the 2016 edition for Inside Men, similar to the Buil Awards recently, LBH will be presenting the award to this year's winner. Not sure if the 2017 nominees will show up this year or continue to boycott the ceremony like last year.

 

 Finally: Lee Byung Hun receives first Blue Dragon Best Actor Award

 

 Lee Byung Hun, Best Actor at 53rd Daejong Awards, Inside Men Best Film

 

On the other hand, the committee for the Blue Dragon Awards have announced today in a press release that actors Lee Byung Hun, Park So Dam, Park Jung Min and Kim Tae Ri will attend the Hand-Printing Event prior to the upcoming 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards (date to be confirmed later). The Blue Dragon Awards is usually held end on November annually. Not sure when the Handprinting event will be, not sure if it's today. (?) LBH would definitely attend as this is his first time ever participating after winning the first Blue Dragon Best Actor award.

 

Nonetheless it'll be nice to see LBH with his 'That's Only My World' co-star, Park Jung Min as well as his 'Mr.Sunshine' co-star, Kim Tae Ri, altogether at an event.

 

October 23, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun, Park So Dam, Park Jung Min, Kim Tae Ri to attend the Blue Dragon Film Handprinting

 

Source: OSEN

 

Former 2016 winners such as actors Lee Byung-Hun, Park Sang-dam, Park Jung-min and Kim Tae-ri will attend the 38th Blue Dragon Film Handprinting event.

 

 

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October 21, 2017

 

[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Fortress"

 

Source: HanCinema.net

 

 

The time is winter 1636. King Injo (played by Park Hae-il) has to choose between recognizing the Qing Dynasty with its Mongolian overlords as the new China, or sticking to tradition and trying to maintain Joseon's dignity as a sovereign state. The Qing Dynasty would probably crush Joseon in a decisive battle, but they'd rather not waste the resources. So they just stand their army outside of the titular fortress and wait for King Injo and his people to starve to death in the miserable cold.

 

Only one central character, blacksmith Nal-soi (played by Go Soo) is a commoner. And yet, "The Fortress" constantly reminds us that the commoners, not King Injo or the ministers, who suffer the most from the war, and after the previous Mongol invasion only nine years ago, have little interest in waging that war again. The first commoner we see openly talks of assisting the Mongols solely to avoid starving to death. The Joseon royalty he already assisted did not give him or his granddaughter any badly needed food.

 

These are the people who make up the backbone of Joseon's army, and their morale is in the absolute pits. We see nothing to justify any optimism on their part either. Nal-soi doesn't trust nobles, and for good reason. Most of them won't listen to a commoner like him, and it is only through the sheer luck of auspicious circumstances that Joseon's forces can even solve basic problems like fixing their firearms so that they can shoot straight.

 

At first glance, King Ingo's royal conferences seem like good leadership, as he frequently moderates between difficult situations to find compromises. But in the context of the actual circumstances of the siege, King Injo's compromises are laughably abstract and divorced from the reality of just how bad the situation really is. Whe Minister Choi (played by Lee Byung-hun) tries to argue for submission, he is inherently hamstrung by how the fact of Mongolian superiority flies in the face of official Joseon state ideology.

 

Minister Kim (played by Kim Yun-seok) is the main proponent of these ideas. Their foundation tends to be either "commoners are inspired by the awesomeness of the upper classes" or "we will in because we are the morally correct side" depending on the specific situation. For all the suffering Minister Kim causes it's surprisingly hard to hate him, because he really does sincerely believe all this nonsense, as is proven by his final humiliation.

 

But then everyone in "The Fortress" is ultimately humiliated. Even Minister Choi, while technically proven right by circumstances, can hardly relish the situation. Because he, too, is a hypocrite, who from the very first scene will protect the Joseon state at the expense of its people. What's the point of even having a state if it can't inspire loyalty from its own people? That gloomy sentiment, beyond the plot, is also perfectly represented via cinematography and sound design, granting "The Fortress" the uniquely dark aesthetic of showing us history from the side of the losers.

 

Review by William Schwartz

 

"The Fortress" is directed by Hwang Dong-hyeok and features Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yun-seok, Park Hae-il, Go Soo and Park Hee-soon.

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On 10/19/2017 at 7:03 PM, peonie said:

October 19, 2017

 

This morning's  posting from Lee Byung Hun's  Weibo account (A translation) 

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

“ Through the movie “ Terminator Genisys ”, I met the great film score composer Hans Zimmer, who held  a concert in Korea.  I am very honored to be able to participate in this event which also left me precious memories. ”

 

Source:  LeeByungHun0712weibo.com

 

October 23, 2017

 

BH Entertainment has posted some of the backstage photos and the video from the concert.

 

Photos: BH Entertainment @bhent_official // Naver blog

 

Published on October 23, 2017 by BH Entertainment

 

 

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Published on October 19, 2017 by K STAR 생방송 스타뉴스
 

From INSIDE MEN to THE FORTRESS

Lee Byung Hun-Cho Woo Jin's 'Nemesis' destiny?

