Lee Jung-Jae 이정재 [Movie “Hunt” | Upcoming: Star Wars series “The Acolyte” (Disney+)]

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September 1, 2015

'Assassination' to be released in China

Source: The Korea Times

The film "Assassination," which drew the largest audience for a Korean film this year, will be released in China this month, distributor Showbox said Monday.

Actors Ha Jung-woo and Lee Jung-jae and director Choi Dong-hoon will visit China from Sept. 7-8 to promote the film ahead of its Sept. 17 release.

The film was released in the U.S. on Aug. 7, and is playing in 26 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Seattle.

The film has drawn 12,193,121 viewers as of Sunday, after opening on July 22.

It has drawn the ninth-largest audience here, including foreign films.

Starring Ha, Lee and actress Jun Ji-hyun, the film depicts the struggles of Korean independence fighters during Japanese colonial rule.

bkim@koreatimes.co.kr,

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September 2, 2015

Top Korean Actors Who Guarantee Box Office Success

by leejojoba Soompi

Which top Korean actors can surely guarantee a box office success in the era of multiplex theaters? Is it Song Kang Ho, Choi Min Shik, or Ha Jung Woo, the young blood?

Exactly what factor defines a box office success? Star power is an element you can’t ignore if you want the movie to succeed at the box office.

Here is a list of top box office stars according to the official statistics released by the Korean Film Council. The findings are from the Korean Film Almanac for years 1971 to 2010. From 2011, data collected from the Film Council’s computer network was used to measure the findings. The total number of viewers/tickets from the movies these actors acted in were used to determine this list of box office stars.

10. Ahn Sung Ki (39,833,441 viewers)

9. Choi Min Shik (40,859,388 viewers)

8. Jung Jae Young (49,819,044 viewers)

7. Kim Yoon Suk (49,965,687 viewers)

6. Lee Jung Jae (51,586,615 viewers)

5. Ha Jung Woo (56,801,630 viewers)

4. Hwang Jung Min (58,721,711 viewers)

Hwang Jung Min has enjoyed huge success with “Ode to My Father” and “Veteran.”

3. Sol Kyung Gu (62,984,832 viewers)

Sol Kyung Gu’s hit movies include “Haeundae,” “Silmido,” and more.

2. Ryu Seung Ryong (64,971,576 viewers)

Ryu Seung Ryong comes in at number two. He was in three of the biggest Korean blockbusters ever. They’re “Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King,” “Miracle in Cell No. 7,” and “The Admiral: Roaring Currents.” His status as a box office star has speedily grown since 2010.

1. Song Kang Ho (74,736,952 viewers)

Song Kang Ho tops the list as the one who embodies such star power that guarantees a box office success. Although “Howling” and “Hindsight” didn’t do too well at the box office, he more than made up for it with “Snowpiercer,” “The Face Reader,” and “The Attorney” in 2013.  The accumulative number of viewers for his movies are more than 70 million. His next movie “The Throne” is expected to hit big during the upcoming Chuseok holiday season.

Among the top ten actors on this list, Ha Jung Woo is the only actor in his thirties and Ahn Sung Ki is the oldest on the list. Meanwhile, Oh Dal Soo has been in many of the hit movies mentioned above as a supporting actor. However, he has yet to enter the top ten. Perhaps this will change in coming years.

Oh Dal Soo

Choi Geun Ha who works for Showbox, one of the largest Korean film distribution companies, says, “There’s no such thing as unconditional star power. The viewers trust in the acting abilities of actors like Song Kang Ho, Ryu Seung Ryong, Sol Kyung Gu, Hwang Jung Min, Ha Jung Woo, and others. For instance, viewers give Song Kang Ho credit for selecting and acting in a particular movie. They know he’s a great actor, so they watch with great expectations.”

CEO Kang Hye Jung, who produced “Berlin” and “Veteran,” commented, “When the director is able to effectively communicate his intent to the actor, the whole system works.”

