Lee Byung Hun 이병헌 Byunghun Lee

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It's a pretty lengthy interview, sharing here the LBH related excerpt only. Full article at the movie thread.

 

November 11, 2017

 

[Interview] "The Fortress" Director Hwang Dong-hyuk by The Lady Miz Diva

 

Source: HanCinema.net

Original Interview: The Diva Review

It's a rare honor when a filmmaker has the opportunity to make cinematic history even once in their career. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk has had two nods; first with "Silenced" {"Dogani"} his harrowing account of real-life events, which created such outrage that new laws against child abuse were enacted. He went on to something completely different with "Miss Granny", which broke box office records, not only in South Korea, but in various blockbuster remakes around Asia.

 

Director Hwang returns with his historical epic, "The Fortress", spotlighting one of early Korea's most pivotal and tragic moments. Featuring some of South Korea's greatest stars and a score by Oscar-winner, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hwang spoke with me about balancing the film's thrilling action sequences with its heartfelt story.

 

 

LMD: You have a wealth of riches with your cast, some of the finest actors in Korea. I felt like you could have transposed those characters amongst any of the actors: Park Hae-il could have played Go Soo's role, Lee Byung-hun could have played Kim Yun-seok's part, etc. Did you have any reconsideration for who would play which role, or did you have those actors envisioned for those roles from the start?

 

Hwang Dong-hyuk: The parts were chosen for the specific actors and I never changed my mind. To begin with, Lee Byung-hun, I had him specifically in mind for the Choi Myung-kil role. I thought there was no other actor who could play this role apart from Lee Byung-hun. If you look at Choi Myung-kil's character; the character itself has no changes over the time within the movie: There was no wave of emotion. He is consistent and he's very subtle. All of these subtleties and emotions that he has to express, there is a leveling in there, but it has to have some impact, and it has to have the person's sincerity in his words and his facial expression, and his voice. The voice is very important to this role; Lee Byung-hun's voice is perfect for the role. There was no other option besides Lee Byung-hun for that role.

 

With Kim Sang-heon, his character is more like a fire. He tells his story very strongly. I mean, in the beginning in the movie, he kills a guy in cold blood from the get-go. At the same time, towards the end of the movie, he has to express sadness from within, and he shows weakness at the end. So, it's gotta be someone who can express these two extremely different feelings and emotions, and I thought Kim Yun-seok was perfect for the role.

 

Park Hae-il plays King Injo, and this character of King Injo is very fragile, pale, and weak. He is not bad, he is not evil; he is just weak. I felt like Park Hae-il was the only person who could play Injo's role, as well. So, everything was destined from the beginning.

 

LMD: When you have a cast with this much power, how much actual hands-on instruction do you need to do? Tell us about working with these artists to get the performance or characterisation you wanted. Were there special instructions or things you wanted each actor to keep in mind for their character?

 

Hwang Dong-hyuk: We talked about it. We talked so much from reading the scenario stage, and they had a great understanding of their characters, and we kind of agreed on how to play each role. So, overall, we were all on the same page. During the shooting stage, I only had to correct various details, such as 'This emotion is too overpowering;' in some scenes or sequences I would press it down, or vice versa. The only intervention that I made was to control the flow of emotions during the shooting, and the rest, they did a great job.

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November 13, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun Making A Fan Wish Come True

 

Source: OSEN / Sports Donga (ELBH Google-translate)

 

Actor Lee Byung Hun recently met a young fan, who was suffering from child cancer in a warm atmosphere of support. 

 

 

On November 13, the Korea Make-A-Wish Foundation revealed, "The 16-year-old Lee Dong Gun, who is battling osteosarcoma, finally met Lee Byung Hun on November 1 at the office of BH Entertainment at Gangnam-gu, Seoul." During the 1-hour meeting, the two of them talked comfortably as if they had known each other for a long time. 

 

According to the foundation, Lee  Dong Gun is an avid fan of the actor who has watched everything by Lee Byung Hun from his early dramas to recent movies. On the special day, he had a meaningful time asking Lee Byung Hun in person about various stuff he often wondered about. To this, Lee Byung Hun had answered all his queries and explained about his life as an actor.

 

Lee Dong  Gun, a pediatric cancer patient, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after a sudden knee pain in February last year. After sessions of chemotherapy, his health is slowly recovering now.

 

Lee Byung Hun's personal story of meeting Al Pacino, his favorite actor since childhood had impressed Lee Dong Gun that he wanted to be part of a small but special gift. After meeting Lee Byung Hun, he said "I still cannot believe it. I feel like I'm having a dream, I feel closer to actor Lee Byung Hun after meeting him today."

 

 

This meeting was supported by Samsung Electronics' DS division and BH Entertainment. The Korea Make-A-Wish Foundation is a Korean branch of Make-A-Wish®, an international nonprofit organization that convey wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions all over the world. Established in 2002, it has helped make wishes come true for children with incurable diseases, and this year it is active in the whole country to give hope to 380 incurable children.

