[Movie 2013] Cold Eyes/ Stakeout/ The Watchers 감시자들

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Some gifs of the stage greetings they had during the weekends..

Cr: dchhj

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BTS pictures of the stage greetings.. So cute )

^the piglet is a gift from fans..




Cr: Han hyo Joo's me2day and cold eyes twitter

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Fan captured screenshot of one of the scenes in the movie.. Han hyo Joo's wearing a police officer uniform. :x
Cr: blog.naver

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Food with personalised stickers prepared by Han Hyo Joo's fans..




Cr: Han Hyo Joo's me2day and cold eyes twitter

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class="tit_detail" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 17px 0px 13px; border-style: none none solid; border-bottom-width: 3px; border-bottom-color: rgb(73, 79, 95); outline: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 600px; font-weight: normal; "‘Cold Eyes’ goes past 4 million audiences…Becomes 5th movie in 2013 for the achievementBy pyn9167 | kofan

Movie ‘Cold Eyes’ became 5th movie this year to go past 4 million audiences as they continued their successful run.

In July 20th according to KOFIC(Korean Film Council), ‘Cold Eyes’ gathered 130 thousand people in one day which was 19th. By this they were able to go beyond the total amount of 4 million audiences.

This indicates that ‘Cold Eyes’ become 5th in 2013 after ‘The Present of 7th Room’ ‘The Berlin File’ ‘New World’ and ‘Secretly Greatly’

Interestingly, ‘Cold Eyes’ was very much competitve with the relatively recent released movies such as ‘Mr.GO’ ‘Pacific Rim’ and ‘World War Z.’ It never really went behind any of the movies listed above, which enabled them to reach 4 million audiences.

Also, ‘Cold Eyes’ went past 4 million audiences in just 17 days, which is 9 days earlier than the film ‘New World.’

Meanwhile ‘Cold Eyes’ is about professional surveilant group following a traceless criminals with their own methods. It is mystery thriller movie talking about the fascinating fight between the two organization.

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More BTS photos of the last stage greeting..

Cr: cold eyes facebook

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The stage greeting held last Sunday.
Cr: cold eyes facebook

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‘Cold Eyes’, five million audiences.. the forth rank

Source: innolifefollowing ‘Cell No.7’ ‘Berlin’ in this year
The movie ‘Cold Eyes’ broke the record of five million audiences on 27th. ‘Cold Eyes’(Director Jo Eui-Suk, Kim Byung-Seo) ranked TOP 4 of Korean box office in 2013, grabbed 137,406 on 27th, and recorded 5,074,003 audiences.‘Cold Eyes’ is setting various records, one million audiences for four days, two million for seven days, three million for eleven days, four million for 17 days. Especially at the forth week after the release, it noticed long run, becoming TOP 4 of 2013 Korean box office. Among this it broke five million audiences. This is the forth five million box office between Korean movies in 2013.In this situation the pledge is receiving attentions, for breaking through five million audiences, of the casts Jung Woo-Sung, Han Hyo-Joo, Lee Jun-Ho. Jung Woo-Sung promised the daily date with the audience and Lee Jun-Ho promised to watch a movie with audiences. Han Hyo-Joo promised to give the T-shirt that she wore when she shot ‘Running Men’. These pledges of actors are giving force to box office hit.

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class="art_title" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; width: 526px;"'Cold Eyes' Hits 5-Million Mark in Cinema AttendanceSource: Chosun ilbo
"Cold Eyes," which was released on July 3, drew 5.07 million moviegoers as of Saturday, according to the Korean Film Council. 

Expectations are building that it could become one of a select group in Korean cinematic history to draw 10 million viewers. 
"Red 2" topped the daily box office on the same day, followed by "The Wolverine" and "Turbo." 
"Cold Eyes" is an action movie that revolves around a group of detectives who track down high-profile criminals.

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class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 2.4em; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 1.375; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"Han Hyo-joo Celebrates “Cold Eyes” RecordsBy Kang Jung Yeon | TENASIA

Korean actress Han Hyo-joo [Han Hyo-joo's me2day account]

Korean actress Han Hyo-joo has posted a photo of herself with a cake celebrating her movie “Cold Eyes” surpassing the five million mark in terms of accumulated audiences.

