Son Ye-Jin 손예진 [Drama “Thirty-Nine” (JTBC/NETFLIX)]

[ElectricHearts]

@welh11 yes Hollywood is the major factor. It has not been talked or update on casting on it. The last casting was the very old news on the project when Orlando Bloom was involved. We keep getting Sam and Ethan updates on their other projects which they are both filming at the moment. I assume The Cross is still very early in pre production. That is why they are confirming filming dates, potential contracts etc. It looks like they got their main crew ensemble and why they are in Korea now. Hence the mention of Andrew and Bradley's production company being the one involved talking with the Korean production company. I still don't know if both Sam and Ethan are available. The Navar article specifically highlights on famous Hollywood movies they are all involved in whereas if they had talked about Philip Ivy's other movie, The Warriors Way - Most Koreans would know this. It was JDG's Hollywood movie - it was filmed in New Zealand and Korean director & JDG were involved - otherwise, mainly all American cast. It was a successful hit in Hollywood even though it looks like it took 2 years to get released and a lot of people were involved to backing up the project including Star M Entertainment. 

[welh11]

@ElectricHearts It would not surprise me if the producer is looking to find Korean investors for this project.

[ElectricHearts]

@welh11 I won't be surprised too. Since it is being filmed in Korea and why they keep having to bring up the famous hollywood films they were involved in and SYJ's name being the top Korean actress attached. They must be now looking at more locations to film the movie and other things too. If it is a co production, I think they need more American actors besides just mainly using Korean actors/since it is filmed in Korea. Hope it works out because as we all know covid is still happening. Anything can happen by April time too. It is just a lot of upcoming release dates in Hollywood has been pushed further to later and lots of other changes. The industry is not the same world wide. You get to finally finish filming a movie but with the uncertainty of when it will actually be released. Or be attached to a project and later it doesn't work out. I think regardless she must have been interested due to her role and that she gets to speak English in it. She always says she likes to challenge herself and she never does the same role. I am curious if this is going to be more action due to the American crew involved in the movie or if it is going to be similar filming pace like ex. The Last Princess. 

[ElectricHearts]

update:

 

Son Ye-jin's "Pre-meeting with the production team of'Cross' on the 15th.. Next year's filming plan" [Official]

Reporter Kang Min-kyung Input 2020.10.16. 10:25

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[Star News Reporter Kang Min-kyung]

Son Ye-jin /Photo = Reporter Lee Beom

The Hollywood movie 'Cross' starring actor Son Ye-jin is scheduled to shoot from the first half of next year.

 

On the 16th, Son Ye-jin's management company MS Team Entertainment official told Star News, "Yesterday (15th), we had a preliminary meeting with the production crew of 'Cross'." He added, "'Cross' is scheduled to be filmed from the first half of next year. As of now, the exact schedule has not been released."

 

According to officials, director Andrew Nicole and producer Bradley Cramp visited Korea for a pre-meeting with Son Ye-jin for 'Cross'.

 

The movie 'Cross' is a story of people between a poor country and a rich country in a virtual multiracial future divided country. Director Andrew Nicole, who directed 'The Host' and 'Drone War', grabs a megaphone.

Son Ye-jin plays the role of Vera from a poor country living near the border. Son Ye-jin's counterpart is Sam Washington, who is well known in Korea as 'Avatar'. Lee Seon-gyun was offered the role of Gideon, the charismatic border guard.

 

https://movie.v.daum.net/v/20201016102552390

[Helena]

https://zapzee.net/2020/10/16/son-ye-jin-will-start-filming-for-a-hollywood-movie-in-the-first-half-of-next-year/
Son Ye Jin Will Start Filming for a Hollywood Movie in the First Half of Next Year

by krishkim

 

Credit: 1st Look

Cross, starring Sam Washington, Son Ye Jin and Lee Sun Kyun, will begin filming in the first half of next year.

On Oct. 16, an official from Son Ye Jin’s agency MSTeam Entertainment confirmed that Son Ye Jin held a pre-meeting with the production team of Cross yesterday. He added, “Cross will be filmed from the first half of next year. As of now, no exact schedule has been released.”

According to officials, Andrew Niccol and Bradley Cramp recently visited Korea for a pre-meeting with Son Ye Jin.

