Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

[peonie]

October 7, 2017

 

Translation of a BH Entertainment posting on Weibo

 

Hello everyone, this is BH Entertainment Company. The longest Golden Holiday has already begun! Compared to any other time, how to spend this long holiday can be stressful!  Therefore, we have it ready!   Our two actors, Lee Byung Hun and Go Soo discussed the ways to enjoy the holidays.  Please also remember to see outside the article!

Hope everyone can enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival!
 

Source: Chinese fan at Weibo

 

 

 

 

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@peonie welcome back Barbara! Great sharing to continue at the thread, what a good feeling altogether with THE FORTRESS doing well at the Korean box office. Despite the already known plot based on true historical fact and a bestselling novel, the movie delivers an even powerful performance to capture the public interest.

 

Clip: godwillmake1way
Lotte World Tower, Seoul Sky

 

 

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October 7, 2017

 

THE FORTRESS Stage Greeting (part 1)

 

Source: Various media portals

 

 

 

Source:  byulseyoung

 

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Seems that LBH had changed into something else (the others did not) during the Stage Greeting rounds.

 

October 7, 2017

 

THE FORTRESS Stage Greeting (part 2)

 

Photo: mmmayoooo

 

 

Photo: yein_._

 

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October 7, 2017

 

THE FORTRESS

 

Number 1 at the Korean Box Office with 2.6 million admission

 

Source: KoBiz 

 

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October 7, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun's Surprise Appearance at Hans Zimmer's Concert

 

Source: Newsen / StarNews (ELBH Google-translate)

 

Actor Lee Byung Hun made a surprise appearance at Hans Zimmer's Slow Life Slow Live Concert at the Jamsil  Olympic Stadium on Saturday Night. The actor through the request of the Oscar-winning composer appeared onstage to narrate a tribute for Dark Knight's Heath Ledger.

 

Photo: seo_si_1

 

 

Photo: darangrang
Jamsil Sports Complex

 

 

Clip: blacksaeder

 

 

Spoiler

 

July 28, 2017

 

Composer Hans Zimmer coming to Seoul
 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

 

Prolific German film score composer Hans Zimmer is coming to Korea for the first Slow Life Slow Live festival to be held at Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul, on Oct. 7. 

 

The accomplished film composer has managed to write film scores that live beyond the movies they’re in. Debuting in the 1980s, he first won the Best Original Score for “The Lion King” at the Academy Awards in 1995. He’s also behind the famous scores of “Inception,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Interstellar” and the recently released “Dunkirk.” To date, the living legend is credited as a music composer in more than 150 films and has taken home a slew of Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Grammy Awards. 

 

Zimmer has sold out all of his shows since kicking off his European Tour in 2016. After a stop at Coachella, the world’s biggest music festival in April, Seoul is his first stop on his first-ever Asia tour.

 

A source from Private Curve, the organization behind the Slow Life Slow Live festival, said, “With Hans Zimmer, we will be able to show how music makes our life much more meaningful.”

 

By Kim Jung-kyoon

 

 

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Photo: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

October 8, 2017

 

‘The Fortress’ dominates box office over Chuseok

Historical drama “The Fortress” topped the Korean box office by a wide margin over the Chuseok holiday.

 

The film amassed 424,409 viewers across the country Saturday, according to the Korean Film Council’s statistics, ranking first place daily for five consecutive days since Tuesday. 

 

The film directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk tells the story of the 1636 Chinese invasion of Joseon and stars Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yoon-seok and Park Hae-il. It has sold over 2.6 million tickets since its opening Tuesday. 

 

Ranking second on Saturday was “The Outlaws,” an action thriller directed by Kang Yoon-sung and starring Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang, which sold 369,758 tickets. 

 

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” came in third with 226,913 tickets. 

 

Matthew Vaughn’s “Kingsman,” starring Taron Egerton and Colin Firth, has sold over 4.1 million tickets since its opening in local theaters on Sept. 27. 

 

“Kingsman” surpassed the 4 million-viewer mark Friday, setting the record for attracting the most number of viewers in the shortest time among films rated for audiences over 19. 

 

(doo@heraldcorp.com)

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October 8, 2017
 
THE FORTRESS Stage Greeting
 
Photo: jdy_np

 

 

Photo: laurenlee_1001

 

 

Clip: p.s_gil1129

 

 

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Yesterday..