She posted the photo on her Korean SNS me2day account on Monday, saying alongside it, “Celebration cake for drawing over five million audiences! I shared it with good people. Thanks!”

Her thriller film, released early this month, hit the five million mark on Saturday and fans sent her a cake made with tteok (rice cake), an official with the actress’s agency BH Entertainment told TenAsia on Tuesday.

Also starring 2PM’s Junho, actor Jung Woo-sung, and actor Seol Kyung-gu, the film centers on a special surveillance task force that watches and follows organized criminals that rob banks.

“Cold Eyes” has performed well on the box office, making its debut as the No. 1 film and staying one of the four most-watched movies in the country despite the debut of many films including blockbusters “Pacific Rim” and “RED 2.”

In the meantime, the main cast of the film had vowed to deliver on promises they made if the movie hit the five million mark: Jung said he would go on a date with an audience, Junho said he would watch a movie with an audience, and Han said she would give away the T-shirt she wore on SBS’s variety show “Running Man.”

Her agency’s official said Han will deliver on her promise but has yet to decide on how she will decide on the winner of the T-shirt.

Reporter. Kang Jung Yeon atoz@tenasia.co.kr
Editor. Jessica Kim

Courtesy of Han Hyo-joo’s me2day account

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new still

Cr: cold eyes facebook

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scans of a Thai magazine (Asta Magazine Vol. 7, No. 79). credits to Han Hyo Joo's Thailand fan club for sharing.

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RED 2 Starring LEE Byung-hun Tops the Weekend Box Office
By Tae Sang-joon | KOFIC
While COLD EYES’ Admission Broke the 4 Million Mark 
 LEE Byung-hun definitively proved his power as a superstar in this summer’s Korean theaters, which are filled new blockbusters. According to the Integrated Computer Network of the Korea Film Council on July 22nd, Red 2 starring LEE and Bruce Willis topped the weekend box office chart by recording 832,276 admissions at 738 screens across the nation for three days from July 19th to 21st. Red 2 has been praised for a highly effective ensemble between big-name Hollywood actors and actresses such as Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Helen Mirren and LEE. The action blockbuster recorded 965,076 admissions for four days, getting closer to one million.  Cold Eyes starring SEOL Kyung-gu and HAN Hyo-joo continued to stay hot at the box office. The film exceeded two million admissions in its first seven days since its premiere on July 3rd. Cold Eyes began its long run by attracting over four million spectators by July 19th. The film held second place by selling 576,350 tickets at 623 theaters for the same span. Up to now, Cold Eyes has chalked up 4,574,913 admissions. So it is highly likely that the crime thriller will record over five million admissions across the nation. Cold Eyes is enjoying positive responses not only in Korea but also in foreign countries.  According to NEW, the distribution company of the film, Cold Eyes presold to six Asian nations such as Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei and international airlines at the 66th Cannes International Film Market. “The presales of Cold Eyes to those countries and international airlines are a remarkable feat and prove overseas countries’ interest in the film,” said a spokesperson at United Pictures in charge of overseas sales of the film. “At present, not only Asian nations but North America and Europe are showing more interest in Cold Eyes. Thanks to its good box performances in Korea, China and Taiwan, we anticipate additional sales of the film.” On the other hand, the much anticipated Mr. Go, a Korean-style 3D blockbuster directed by KIM Yong-hwa (Take Off and 200 Pounds Beauty) ended up in third place, recording 540,411 spectators on its opening weekend. Mr. Go recorded 730,959 admissions for its first five days.

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class="headline" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.21em; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"‘RED: THE LEGEND’ exceeds 2 million admissions in South Korea after 10 daysBy Lee Zhao Tam | Korea Star Daily

It was revealed that Hollywood blockbuster ‘RED: THE LEGEND’ has exceeded 2 million admissions after 10 days of airing in South Korea, and once again ascertained the pulling power of actor Lee Byung Hun at the box office.