Cross is a futuristic movie where a multiracial country gets split into two and tells the story of the people stuck between the two nations, where one side is poor and one side is wealthy. Son Ye Jin will play the role of Vera, a tough woman who lives near the border inside the poor nation, whereas Lee Sun Kyun will play Gideon, the charismatic leader of the border defense team.

Meanwhile, Son Ye Jin recently made headlines when it was reported that she signed a 16 billion KRW (about 14 million USD) contract for the building in Sinsadong on July 28.

Source (1, 2)

 

—

 

https://zapzee.net/2020/10/17/lee-sun-kyun-will-not-appear-in-hollywood-film-cross/
Lee Sun Kyun Will Not Appear in Hollywood Film ‘Cross’

by krishkim

Credit: Ilgan Sports

Lee Sun Kyun officially exited from his first Hollywood film Cross.

According to media outlets, Lee Sun Kyun had to decline the role he was offered in the Hollywood film Cross due to scheduling conflicts.

Cross is a futuristic movie where a multiracial country gets split into two and tells the story of the people stuck between the two nations, where one side is poor and one side is wealthy. The entire film will be filmed in Korea.

Previously, the news of Son Ye Jin and Lee Sun Kyun starring in the movie made headlines.

Anticipations have been rising on whether Lee Sun Kyun, who has received worldwide attention for his role in Parasite, will make his official debut in Hollywood. However, Lee Sun Kyun had to decline the role as the schedules conflicted with his other projects.

Cross, starring Sam Washington and Ethan Hawke, will be directed by Andrew Niccol, famous for his science-fiction movies such as In Time, Gattaca, and The Truman Show. And yesterday, Son Ye Jin confirmed her appearance.

The movie will start filming in the first half of next year, and director Andrew Nicole and the production crew arrived in Korea on Oct. 15 and began to prepare for filming in earnest.

Source (1)

[welh11]

@ElectricHearts Hollywood and UK studios have tried and failed to re-start their major film productions because of Covid issues. They have been trying a "pod" concept of separating teams to avoid entire stage infections. South Korea is one of the few places where live action productions have continued (at a third less than normal). I can see why an American producer would like to film in South Korea during the pandemic (better protocols and perception of cheaper production costs).

I think SYJ is very cautious about her next project because she said CLOY was a very difficult shoot on her health. The report of a "pre-meeting" in pre-production (without a final schedule, etc) infers to me that SYJ has many questions about the project before committing to it. In this time of uncertainty, She has earned the reputation to have script input in Korean dramas. It probably is different with a foreign director, especially one of his pet stories for more than a decade. Also the uncertainty of financing (recently Warner Brothers pulled out of Korea productions) has to be a concern as you stated actors do not want to be associated with failed projects.  I presume she does not want to be in another Last Princess production where the producers ran out of money before its completion.

[ElectricHearts]

Looks like Lee Seon gyu has chosen not to do Cross due to schedule 

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/241/0003060499

 

2020 APAN Star Awards is on Nov 29 - it will be live broadcast /SYJ was nominated for Something In The Rain in 2018 but she didn't win for it. https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/108/0002900821 Nominees haven't been announced yet

 

 

 

[ElectricHearts]

I love their friendship! SYJ left comment on Song Yoon Ah's post:

 

SYA reply back was: 아침부터 애교쟁이~

 

You've been acting cute since the morning.

 

 

 

 

[Seriya]

Interesting discussion re Cross. 

 

I read on twitter that the director came to meet with SYJ even before CLOY and wanted to cast her in The Cross.  Where did that info come from? Is it verified? How did he know of SYJ? Did he talk of why he wanted to film in Korea with a Korean actress in a presumably US-Korean co-production?  Is the script for The Cross completed?  Has the director talked in more detail about his idea for this film anywhere other than the few lines of synopsis I came across?  I did like Andrew Niccol's films like Gattaca and The Truman Show and he has an eye for interesting stories in the scifi dystopian genre so the idea of SYJ being in a film of his is intriguing, provided it actually happens. 

 

And I don't think SYJ has done a film in this genre before?  I am guessing the genre/story, the director, a character that is not simply a typical girlfriend/wife of male lead or stereotypical Asian character and of course the challenge of working in an English language production with a HW director and Western actors are reasons why SYJ is interested in this project. 