 

 

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October 23, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun's Weibo posting  (a translation)

 

 

{Because of the movie, "The Fortress" I am here in London to attend the London Asia Film Festival.  Thank you for your warm welcome.}

 

 

 

 

Source: LeeByungHun0712weibo.com

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October 23, 2017

 

LEE Byung-hun Strikes Development Deal with Sony Pictures Television
Korean Superstar to Develop Original and Adapted Content for US and Korea

 

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

 

Korean superstar LEE Byung-hun is looking to expand his footprint on the global marketplace after sealing a development deal with Sony Pictures Television (SPT) to collaborate on original and adapted content destined for the American and Korean markets.

 

SPT signed the deal with LEE’s talent management firm BH Entertainment, one of Korea’s top agencies. Any joint ventures that go forward, including original films, adaptation and remakes, will sport LEE’s name as a producer.

 

Wayne Garvie, President of International Production at Sony Pictures Television, cited the popularity of South Korean TV drama series around the world and the Korean industry’s status as an innovator and purveyor of high quality content as motivations behind the deal.

 

LEE is one of Korea’s biggest stars, with local credits that include KIM Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life (2005) and I Saw the Devil (2010), as well as smash hits such as Masquerade (2012) and Inside Men (2015). He is currently on screens in the well-reviewed period siege drama The Fortress.

 

Of course LEE is also known overseas as the significant Korean performer to break through into the US market. He has featured in several action titles, including both entries in the G.I. Joe action series, action sequel RED 2 (2013), sci-fi sequel Terminator Genisys (2015) and western remake The Magnificent Seven (2016).

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October 23, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun interview: Korean actor on his role in The Fortress, whitewashing and navigating Hollywood

Exclusive: 'My spectrum as a Hollywood actor grew, and in 'G.I Joe: Retaliation' I was given more screen time and more to say'

 

Narjas Zatat @NtheodoraK The Independent UK

 

Lee Byung Hun LEAFF, supplied

 

Korean actor Lee Byung Hun looks immaculate in a dark suit as he sits comfortably across the sofa from me. “I just arrived last night,” he says, but you wouldn’t be able to tell this from his lively demeanour. The Korean actor was invited by the London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF) to attend the international screening of his new epic period drama, The Fortress, at the Odeon Leicester Square. 

 

The Korean actor is unique amongst his peers: he has his feet planted firmly between Hollywood and the Korean film industry; as an Asian actor he has broken through the glass ceiling and played a number of key roles in American films: Han in Red II, Storm Shadow in both G.I Joe films and the coveted role of the T-1000 Terminator in Genisys.

 

“It was a wonderful opportunity,” he tells me of the roles he was offered in American cinema. “My spectrum as a Hollywood actor grew, and in G.I Joe: Retaliation for example, I was given more screen time and more to say. I thought ‘the studios are testing me’.” 

“Korean film sets are different from those in America” he adds, “the crew in Korea is more ready for last minute spontaneous changes from the director. In that way the director has more power.

 

“In America, if the director wants to make any changes, he has to keep the needs of the studio and the needs of the sponsors in mind.” 

 

Lee admits however, that the way films are created in Korea is changing to better reflect the American model, which he doesn’t believe is a bad thing. “Crew members will sometimes work 12 hour shifts [in Korea].” He believes that changing to the American system will support those working behind the scenes of a film. 

 

Lee byung Hun (LEAFF, supplied)

 

The topic of ‘whitewashing’ has recently come to dominate discussions about Hollywood cinema: The live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell came under fire for its casting of Scarlet Johansson in a role traditionally believed to be Asian and, commenting on that, Lee was adamant that “whitewashing is a no.” The lack of diversity in Hollywood however, “isn’t just an Asian problem”, and in fact impacts all ethnicities, including “African American actors.” 

 

“The conversation is happening now, which is better than when people didn’t realise it was a problem”. 

 

“We are in the transitional stage,” he adds. 

 

Lee’s quietly intense affectation is precisely why director Hwang Dong Hyuk cast him in the role of one of the ministers in The Fortress. In the film his character argues for surrendering to the Qing dynasty’s forces in Korea’s most infamous siege in history, which led to their surrender and Chinese rule for many years to come. 

 

He said: “[Lee Byung Hun] is consistent and calm, and I needed somebody who could add subtle changes to the character. [In the film] his face is covered a lot, and I needed an actor whose eyes can convey the character’s feelings. Lee was that actor.” 

 

The film features King Injo, a notorious king in Korean history who the director says has often been compared to Park Geun Hye, the recently impeached former president of South Korea. 

 

“She is kind of like Injo. Incompetent. Helpless. What’s happening in Korea now is the same,” he says, “This is a reflection of reality. Now it’s the country names that have changed.” 

 

Some film critics have suggested that the film is in fact about nationalism. Lee disagrees. “If you ask anyone who worked on the film, none would have said that it is about nationalism. It’s about what is happening in Korea now.” 

 

LEAFF was founded by Festival Director Hyejung Jeon. The festival runs until 29 October and you can see a list of the films which will be screened in London, on the website.