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November 13, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun at 38th Blue Dragon Hand Print Event

 

Source: Korean media photos as stated

 

 

 

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Source: News1

 

 

 

 

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Source: 메이크어위시 Make-A-Wish Korea

 

 

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I think this is really a nice photo, too. At the waiting room today.

 

Photo: singyomi
CGV Yeouido

 

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November 13, 2017

 

Lee Byung Hun attends Blue Dragon Award hand-printing

 

Source: TV Daily via HanCinema.net

 

 

The hand-printing event of the Blue Dragon Award winners from the previous year was held in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

 

Director Bong Man-dae, actors Lee Byung-hun, Park So-dam, Park Jeong-min and Kim Tae-ri were there.

         

Source: fnnews

 

 

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Published on November 13, 2017 by TongTongTv 통통영상

 

 

Published on November 13, 2017 by 뉴스큐브

 

 

 

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Published on November 13, 2017 by 케이뱅크
 

TVCF Making Film: K-Bank x Lee Byung Hun

 

 

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Published on November 13, 2017 by StarSeoulTV
 

 

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

 

Actors pose with their handprints in Seoul on Monday ahead of the annual Blue Dragon Film Awards. From left, Lee Byung-hun, Park So-dam, Park Jung-min and Kim Tae-ri.

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Photo: Ana Park @morethanseoul

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Photo: eunju__69 #ChaseCult

 

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It may not be a mainstream favorite due to the heavy historical content but how often do we get to read a glowing review from Pierce Conran. 

 

November 15, 2017

 

Review: THE FORTRESS,

Sublime Political Allegory Closes Its Doors to the Uninitiated
Led by Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yun-seok and Park Hae-il, the film is a big gamble for director Hwang Dong-hyuk.

Pierce Conran ScreenAnarchy
 

One of the most impressive casts of the year lines up in the austere and languid period siege drama The Fortress.

 

Led by Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yun-seok and Park Hae-il, performances are strong all around in this magnificently shot and movingly scored but admittedly unhurried meditation on the nature of duty and hierarchy in Korean society. Heavy on political metaphors, this powerful film has found favor with local critics but may prove difficult for the uninitiated.

 

Set during the Qing Invasion of Korea in the year 1636, the film focuses on the beleaguered King of the Joseon Empire, who has retreated to the Namhan Fortress, where he receives counsel from his closest advisors while 150,000 Chinese troops wait them out beyond the fortress' walls. When a proposal arrives from the general of the Qing army that would see the Crown Prince sent out as a hostage, the King's interior minister urges him to protect his people despite the potential humiliation, while his minister of rites pushes him to fight and preserve their honor.

 

More in line with his probing abuse drama Silenced than his most recent fantasy family drama Miss Granny, director Hwang Dong-hyuk takes the biggest gamble of his career for his fourth film, based on an acclaimed novel by Kim Hoon. The Fortress is a contemporary rumination on the fate of the ordinary Korean citizen at the hands of greater powers, whose actions are predicated upon ideals of honor and shame but whose intentions are more often than not born out of self-interest.

 

Early on, Kim Yun-seok's character, Minister Kim, who argues that they stand and fight, demonstrates his ruthlessness when he cuts down an old peasant. The subject helped the king cross a frozen river but says he would do the same for the enemy were they to pay their way across. The minister offers to take him and his ward to the fortress for protection but the old man refuses, and his practical reasoning obliges him to brandish his sword in order to obstruct the path of the invaders.

 

Lee Byung-hun's Minister Choi is the pacifist who believes that the king should do everything to negotiate with the Chinese forces, as the prospect of war would spell certain doom for the people. He's so committed to his ideals that he would readily offer his head, which many of his colleagues ask for when his suggestions shame the honor of the court.

 

King Injo, played by Park Hae-il as a monarch who is at turns phlegmatic and indecisive, grapples with the counsel he receives, balancing the lives of the people and the image of the kingdom. Injo, who ruled during both of the Manchu Invasions of the 17th century, has been recorded in history as a weak and indecisive leader who wrecked the Joseon economy and greatly tarnished its legacy.

 

Between these three central characters, as well as a coterie of retainers concerned with self-preservation and a smattering of stoic characters suffering from their decrees beyond the fortress walls, Hwang gives us what amounts to both a detailed history lesson and a sobering and devastating allegory for modern Korean politics.

 

The film's slow pace includes a wealth of long discussions, which despite their dry nature, are terrific showcases for Lee Byung-hun and Kim Yun-seok, who deliver the most sober performances of their careers. Both have excelled time and again in the past but much greater restraint is required of them here as they pull back from emotional extremes and confine themselves to the strict formalities of the king's court. The subtleties of their inner struggles gradually reveal themselves through the brief glimpses beneath their characters' veneers they allow us.

 

With such a difficult and slow tale to relate, director Hwang puts enormous responsibility in the hands of the various departments of his crew and the technical merits of the film are uniformly excellent.