According to statistics released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) today, ‘RED: THE LEGEND’ attracted a total of 666,048 admissions between the period of July 26th – 28th. This brought its accumulated admissions thus far to 2,186,602, and also saw it breaking the 2 million mark in just 10 days of airing in South Korea.

‘RED: THE LEGEND’ is Lee Byung Hun’s third Hollywood movie, and revolves around retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) reuniting his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. The movie was filmed on location in several European countries, and contained a lot of thrilling chase scenes together with a compact storyline.

Besides the original cast members of Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Mary-Louise Parker, ‘RED: THE LEGEND’ also included Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and Lee Byung Hun among many others to make it a star-studded cast on paper.

After successfully announcing his entry into Hollywood with the ‘G.I. JOE’ movie series, Lee Byung Hun is following up with a role in ‘RED: THE LEGEND’ as Han Cho Bai, a top contract killer hired to assassinate Frank.

Meanwhile, another Hollywood blockbuster ‘The Wolverine’ (20th Century Fox Korea) which saw Hugh Jackman arriving in South Korea on July 15th for promotions, attracted 58,620 admissions yesterday, and brought its accumulated admissions to 777,986.

‘RED: THE LEGEND’ (9,304) was playing on much lesser screens than ‘The Wolverine’ (9,848 times), but was still able to top the weekend box office chart in South Korea.

Animated film ‘Turbo’ (distributor: CJ Entertainment) attracted 403,984 admissions, and brought its accumulated admissions to 540,439, and placed 3rd at the weekend box office charts. ‘Cold Eyes’ had 430,425 admissions, and brought its accumulated admissions to 5,202,457, to place 4th at the weekend box office charts, and also saw it breaking the 5 million barrier. 3D movie ‘Mr. Go’ attracted 212,150 admissions, and brought its admissions up to a total of 1,131,057.

With the highly anticipated ‘Snow Piercer’ and ‘The Terror Live’ set to join the fray from July 31st, it remains to be seen how it will affect the box office results in South Korea.

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class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 30px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"Korean Box Office: RED 2 Fends of THE WOLVERINE in Week 2By Pierce Conran | Twitchfilm
Following a burst of activity in June and early July, the Korean box office has been down a little down (though still strong) these past few weeks as we brace ourselves for what should be an enormous August. 2.56 million tickets were sold over the frame, down one sixth from last year. Meanwhile the local market was 26%, only marginally higher than this weekend last year, which stood at 20%.

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Red 2 (us)	13/07/18	26.00%	666,037	2,186,589	665
2	The Wolverine (us)	13/07/25	22.70%	581,134	777,986	707
3	Turbo (us)	13/07/25	15.10%	403,980	540,431	634
4	Cold Eyes	13/07/03	13.20%	343,421	5,202,449	461
5	Mister Go	13/07/17	7.70%	212,150	1,131,057	428
6	Pacific Rim (us)	13/07/11	5.50%	126,338	2,458,121	336
7	The Terror Live	13/07/31	4.90%	122,760	126,647	314
8	Doraemon: The Movie (jp)	13/07/25	1.60%	45,606	55,983	239
9	World War Z (us)	13/06/20	1.30%	33,083	5,218,833	141
10	A Late Quartet (us)	13/07/25	0.40%	8,497	10,303	29

Leading the frame was a second lap for US action-comedy Red 2, which is seeing plenty of business as a result of its secondary role for local megastar Lee Byung-hun (Masquerade), in his second English-language role of the year after G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The film pulled in another 666,037 admissions this weekend, a slight 20% drop from its opening weekend. The pic has banked almost 2.2 million admissions to date. Normally I would say this has a little more life in it but it looks like everything is going to take a train-sized hit next weekend.
Opening at number two, despite a much-publicized press visit by star Hugh Jackman was comic book movie The Wolverine with 581,134 admissions. Jackman is a big star in the country but, though by no means a failure, comic book movie fatigue seems to have set in for this summer. Prospects going forward look grim.
The US animated film Turbo had a solid debut with 403,980 and stands a better chance than most of surviving on the chart in early August as it targets a different audience.
Local midsummer hit Cold Eyes was down 40% as it banked another 343,421 admissions and sailed over the five million mark, delivering distributor NEW yet another huge hit in 2013.
Following a very disappointing number three debut, the $22.5 million 3D gorilla baseball-playing film Mister Gois officially a dud after crashing 63% for a paltry 212,150 and fifth place on the chart. The costly film may not go much further than 1.5 million admissions and will need to significantly pick up the pace in foreign markets. It has been performing OK in China, which may be enough to recoup most of the production costs but this may prove a pricey experiment for Showbox.
There are two big films opening next weekend and though The Terror Live, starring Ha Jung-woo, scored a solid 122,760 in previews and has been earning solid reviews from the local press, it is likely to open a distant second behind what is the most anticipated film of the year. Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer is on everyone's lips and and if previews reactions and early reservations are anything to go by, it will have a massive opening. Over two million in three days and as much as three million in five (it's opening on Wednesday) is not out of the question.