 

Clip: 164.x
CGV Apgujeong

 

Photo: hanchaenim
Lotte Cinema Star City Branch

 

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Today ...

 

Clip: leeyujin4047

 

 

Clip: laurenlee_1001
Lotte Cinema Cheongryangri

 

 

Clip: reela3

 

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Great set of stage greeting photos from CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

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THE FORTRESS is now at number 2 Korean Box Office but still a very good spot and almost making it to 3 million admission, very likely tomorrow. The two Chuseok movies released this time are both exceptional pieces in their own ways, CRIMINAL CITY (The Outlaws) is a much lighter & fun movie compared to THE FORTRESS and has been getting a really good word of mouth since the opening which enabled it to have more screens added. But it's all cool, both are winners in this holiday season. THE FORTRESS deals with a heavy (plus sad) subject and as one reviewer mentioned on IG, the movie delivers the impact better when it's not touted as a commercial movie. Well done!

 

 

October 8, 2017

THE FORTRESS 

 

Number 2 at the Korean Box Office with 2.9 million admission

 

Source: KoBiz  

 

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October 3, 2017

 

The Fortress (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): The impossible situation in a fortress under siege

 

by kaist455 Seongyong's Private Place

 

There is the accumulating sense of despair hovering over the main characters in South Korean film “The Fortress”. As their stronghold is besieged by their powerful opponent, it is pretty clear to them that there are only two options left for them, and neither of these two options is easy at all. Is it right to fight to the death for their supposedly noble cause? Or is it better to follow pragmatism despite utter humiliation?

 

The movie is mainly about those long, desperate winter days in the South Mountain Fortress, Korea during 1636-7. As the Ming dynasty of China was entering its last years during the early 17th century, the Qing Dynasty came to rise and then expand its territory from Manchu, and it subsequently demanded the Joseon dynasty of Korea to be its ally. Mainly because it was helped a lot by the Ming dynasty in its war with Japan during 1592-8, the Joseon dynasty did not fully collaborate with the Qing dynasty while not totally severing its relationship with the Ming dynasty, and that led to the invasion of the Qing dynasty in 1627. Even after that, the Joseon dynasty still did not change its position, so the Qing dynasty invaded again in 1636, and its massive army swiftly came down to Hanseong, the capital of the Joseon dynasty which is Seoul at present.

 

The early scenes of the movie establish the gloomy situation of King Injo (Park Hae-il) and his ministers, who hurriedly flee from Hanseong and then find shelter in the South Mountain Fortress. They are safe in the fortress for now, but the circumstance has become more despairing day by day. While a small group of soldiers in the fortress are mostly unprepared, there are not even enough rations for these soldiers, and, to make matters worse, the weather gets colder everyday. The king and his ministers hope that they will be rescued by the remaining battalions in the country, but they cannot send any message outside the fortress as surrounded by the Qing dynasty army, which keeps tightening its grip around the fortress as days go by.

 

While many other ministers advise to King Injo that they must fight till the end, Choi Myung-kil (Lee Byung-hun) has a different thought. When he goes to the huge military camp site of the Qing dynasty army as a delegate for negotiation, he realizes that there is not any chance of win at all, so he bravely suggests to his king later that he should accept the conditions of surrender proposed by the Qing dynasty for saving his kingdom and people.

 

Not so surprisingly, Choi’s suggestion is vehemently opposed by most of ministers, and the strongest objection comes from Kim Sang-heon (Kim Yun-seok), who is quite determined to preserve the honor of his king and country as much as he can. Firmly believing that it is still possible to win the war, Kim naturally clashes with Choi during every meeting, and King Injo accordingly continues to agonize over his increasingly impossible situation. Maybe survival matters most in the end, but that means he will live in shame for the rest of his life, and that looks worse than death in the view of Kim and other ministers.

 

As King Injo and his ministers keep discussing over this complex matter, the movie also looks at the exhausting struggles of other people in the fortress. We meet a dedicated general who simply tries to do his job but often becomes frustrated for many reasons, and we see his soldiers frequently suffering from not only decreasing ration but also the freezing weather outside. Director Hwang Dong-hyeok, who adapted the novel of the same name by Kim Hoon for the movie, and his crew did a good job of establishing the cold wintry atmosphere vividly on the screen, and you will probably want to get a hot cup of coffee after watching the film.