 

Known for his memorable collaborations with Kim Jee-woon, which include A Bittersweet Life and last year's The Age of Shadows, cinematographer Kim Jee-yong takes on a new challenge in The Fortress, which was shot mostly outdoors in winter. Austere and immediately gripping, Kim's lensing makes extraordinary use of Korea's unique landscape as well as its Joseon Era architecture and clothing. The stark angles of the fortress buildings and its halls contrast with the twisted trees and rolling scenery of the hills they are built on, while silhouettes walking along the walls cower beneath the clawing canopies of the dark forest.

 

Much of The Fortress is marked by hushed dialogue or silence but when mournful string and piano medleys do seep in, from Ryuichi Sakamoto (scoring a Korean film for the first time), they offer us an insight into the characters' turmoil. The music is especially affecting at the end as it helps us to untangle the narrative's complex moral quagmires.

 

One of the most topical and pertinent Korean films of the year, Hwang's work uses its period setting like few others have in Korean cinema. Sadly, in telling such a difficult tale, what he has created doesn't fall into the conventional parameters of big-budget entertainment and for viewers not intimately familiar with the cultural context from which it sprang, it may well be too great a leap.

 

 

Photo: heejae.kim_

 

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Photo: dayanara_valeria

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November 17, 2017

 

Special 10th Anniversary: Celebrity Congratulatory Wishes

 

Source: AJU Business Daily

 

 

Actor Lee Byung Hun "Congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the establishment"

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November 17, 2017

 

Keys to the Heart (It's Only My World) to be released in 2018

 

Source: STARNEWS (ELBH Google-translate)

 

 

According to the film industry insider on the 17th, CJ E & M had originally wanted to release 'It's Only My World' (Keys to the Heart) on December 7, but after an internal consultation, it's been decided to release the movie next year in 2018. 

 

CJ E & M was initially planning to complete its 2017 line-up strategy by releasing the movies 'It's Only My World' on December 7 and '1987' by the end of the year with already going ahead with the marketing.

 

However, it's been decided that CJ E & M's final movie release for this year will be '1987', after the agreement to postpone the release of 'It's Only My World' till next year after various discussion. With the selection of '1987' the promotion activities have started for the December release.

 

The three highly-anticipated new movies to be released in the year-end season of 2017 will now be '1987' (CJ E&M), 'With God' (Lotte Entertainment) and 'Steel Rain' (NEW). It would be an interesting point of observation on how the box-office competition in December will turn out after the postponement of Lee Byung Hun's 'It's Only My World.'

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Another great sharing, it's BHMJ sighting! #HappyWeekend

 

Photos: hyunseokch

 

 

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Found this precious sharing on twitter! #JSA #CINE21 #Throwback

 

Clip: はなっ子‏ @ByunghunB

 

 Pictorial: CINE21 No. 256, 269 featuring JSA cast

 

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 11/22 News compilation at EverythingLBH.com 

 

    Lee Byung Hun in new Chasecult Winter 2017 CF 
    Arena Homme October 2017: Lee Byung Hun interview (Part 1 & 2)
    Arena Homme October 2017: Lee Byung Hun interview (Part 3 & 4)
    THE FORTRESS: Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to receive award
    Keys To The Heart at AFM 2017: The buzz titles from South Korea
    Lee Byung Hun at LACMA Arts & Film Gala 2017
    Nominees Announced For 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards 
    Mr. Sunshine: No regrets even if it has poor ratings
    Double treat: MA$TER & THE SPY in back-to-back Japan release
    YTN Star: TOP 5 Korean Filmmakers selected by Foreigners
    THE FORTRESS x Dir. Hwang Dong Hyuk by The Lady Miz Diva
    A Single Rider: ETERNAL Japan Trailer and website revealed
    Make A Wish: Lee Byung Hun Making A Fan's Wish Come True 
    TVCF Making Film: K-Bank x Lee Byung Hun
    Compilation: Lee Byung Hun at the 38th Blue Dragon Hand-Print Event 
    ScreenAnarchy Review: THE FORTRESS by Pierce Conran
    AJU News 10th Anniversary: Celebrity Congratulatory Wishes
    Keys to the Heart: 'It's Only My World' to be released in 2018
    Lee Byung Hun in a new CANTATA COFFEE TVCF

 

Wonder if the juice served at the Blue Dragon event is really sour that LBH kept his head down while drinking it, not facing the camera? From the reaction of others and previous BD winners, it's presumed that the drink is extremely sour, perhaps as an awards tradition for the winners?

 

Anyway, ELBH apologizes for the erratic layout particularly in the recent website posts i.e format of the content appearing haywire and out-of-the-usual. We're going through and still trying to adjust some technical changes at the backup site(s). A bit of a headache nearing the year-end and we still have not celebrated the website's 7th anniversary, maybe next year? 

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Thanks to the sharp-eyed fans on twitter, seems that the photos posted by hyunseokch very likely were taken at BHMJ's home. Two years ago, they moved into an apartment in Samseong-dong in Seoul and in the recent ARENA interview, BH mentioned that they recently moved, perhaps to a much bigger home, now that JH is growing up.

 

 

This posted by MJ @216jung in September

 

Similar painting, right. From the events they've attended, the couple have similar interest in paintings and art.