 

I agree that it sounds like the director is hoping for some Korean investors to come on board.  It seems like he's made more than one trip to South Korea for this film so he's trying to make it happen.  With covid impacting film releases, I imagine it's not so easy finding film investors these days.  Not sure even with SYJ agreeing to be in it is enough for Korean investors to get involved in this uncertain climate, especially as this kind of film looks like it would require a big budget.  Hard to happen without a major American or Korean studio backing?  Though I guess if they plan to film next year, it'll probably be around another year before it's ready for release. 

 

Does anyone know if the Parasite actor who was going to play the guard actually has another project lined up or it was just a polite excuse to decline?  And the news about Ethan Hawke being involved as well, did that come from a reliable source? 

 

 

[ElectricHearts]

@Seriya the mention of Andrew sending a love call to SYJ was mentioned in July when she was first in talks to star in the movie. He had visited Korea and was thinking of filming there. That was why the script had changed. Otherwise, Andrew was originally planning on filming the project in 2009. That was the last casting of the movie when Orlando Bloom was one of the actors attached to star in the movie. I guess it didn't work out and Andrew was busy on other projects ex. The Host etc that he had done later. So he didn't think much of the film till maybe last year or whenever he had time to develop the script more. I assume when he went to Korea and sent Jinnie a love call was when he had changed the script and the idea he originally had on the movie back then. That is why no news or update on casting with Sam or Ethan in Hollywood news on the movie is a bit confusing due to the old casting news in regards to that movie. Both Sam and Ethan seem to be busy now too filming (in regards to latest Hollywood news articles on their latest movies) - LSG is apparently filming a project right now which is why he is busy  and potentially didn't want to risk any delays on his current project. So he decided not to do the Cross. It is unclear whether that was his reason or if he has another project lined up that no one knows about yet. Ethan was mentioned in the latest update in regards to Andrew and team having arrived in Korea. Otherwise, Ethan's name was only in that article. So it is unclear what role he has or if they just put his name into it as Ethan had worked with Andrew in the past too - Good Kill (2014) / January Jones was in that movie - turns out she is a big fan of CLOY having recently watched. Also there was some confusion it seemed like Ethan was going to replace Sam or Sam is still attached. Not sure if it was lost in translation in some of the articles. 

 

Andrew may have watched some of her films or projects before CLOY premiered. Not sure. I know Philip Ivy who is part of his team did JDG's The Warriors Way. It also premiered at Busan International Film Festival in October 2010. Jinnie had attended PIFF back then. I am not sure if Phillip had also been to Korea that time for the film's premiere in Korea too but if anything I assume that could be another way they became known of her. I mean regardless I knew of Jinnie in A Moment to Remember and Classic. The Negotiation was also shown in America too and I think The Pirates? Sadly, since I was not that too big on action back then I only knew of Jinnie in A Moment to Remember and Classic.

 

It is unclear what kind of genre this movie will end up being. The team has done a lot of action /so it would be visually action like I assume in regards to the border related scenes. Andrew has also had strong female characters in the past too. Not sure if the genre is going to be similar in terms of filming like The Last Princess or something different. The Host, In Time and Anon were action/thriller. I haven't watched Good Kill yet.

 

 

[puan iryantie]

Anyone knows how long it would take to shoot "The Cross" for an actor/actress?

[welh11]

@ElectricHearts Your last post is a good summary of the status of The Cross. Worthington announced a new project after filming his current one. Hawke is finishing up his cable series. Neither of their agencies mention The Cross. It may be creative writing (taking tidbits of past information by a reporter to create a story) or mediaplay to attach recognizable names to a project. I have no doubt that SYJ may be curious about doing an English/Hollywood production but she is very detailed on how she picks her projects. She also has friends, such as MJ's husband, who can give her advice/pitfalls of working with foreign/Hollywood directors/companies.

 

@puan iryantie I read The Cross would take five months to shoot. That is about 60% longer than an average film shoot. The reason is that it is going to be shot 100% on location. Such a shoot may be difficult with weather and logistics. Based on the plot summary, SYJ as MFL would be on set for a majority of the filming.

[puan iryantie]

1 hour ago, welh11 said:

I read The Cross would take five months to shoot.