 

While there are several battle scenes as expected, the power of the movie ultimately lies in the dynamic interactions among its three main characters, and three leading actors in the film are all solid on the whole. While Lee Byung-hun, who has recently expanded his career outside South Korean as shown from “Red 2” (2013) and “Terminator Genysis” (2015), is engaging as a decent man who humbly sticks to his belief, Kim Yun-seok, who has been always interesting since his breakout turn in “Tazza: The High Rollers” (2006), exudes his character’s steely determination, and some of the most entertaining moments in the film come from when their characters show respect toward each other’s integrity despite their conflicting opinions. Between his two co-stars, Park Hae-il, who previously played the hero of “War of the Arrows” (2011), holds his own place well in his earnest performance, and his best moment comes from when King Injo must endure the price of his eventual choice later in the story.

 

In case of the supporting characters in the film, most of them are more or less than storytelling tools. While Ko Soo is a valiant blacksmith who happens to be enlisted in the army along with his younger brother played by Lee David, Park Hee-soon and Song Young-chang are adequate in their respective supporting roles, and the special mention goes to Kim Beom-rae, who is commanding in his brief but crucial supporting performance.

 

Overall, “The Fortress” is as good as you can expect from a well-made period drama, and I enjoyed its nice moments although it could have been shortened around 15-20 minutes for tighter storytelling. It does not bring anything new to its history subject which is quite familiar to me and many other South Korean audiences, but it did its job better than I expected, so I will not complain for now.

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Alligator stuffed toy for Joon Hoo?

 

Clip: 여너;;‏ @ILCHIRI
 

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October 9, 2017

 

THE FORTRESS: 3 Million Admission on 7th Day

 

Photos: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

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GIF: ❁권❁잣❁‏ @JS9J5

 

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Art by tae_hwan0112

 

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Behind-the-scene filming photos from a crew of THE FORTRESS. Looks like the same person working for IT'S ONLY MY WORLD, the one in the photo with LBH during the wrap-party.

 

Photo: joytotheworld_______

 

 

 

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October 9, 2017

 

'The Fortress' narrowly wins Chuseok weekend box office over 'The Outlaws'

 

By Shim Sun-ah

 

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- Korean historical drama "The Fortress" became the official winner of the local weekend box office by barely prevailing over fellow Korean-made film "The Outlaws."

   

Final weekend figures released Monday by the Korean Film Council showed that the film starring Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yun-seok, Park Hae-il and Go Soo amassed 1.371 million viewers in theaters across the country over the Oct. 6-8 weekend.

 

Photo released by CJ Entertainment 

 

Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and adapted from a best-selling novel by Kim Hoon, "The Fortress" follows the 47 days spent by King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and his officials in Namhan Mountain Fortress, on the southern outskirts of Seoul, to escape from the invasion by China's Qing Dynasty in the winter of 1636.

 

"The Outlaws," a crime action flick directed by Kang Yoon-sung and starring Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang, attracted 1.128 million people over its first weekend, topping the "Kingsman" sequel's 716,387 second weekend score.

 

Spoiler

This photo released by Daydream Entertainment shows a scene from "The Outlaws." (Yonhap)

 

Released Sept. 27, the British-American spy comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" has sold over 4.4 million tickets in South Korea.

 

Coming in fourth was domestic comedy-drama "I Can Speak," which sold 462,939 tickets. The movie starring Lee Je-hoon and Na Moon-hee depicts an unlikely friendship between a civil service employee played by Lee and an old lady who regularly hassles workers in the local ward by lodging trivial complaints. They develop a close relationship when Lee's character ends up teaching the lady English and learns of her painful past as a sex slave during Japan's colonial rule of Korea.

 

The combined audiences for the top four films was bigger than usual because it was part of the 10-day Chuseok holiday. Chuseok is South Korea's autumn harvest celebration, similar to Thanksgiving in the United States.

 

Ranking fifth was "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature," another newcomer about park-dwelling animals trying to keep their home from getting paved over. The South Korea-Canada-China co-produced animated comedy gathered 153,954 views on its debut weekend.

 

sshim@yna.co.kr

[rubie]

October 9, 2017

THE FORTRESS  3.2 million admission

 

Source: KoBiz