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class="art_title" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; font-weight: 300; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 28px; width: 526px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"Korean Film No Longer Wedded to RomanceSource: Chosun Ilbo

Romance has apparently all-but disappeared from Korean films these days. It is something of a time-honored rule of thumb to include some love interest among the main characters of a Korean movie, regardless of genre. As recently as last year, box-office hits such as "The Thieves" and "Masquerade" all featured romantic tugs-of-war, or characters with a burning passion for someone. Even if the romance was not at the heart of the movie, it was always there to add spice to the plot. 

However, this trend now seems to be on the wane. With the exception of the romantic comedy "Very Ordinary Couple" and disaster movie "The Tower," most of the films in the top 10 at the box office so far this year do not deal with common forms of love and romance.

For example, the thriller "Cold Eyes" featuring actor Jung Woo-sung and actress Han Hyo-joo eschews romance in favor of camaraderie between the main characters. The movie is still sweeping box office and recently attracted 5 million moviegoers.

"Miracle in Cell No. 7" focuses on parental affection using a correctional facility as a backdrop, while other recent hits like "New World" and "Fist of Legend" have no room for female characters as they center on the world of men.

Critics and filmgoers alike seem to be welcoming the turning tide. "Films reflect reality, which these days include more people living a hardscrabble life and barely managing to keep themselves together," said Kim Won, a film critic. "Cinematic characters that have no time for romance, as they have to fight for their lives, seem to be more appealing and sympathetic to moviegoers."

Instead of typical romantic interests, so-called bromances or male ensembles are more visible in recent Korean films like "New World" and "Secretly Greatly."

"These days, the kind of brotherhood or camaraderie you can witness in desperate situations, such as on the battlefield, is more popular amongst viewers than the stereotypical romance between a man and a woman," Kim said.

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Another review by Screendaily

Cold Eyes

By Jason Bechervaise | Screendaily

Dirs: Cho Ui-seok, Kim Byung-seo. South Korea. 2013. 119mins

Based on the 2007 Hong Kong crime thriller Eye In The Sky, the South Korean remake closely follows the original’s compelling premise of a surveillance unit tracking down a leader of an armed criminal organisation in the heart of a large city, but it’s also technically superior in its use of dazzling cinematography topped with a good eye for exploiting Seoul’s urban landscape along with a smartly chosen cast that arms Cold Eyes with a great deal of caliber and vibrance making it a highly accomplished thriller.

Han Hyo-joo renowned for her roles as a romantic lead has never been so attractive as the fiercely intelligent rookie.

The film has amassed 5.4 million admissions (approx $34.3 million) in its local market of South Korea becoming the fourth most successful local film so far this year that’s due in part to its impressive cast that includes a host of names including Seol Kyung-gu (2012’s The Tower) and Jung Woo-sung (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), but the film has also largely benefited from strong word-of-mouth that has allowed it to successfully compete with films on significantly higher budgets such as Pacific Rim and Mr. Go.

Cold Eyes is also set for a dream start on the international circuit as it makes its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in the gala presentations section, giving the film the exposure it richly deserves and potentially attracting buyers who are after a solid and sophisticated South Korean thriller that will generate revenue on ancillary markets.