CEO Ahn Soo Hyun, who produced “The Thieves” and “Assassination,” says, “Yes, star power definitely plays a role. But no movie becomes a hit just because a certain actor is in it. If the viewers like the work of a certain actor, they’re more interested in the movie they star in. And the basis of that interest comes from the actor’s ability to deliver great performance.”

As for actresses, the top six were revealed.

6. Han Hyo Joo (approx. 24,530,000 viewers)

5. Uhm Jung Hwa (31,573,965 viewers)

4. Ha Ji Won (33,108,412 viewers)

Ha Ji Won still came in at fourth place even though she didn’t have much success in the box office in the last five years.

3. Son Ye Jin (33,172,311 viewers)

Son Ye Jin takes third place with her success in “The Pirates.”

2. Kim Hye Soo (38,450,993 viewers)

Some of Kim Hye Soo’s box office hits include “Tazza” and “The Thieves.”

1. Jun Ji Hyun (38,930,499 viewers)

Jun Ji Hyun beat Kim Hye Soo by a minor margin due to her recent success in “The Thieves” and “Assassination.”

CEO Ahn Soo Hyun adds, “I think the public demands something more fresh from actresses compared to actors. The viewers become explosively enthusiastic when an actress shows a new unexpected side to her acting style.” She also emphasizes, “The reason they get first choices in selecting scripts is because we trust that they can carry the part they’re offered. No matter the box office and star power, if the actress doesn’t fit the role she plays, it doesn’t work. That’s when great expectations turn into disappointments.”

What do you think about these results? Did your favorite actors and actresses make the list?

Sources (1) (2) (3)

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September 3, 2015

ASSASSINATION Targets China
Showbox Hit Secures Middle Kingdom Release

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

CHOI Dong-hoon’s blockbuster hit Assassination, which has so far drawn over 12.3 million viewers (USD 80.35 million) in Korea and is now the sixth most successful Korean film of all time, is gearing up for a release in the Middle Kingdom, after distributor Showbox revealed that the starry pic would bow in Chinese theaters on September 17th. The film is also coming off of a successful North American run, where it grossed USD 1.53 million from 26 cities following its debut there on August 7th.
 
Starring Gianna JUN, HA Jung-woo and LEE Jung-jae, Assassination follows a band of Korean rebel fighters who come together in order to take down ranking Japanese figures during the colonial era, and takes place both in Korea and Shanghai. JUN and LEE previously worked with CHOI on his last smash hit, the crime caper The Thieves, which drew just shy of 13 million viewers in 2012.
 
Due to her role in the popular TV drama My Love from Another Star, which was an enormous hit in China, JUN is a big name in the mainland, which should help to boost the profile of Assassination during its release there later this month. Director CHOI and stars HA and LEE will visit China to promote the film on September 7th and 8th.

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September 7, 2015

Lee Jung Jae Talks To His Fan

Source: BNTNews

[by Woorim Ahn, photo by Baek Soo Yeon] Actors Lee Jung Jae and Ha Jung Woo were spotted at Gimpo International Airport on September 7.

They headed off to Shanghai, China for their film ‘Assassination’ promotion events. (photo by bntnews DB)

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September 7, 2015

Lee Jung Jae and Ha Jung Woo Show Their Airport Fashion

Source: BNTNews

[by Woorim Ahn, photo by Baek Soo Yeon] Actors Lee Jung Jae and Ha Jung Woo were spotted at Gimpo International Airport on September 7. 

They headed off to Shanghai, China for their film ‘Assassination’ promotion events. (photo by bntnews DB)

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Full article at KoBiz, sharing related excerpt only

September 7, 2015

Period Films Open Up the Era of 10 Million Admissions
How Period Films Became the Hottest Trend in Korean Cinema in the 21st Century?