Thanks for information

woooww.....five months.... like shooting a drama

maybe that's why LSG turned down the cross-role, so sad

 

[ElectricHearts]

Yea apparently April-August shoot was seem to be the timeline before but not sure if anything has changed now

 

 

[ElectricHearts]

NEW: from Jennyhouse

 

 

[ElectricHearts]

Her latest endorsement is the clothing brand Bride and You

 

 

 

She has worn this brand over the years:

 

 

the dresses on the cake:

 

 

 

 

[puan iryantie]

1 hour ago, ElectricHearts said:

She has worn this brand over the years

I like that, its classic and timeless fashions, so fits SYJ face 

 

[Seriya]

@ElectricHeartsThanks for all your info re Cross.  I was just curious where the info about Andrew Niccol seeking out SYJ came from so I could determine how reliable it was.  He probably has presented the proposed project in some detail to her, if not a completed script, for her to be interested to the point of her agency sending out positive signals of her potential involvement in it.  But it sure seems a lot is still up in the air at this point before there can be full confirmation that filming really will happen and who her costars will be.  Just wondering where the info that Sam Worthington/Ethan Hawke would be involved came from, directly from Niccol or just wishful thinking in puff pieces from the internet.

 

I don't think Cross would be like The Last Princess though, in genre or filming style, not sure what you mean? Scale?

 

Watched 2 more of SYJ's films. Pirates & My Wife Got Married.  I do appreciate the versatility in her filmography.

 

I did enjoy SYJ in the role of a female pirate, in an action role, and hope its not the last action role she takes on considering how fit she is.  But I would have liked the movie even more if her character got more development as the female lead, and if she had more scenes with the male lead.  Their repartee was fun and a strong element of the movie that should have been expanded on.  Their stranded together scenes were great but too little, too late in the movie imo.  Great chemistry again there between costars and I'm just amazed at how SYJ generates great chemistry consistently with her onscreen partners even though they appear to be vastly different actors and physically very different as well.  Good script and/or she has a knack for picking out strong actors as costars?  Flashback to her joke at The Negotiation's press conference where she was asked about being a chemie master and she joked that people always want her to be lovers with her costars after watching her works but it's tough being the lover of everybody lol.  And then there was a joke about the worries of HB being a lover growing even though he played her enemy in TN hehe.

 

After Pirates, I am now curious to watch SYJ's other project with KNG, Shark.  It wasn't a big hit though, right? Why? Weak script?  Pirates showed that both are talented actors with good chemistry.

 

As for MWGM, I was keen to watch it as SYJ got so many awards for her role in it.  First off, I like that SYJ wasn't afraid to pick a project like MWGM playing a possibly unlikable, unconventional female character.  MWGM had an interesting premise to explore; unfortunately, I felt the movie fell short in that respect.  And for a movie that revolved around a female character's unconventional choices, I was surprised to see the entire movie was from the husband's pov basically and offered less insight and focus on the female character and her motivations by comparison, which was a real lost opportunity to examine more deeply things from the female/unconventional pov on love and marriage.  And tonally, the movie didn't seem to be able to decide what it wanted to be.  Light comedy? But it was hard to find the laughs as the story evolved given the emotional cost on all the characters.   I did like the soccer analogies and on a shallow note, MWGM showed me that SYJ could play a more sensual character well.  And I liked her nerdier look too. 

 

Sad that her MWGM costar passed away in an accident, but kudos to both actors for portraying a completely different dynamic and characters in MWGM and TTB.

 

 

 

 

 

[ElectricHearts]

@Seriya I was talking about filming style.. Since a lot of Andrew Niccol's movies are a mix or action or thriller/suspense. The movie involves the border in some form.. About crossing the border and SYJ's character is a mother with a son whose husband has passed away. It's unclear if the husband passed away because he was a soldier/trying to cross the border or something else lol.. Not sure what changes were made to make Korea and border important for his new script. I think it might still be in a dystopian world. In The Last Princess, she was trying to go back home but couldn't get back to Korea - denied reentry back into her own country. So that is why I brought up The Last Princess as a similarity to this project potentially. Large scale I was talking about production value if there were a lot of action scenes related to Sam's character or whoever the american lead actor ends up being lol. That will mean the budget for filming the movie needs to be more. So they would need more funding/investors. 

[welh11]

@ElectricHearts I read this week that Worthington is going to start filming his new project, a western. Hawke was reportedly finishing a film, but he has committed to direct a Paul Newman documentary and to produce/direct an film adaptation of a Tennessee William's play. No mention of The Cross in either press release as a future project. So it may be wishful thinking or  hype to attach bankable stars to the project.

 

We mused that Niccol was in SK looking for Korean investors. Maybe he was thinking SYJ would invest in her own film. Alas, she did the smart (less risky) thing and instead bought a commercial building.