Much like the 2007 original film, Cold Eyes centers on a special crime division that specialises in surveillance activities on high profile criminals as it follows the members of this team, most notably Ha Yoon-ju (Han Hyo-joo) who is the newest member of this group who possesses a number of observation skills including the ability to remember almost anything.

Also playing one of the leads is Seol Kyung-gu who plays the unit’s tough but warm-hearted leader who gradually forms a close partnership with Ha as they attempt to track down a dangerous individual called James (Jung Woo-sung) who is the leader of a criminal organization that takes orders from a mysterious broker to conduct a number of heists.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is how it captures the Seoul metropolis through its stunning and energetic camera work switching between high level sweeps from tall skyscrapers as James monitors what’s going on below to footage on the ground ranging from conventional shots and panning to some nicely orchestrated handheld camera work without making it nauseating.

The film’s producers (Lee Eugene and co-producer Song Dae-chan) along with the directors (Choi Ui-seok and Kim Byung-seo) deserve special mention for bringing together a wealth of talent on screen.  The cast doesn’t just include bankable names, but they are also both well suited to the roles, while also delivering something different to their respective onscreen personas.

Seol Kyung-gu, famous for portraying an unorthodox police detective in the popular Public Enemy films, plays a more gentle and fatherlike lead in the leadership role while Han Hyo-joo renowned for her roles as a romantic lead has never been so attractive as the fiercely intelligent rookie. Jung Woo-sung meanwhile plays the villain for the first time and yet still brings much of his charm as a cold hearted-killer. K-pop star Lee Jun-ho also leaves a lasting impression in his first significant role in a feature film as one of the younger team members.

Equally worthy of mention is the collaboration between director Cho Ui-seok who made local thriller The World Of Silence (2006) and cinematographer Kim Byung-seo – he’s worked on a number of films including Lee Hyun-seung’sHindsight (2011) -  who both work on the film as directors. Kim who is also credited as one of the film’s cinematographers together with director Cho have constructed a film that’s visually more arresting than the original while also ensuring it maintains a strong and consistent flow aided by some interesting characters that made the 2007 film an attracting prospect for a remake.

There are some minor quibbles in terms of a lack of background information regarding some of the film’s plotting and characters, especially the film’s villain, James, and his relationship with the broker, but the film’s strengths fortunately outweigh these weaknesses.  

In a nice touch, Simon Yam who plays the chief of the intelligence bureau in Eye In The Sky plays a small but noticeable cameo at the end paying tribute to the original film.

While it will be a more challenging feat to further continue its strong theatrical run given that one of this year’s most anticipated local releases Snowpiercer is now attracting cinemagoers along with other new releases, it can, however, now begin to look overseas in what is a potentially lucrative market for the film after it screens at TIFF.  

Production company: Zip Cinema

International sales: Opus Pictures, opus@opuspictures.com

Executive Producers: Lee Tae-hun, Kim Woo-taek, Stephen Ng

Producer: Lee Eugene

Co-producer: Song Dae-chan

Screenplay: Cho Ui-seok, based on the film Eye In The Sky

Cinematography: Kim Byung-seo, Yeo Kyung-bo

Editor: Shin Min-kyung

Music: Dalpalan, Jang Young-gyu

Main cast: Seol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Jin Gyeong, Lee Jun-ho

[Guest kaz11]

INTERVIEW by JUNG Han-seok   08.01.2013 | Korean Cinema Today

JOH Ui-seok and KIM Byeong-seo, Directors of COLD EYES
The Art of Watching and Being Watched



JOH Ui-seok and KIM Byeong-seo, the co-directors of Cold Eyes, were once classmates at the School of Film, TV and Multimedia in the Korea National University of Arts, where both majored in cinematography. They have long been best buddies, or seonhubae (a Korean word for a close senior and junior at work, school, etc), but JOH made his film debut long before KIM did. His film debut Make It Big (2002) was an action comedy, featuring the mishaps that three high school boys went through, when they accidently earned a big sum of money on the street. In 2006, he made The World of Silence which was a mystery introducing a duel between a detective and criminal, taking place over across the serial murders of young girls. Cold Eyes is his third feature.    KIM has been a promising name in camera direction in Korean cinema and has worked as a cinematographer on several films, including …ing (2003), Go Go 70s (2008), Castaway on the Moon (2008), A Good Rain Knows (2009) and Dangerous Liaisons (2012). Cold Eyes is his first film as a director, for which he was also in charge of cinematography.
 