The hottest trend in Korean cinema today is "historical drama," Korean historical films, or Sageuk, which means costume dramas usually set in the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Along with modern period dramas (a.k.a. shidaegeuk), costume dramas set in the 20th century, a more recent past, historical dramas have become the driving force for modern Korean films' strong box office performance.

Their great performance is proven by data. Korean cinema went through a brief recess towards the end of the first decade in the 21st century, but since 2012 it became active again with the support from its strong domestic performance. Since the summer 2012 until present as many as 8 films have scored the symbolic box office record of 10 million admissions, and 5 of them are either Sageuk or shidaegeuk. Roaring Currents (2014), in particular, attracted 17.61 million viewers and became the biggest local film of all time, manifesting the power of Sageuk.
 
Faction Wins the Heart of the Audience, Balancing between Historical Facts and Imagination

The strongest advantage of historical films is that they offer the two most basic pleasures of cinema: narrative and characters. "Faction" took the period film genre to a more interesting dimension. Faction is a combination of fact and fiction that refers to a fictional story made up of imagination added to historical facts. To be sure, most sageuk adapts historical facts, but what makes faction more special is that in those stories, historical facts meet imagination at very subtle and unique moments.
 
Masquerade (2012) is a good example. This movie digs a historical fact: the unrecorded 15 days of King Gwanghaegun. Then the imagination goes as far as to create a clown who looked just like the king and make him sit in the king's throne for the 15 days. Such a setting created a story that twists familiar historical facts and figures in a new perspective. As a result, it crossed the hit status of the 10 million admissions.
 
Among the sub genres of sageuk, faction attracts the most viewers, and The Face Reader (2013) is definitely one of them. It is set during the political turmoil where Sooyangdaegun (who became King Sejo later) kicked out King Danjong, his own nephew to take the throne. The film shows how a face reader who attempted to go against history fails in the progress. 
 
Besides, many films stimulated curiosity of the audience by looking into the hidden side of history, including The Treacherous (2015) which is set during the time when King Yeonsangun executed a number of courtiers, Empire of Lust (2015) which depicts the "war of the princes" at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, The Fatal Encounter (2014) that deals with the attempted assassin of King Jeongjo, I am the King (2012) that illustrates the crown prince days of King Sejong who is known to be the most revered king of Joseon, and Gabi (2012) that investigates the poisoning theory of King Gojong's death.
 
These films may be called "palace dramas" in the sense that they depict the royal family, their close relatives and courtiers. In the past, these palace dramas dealt with more or less the proven history while more unofficial historical episodes weaved with imagination add much more flexibility to the story spectrums these days.

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September 8, 2015

'The Assassination' actor Lee Jung Jae on promotional trip to China steals spotlight

Source: Xportsnews via Hancinema.net

Actor Lee Jeong-jae along with director Choi Dong-hoon and actor Ha Jeong-woo visited Beijing, China to promote movie, "The Assassination", which is scheduled to be released in China on September 17th,

Since the news about Lee Jeong-jae's visit to China broke out on September 7th, the Chinese local medias including Sohu, Qianhua, People started reporting from the moment he departed from Ghimpo International Airport to the moment he arrived in China.

'People' particularly has reported that movie "The Assassination" is Lee Jeong-jae's second movie with director Choi Dong-hoon after movie "The Thieves" and also his third films to co-star with Jeon Ji-hyeon following after 'Il Mare' and "The Thieves", while the media also has expressed their anticipation on movie "The Assassination" and his passionate acting performances.

Lee Jeong-jae took the spotlight for being one of the most popular Korean actors in China especially for his sex appeal and delivering the continuous outstanding acting performances for his roles in "The New World", "The Face Reader" and "The Assassination" as well as the success of the movies.

Because Lee Jeong-jae is currently filming Korean and Chinese joint film, 'The Day of Reveral' co-starring Wallace Chung, a super star in China, it added another reason for him to draw the heated attention.

Lee Jeong-jae began his promotional schedule with the interview with about 10 media companies in China. He captivated the hearts of the reporters with his relaxing smiles and good manners throughout the event.

He also received explosive reaction during the red carpet and the stage event to prove his popularity in China. His activities during the promotional events for movie "The Assassination" have been posted on his official facebook account, which also drew heated attention online as well.

Lee Jeong-jae will accommodate his schedule including press conference and interviews until September 8th and return to Korea.

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September 8, 2015

BFI London Film Festival Nabs Korean Quartet
Docs, Indies and Commercial on Show for UK Viewers

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

The BFI London Film Festival is returning next month for its 2015 edition, which will feature a quartet of films from the Korean peninsula, spanning commercial and independent, and fiction and documentary fare.
 
Fresh from its Golden Leopard win at the Locarno International Film Festival will be HONG Sang-soo's latest film Right Now, Wrong Then, starring JUNG Jae-young (also a Best Actor winner in Locarno) and KIM Min-hee. The film will also be seen at the upcoming Toronto, New York and Busan International Film Festivals.
 
Winding down its release in Korea, CHOI Dong-hoon’s period action film Assassination, featuring Gianna JUN, LEE Jung-jae and HA Jung-woo, is also set to grace London screens. The film has been a massive hit at home, where it has garnered 12.51 million admissions (USD 80.38 million), which is the sixth highest ever total for a Korean film.
 
Joining them will be SHIN Su-won’s acclaimed independent feature Madonna, which debuted in the Un Certain Regard lineup at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and the smash hit documentary My Love, Don’t Cross That River, directed by JIN Mo-young, the non-fiction work which amassed 4.8 million viewers (USD 34.21 million) late last year, a record sum for an indie film.
 
The BFI London film festival will open its doors for 12 days on October 7th.

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September 10, 2015

Chinese state media take note of S. Korean film 'Assassination'

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- China's state media paid attention on Thursday to a South Korean action thriller depicting Korean independence fighters going up against Japan's colonial rule, ahead of the box-office smash's premiere in mainland China.

Audience numbers for "Assassination," which tells the story of three Korean independence fighters teaming up to assassinate the commander of the Japanese troops in Korea in the early 1930s, passed 12 million in South Korea, making it the country's sixth-most successful film.

Directed by Choi Dong-hoon, the film is set to hit Chinese screens on Sept. 17.

China held a massive military parade last week to mark Japan's defeat in World War II, with state-controlled broadcasters airing TV dramas and movies with anti-Japanese themes.

Such Chinese dramas and films, however, failed to gain local acclaim.

"China's screens have been flooded by productions on the war against Japanese invaders in recent months. Many viewers complain such films can become stereotyped, and they will feel delighted to see an unlikely epic from neighboring South Korea," the state-run China Daily newspaper said of "Assassination."

   In an interview with state-run Global Times newspaper, Choi said he didn't want audiences to become patriotic when watching the movie.

"This film doesn't try to force audiences to feel patriotic. I wanted to make a film that had continuous tension," Choi was quoted as saying.

Among the actors in the leading roles are Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo.

Jun has become a household name among young Chinese people for starring Korean fantasy-romance soap "My Love from the Star," which gained large popularity in China.

"Considering the shared history between China and South Korea, the popularity of the cast in both countries and previous market successes, it seems 'Assassination' is set for a promising future in the Chinese market," the Global Times newspaper said.

kdh@yna.co.kr

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September 11, 2015

The 2nd Edition of Buenos Aires Korean Film Festival Began on September 10th.
11 Korean Films to Be Seen Including ODE TO MY FATHER for Opening Screening

by Kim Hyun-jung / KoBiz

 

The 2nd edition of Buenos Aires Korean Film Festival (Festival de Cine Coreano en Buenos Aires) began its one week schedule on Sept. 10th at Cinemark Palermo, a multiplex theater chain in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 
It opened with Ode to My Father and screens 11 Korean films including Miracle in Cell No.7, The Face Reader, Fashion King, Old Boy, The Royal Tailor, The Divine Move, and Hide and Seek, most of which are screened in Argentina for the first time. According to the Latin American Cultural Council in Argentina, for some films including Old Boy, Ode to My Father and Fashion King, more than 50% of total tickets have been sold and the overall booking rate, both online and offline, has been quite high.
 
The Cultural Council also has hosted a special film screening of The Divine Move for the press and distributors on Sept. 3rd. I-Sat, a cable TV station specialized in films mentioned that The Divine Move showed the state of the art in Korean action films with aesthetically superb action and modern shooting skills, and introduced their plan to include this movie in their Asian action cinema series. A major local newspaper ‘Pagina 12’ reviewed the film as “a superb harmony of the Eastern intellectual game of go and eye-catching action.”
 
On September 7th, the Cultural Council co-hosted a Korean cinema seminar with Directores Argentinos Cinematográifocs (DAC) for the filmmakers and distributors. It aimed to help the soft landing of Korean cinema in Latin America by stimulating copyrights sales and cooperation, through informing the superiority of Korean cinema industry and well made commercial films.
 
“The organizers worked hard to make this year’s festival a venue to introduce Korean cinema from several different approaches including press screening and seminars,” says LEE Jong-ryul, the president of the council. “We expect it to be a fruitful festival where all the three parties of film lovers, press and distributors could be happy and fall in love with Korean cinema.”
 
The Buenos Aires Korean Film Festival began in 2014 and it is the first of its kind to be hosted at a local commercial multiplex movie theater. Cinemark Palermo is among the most familiar and easily accessed movie theaters, which makes this festival more open and accessible to the public.

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September 14, 2015

Jung Woo-sung, Lee Jung-jae look dandy for High Cut

Actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae have featured in magazine High Cut’s latest issue. In the photo shoot taken at Cartier’s event celebrating the launch of its latest collection, the two actors dressed up in checkered suits, exuding their manly charisma. 

Sporting a navy-checkered suit with patterned black tie and a watch with a classic leather strap, the actor looked stylish while combing his hair into a side parting. His steady gaze and toned figure made female hearts aflutter as well.

 

Lee Jung-jae donned a light gray-checkered suit embellished with floral pattern on his chest which looks almost like a brooch. He also matched his black skinny tie with a classic watch, adding more to his dandy look.

The fashion spreads, including more of their photos, will be available in the magazine’s 158th issue, to be published on Sept. 17.

By Ko Ji-seon (jiseonko@heraldcorp.com)

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September 15, 2015

Lee Jung-jae, Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Do-yeon in Open Talk at BIFF

Source: Newsen via Hancinema.net

Lee Jeong-jae, Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Do-yeon are attending the 20th Busan International Film Festival.

Top actors and actresses are going to be at the 20th BIFF. Lee Jeong-jae from the movie "The Assassination", Yoo Ah-in from "Veteran" and Jeon Do-yeon from "The Shameless" are going to be there in person communicating with the fans.

Lee Jeong-jae, Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Do-yeon are going to attend the Open Talk being held at BIFF Village in Haeundae, Busan. Lee Jeong-jae will be there on the 2nd of October, Yoo Ah-in on the 3rd and Jeon Do-yeon on the 4th. They will talk about their acting lives.

Not only that, Jo Jeong-seok will be making a stage appearance in Busan and Lee Seon-gyoon will also get to meet his fans. Song Seung-heon's lover Liu Yifei and top Chinese actress and director Kim Tae-yong's wife Tang Wei will also be visiting Busan.

Meanwhile, the 20th BIFF will be held on the 1st to the 10th of October.

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September 17, 2015

Three actors to conduct ‘open’ interviews in Busan

Actors Lee Jung-jae, Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Do-yeon are set to hold “open” interviews with reporters from the Korea Film Reporters Association from Oct. 2-4. 

Lee and Yoo stood out this year with their roles in the box office hit “Assassination” and “Veteran,” respectively, and Jeon was nominated for the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for his role in “The Shameless.” 

The three actors will conduct interviews in an open setting so that visitors can watch freely. 

The 20th Busan International Film Festival will take place for 10 days starting Oct. 1. 

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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September 18, 2015

“Assassination” Ranks 4th in Korean Movies Box Office Chart in North America: “Witty and Intricate”

Source: KOFICE

After drawing 12 million moviegoers in Korea, “Assassin” is reaping quite a success in North America. According to Showbox on the 15th, “Assassination” (director Choi Dong-hoon, production Caper Film) was released on August 7 in 25 regions in North America, including New York, L.A., and Washington, and became the 4th highest-grossing Korean film in North America. It will stay in the US theaters for an extended time. The US box office statistics website Box Office Mojo calculated that “Assassination” drew in a total of US$ 1.8 million as of September 10 (6th week of release). This record follows behind “Roaring Current” (US$ 2.58 million), “International Market” (US$ 2.3 million), and “The Host” (US$ 2.2 million), ranking 4th in all-time box office records for Korean movies released in North America.  
 
The movie’s North American distributor Well Go USA explained, “There’s an 80% reservation rate for even weekday daytime and late night screenings. The tickets are still selling out. Major North American cinemas are extending the screening of ‘Assassination,’ so we are in for a long-term race.” The question now is whether “Assassination” can surpass “The Host” and take the third place in the ranking. “Assassination” has an 83% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received positive reviews from various media channels. “Variety” wrote, “Helmer Choi artfully spices the tasty mix with a few welcome comic moments” and “L.A. Times” praised the director who “nimbly orchestrates to entertaining effects this mass game of cat-and-mouse.” 

“Assassination” is a suspense film set in Shanghai and Seoul in 1933. It draws the fates of a contract killer, independence fighters and a provincial government agent surrounding the plot to assassinate a pro-Japanese commander. The movie became the first Korean film released this year to reach the 10 million admission mark and rewrote the box office charts for 2015. 
 

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September 22, 2015

Lee Jung-jae, Lee Som show off chemistry

(Harper's Bazaar)

Actor Lee Jung-jae and model Lee Som showed off their great chemistry on fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar’s latest cover.

“Assassination” actor Lee Jung-jae sported a satin shirt embellished with intricate floral patterns, while Lee Som flaunted her feline charms in a leopard-patterned fur jacket. The two looked charismatic as they gazed deeply into the lens, while Lee Som leaned against the actor. 

Their photo spread, including the cover and more photos, will be published in the magazine’s October issue.

By Ko Ji-seon (jiseonko@heraldcorp.com)

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September 23, 2015

Celebrities to flock to Busan film festival next week

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Some of Asia's biggest and brightest stars will flock to the Busan International Film Festival next week to celebrate the event's 20th anniversary.

This year's film festival is scheduled to run from Oct. 1-10 in the southern port city of Busan.

The stars include Tang Wei, the Chinese actress who married Korean filmmaker Kim Tae-yong, Taiwanese actor Chen Bolin and actress Yang Kuei-mei, as well as Korean stars Jun Ji-hyun, Yoo Ah-in and Lee Jung-jae, according to a guest list released by the festival Tuesday.

Among the non-Asian stars on the list are famous French actress Sophie Marceau, Hollywood tough guy Harvey Keitel who recently appeared in Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Snowpiercer" supporting star Tilda Swinton.

The Berlin-born actress Nastassja Kinski, who was hugely successful in the late 70s and early 80s, will also visit Busan as a jury member of the New Currents Award for promising Asian directors.

Lee Eun-sim, a Korean actress best known for her lead role in director Kim Ki-young's masterpiece "The Housemaid" (1960), is also scheduled to visit in her first trip to her home country since she immigrated to Brazil along with her filmmaker husband 33 years ago.

Besides movie stars, a bevy of master filmmakers will head to Busan for the 20th edition of the festival.

The most famous is French director Leos Carax of "Boy Meets Girl," "Bad Blood" and "Les Amants du Pont Neuf."

 Among Asia's leading filmmakers, China's Jia Zhangke and Du Qi Feng, Japan's Kore-eda Hirokazu and Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-hsien will come to promote their latest films.

South Korean director Kang Je-gyu and the Chinese director Feng Xiaogang will take part in an onstage talk show on their upcoming joint action-comedy project, "Bad Guys Always Die," on Oct. 2 during the festival.

Other famed Asian directors on the list are Japan's Naomi Kawase of her culinary film "An" (2015), Apichatpong Weerasethakul of Thailand, Taiwan's Tsai Ming-liang, Singapore's Royston Tan and Eric Khoo, and Iran's Bahman Ghobadi.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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September 23, 2015

Celebrities rake in cash from ads

Advertisements are a rich source of income for many Korean celebrities, media reports reveal.

Actors Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, stars of TV series "My Love from the Star" (2013-14), each earns 1 billion won ($840,000) a year, on average -- the most among Korean celebrities -- from ads. The stars, popular in China where the TV series was a big hit, also have been hired for Chinese ads.

Actress Lee Young-ae is on par with the pair, earning 800 million won ($670,000) to 1 billion won a year from ads.

Singer Suzy, K-pop boy band Big Bang, actors Lee Min-ho, Hyun Bin and Won Bin earn 700 million won ($580,000) to 800 million won a year.

There are more top actresses who earn more than their male counterparts, with Kim Hee-ae, Song Hye-gyo, Son Ye-jin, Shin min-ah earning 500 million won ($420,000) to 600 million won. Actors Lee Jung-jae, Ha Jung-woo, Lee Seo-jin, Ryu Seung-ryong and comedian Yoo Jae-seok earn 400 million won ($330,000) to 500 million won.

Rising ad stars include actor Yoo Ah-in, who has had success with recent theater hits "Veteran" and "The Throne," and actor Cha Seung-won, whose popularity jumped with TV entertainment show "Three Meals a Day" on tvN.

aoshima11@ktimes.com

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September 30, 2015

Showbox inks deal with Hollywood studios

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's leading movie distributor, Showbox/Media Inc., has signed a five-year deal to produce up to six films with two U.S. film companies, the local company said Wednesday.

Showbox, under the partnership deal signed Monday, will produce up to six Korean-language feature films in the thriller and horror genres with Blumhouse Productions, a Hollywood studio, while the films will be fully financed by Ivanhoe Pictures, a Hollywood production and financing company.

Showbox will also be in charge of marketing and distribution of the co-produced films in South Korea, according to the deal unveiled by the company.

Some of the films can later be remade into English-language versions through discussions among the partners, it said.

"We'll put great energy into recruiting new writers and directors with unique ideas in Korea," Showbox CEO You Jeong-hun said in a press release. "We hope it will serve as an opportunity to invigorate Korea's weak thriller and horror movie market and open the way for promising Korean film producers, writers and directors to advance into Hollywood."

Showbox is the studio behind such Korean box-office smashes as "Taegukgi," "The Host," "The Thieves" and, most recently, "The Throne."

Blumhouse specializes in micro-budgeted genre movies like "Paranormal Activity" and "The Purge" franchises. Ivanhoe Pictures is a production/financing company focused on the North American and Asian markets and recently has co-produced and co-financed a slate of Asian films with Fox International Productions.

In March, Showbox signed an exclusive partnership deal with China's Huayi Brothers to co-produce at least six films over three years.

sshim@yna.co.kr

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September 25, 2015

20th BIFF: 'Cinema Angels' 1000 Free Movie tickets GiveAway

Source: Sports Donga

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#TheThieves #Assassination

Source