Their co-directed film Cold Eyes is an adaptation of the Hong Kong original Eye in the Sky (2007), directed by YAU Nai-Hoi and produced by Johnnie TO. It presents the rivalry between a professional robbery crew led by James (JUNG Woo-sung) and the surveillance team within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Unit. Easy going but insightful leader Hwang Sang-jun and a promising rookie Ha Yoon-ju are the two main people in the team. This movie features personas with distinctive characters and eye pleasing action scenes taking place against many landmarks in the city of Seoul.    For this latest work, KIM came up with the initial idea and JOH laid the groundwork for the script while they both handled pre-production and finally, co-directed the film. “We did our dose of fighting during the pre-production, so there was little to disagree on once the actual shooting began. No more fights,” confessed the two, implying the pre-production was a very careful and thorough job. As a result, we have had one very appealing film this summer.   Its box office performance has also been strong. Since its domestic release on July 3rd, more than 5 million viewers have seen Cold Eyes. The film was pre-sold at the Cannes Film Market to major film countries in Asia including Japan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. Korean Cinema Today met KIM and JOH, names you will want to remember for the Korean popular film scene.


- Cold Eyes is based on the Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky (2007) right?   JOH Yes, what I liked about the original film was that it was about a rookie, a young woman detective, and how she changes and grows up. I liked the theme of ‘watching people’ as well. KIM is the one who saw the film first and told me about it. He has always been a camera director but I knew he was interested in directing too. So as I talked with the production company, I introduced him and convinced them that he should work on directing as well as shooting for this film.   KIM I have always been a great fan on Hong Kong movies. I happened to see Eye in the Sky and thought it was an interesting film. Like JOH, I appreciated the fact that it was focused on the maturing of a rookie female detective, but what I liked also was that it looked into the world of professionals. The plot itself was not big in terms of scale, but very carefully and intensively structured, never letting go of tension throughout the film. So it occurred to me, OK, that film features Hong Kong, then what if I translate it in the Korean landscape? Eye in the Sky focuses on destiny and emotions. I thought it would be very interesting if we re-organize it with culture-specific personas in Seoul.   - Rendering Seoul in the film was important for you?   KIM/JOH Absolutely. We wanted to feature Seoul as a megalopolis, and also introduce the culture specific landmarks. In other words, the city of Seoul itself is among the main characters of the film. The first thing we did when we were working on the script was to buy a map of Seoul. We drew the outline of the city and tried to look for the stand out features of each administrative region in Seoul. In doing so, we realized that every distinctive region has its own style, including the generation and fashion of the mainstream people who inhabit there and the local architecture. We wanted to feature the downtown streets like Cheonggyecheon, Seosomun and Tehran Boulevard as the center of action scenes, adding reality to the film. As a result, in the film, major landmarks of the city are featured and particularly the human traffic between the landmarks. It was our ongoing focus to expand the small and intensive atmosphere of Hong Kong into a larger landscape of Seoul.    - Human traffic and perspectives are very important in the film. How did you design them?   JOH We focused on the concept of creating certain layers between groups of people. What I am saying is, in the film, there are those who watch and those who are watched. I was thinking of presenting them as two different groups, in two different layers, so to speak. For James, I wanted to feature him as a watcher looking over from the rooftop, and for HWANG Sang-jun, to be a commander on the ground. I employed a certain visual difference between the two groups. For James, bird’s eye view was dominantly used, while for the people on the ground like HWANG and HA Yoon-ju, eye level shooting was consistently maintained. What is interesting is that at the climax of the movie, their positions kind of switch, placing James, who has always been watching down from the rooftop, below the watchers on the ground. The overall tempo and psychological close-ups were also among the things I worked hard on.   KIM For me, lively human traffic was very important. A lot of the time, the camera was freely placed so that it was in fluid communication with the relationships of the characters, such as the chaser and the chased, and their tension. As a camera director, I believed the rhythm was most important in this film. As a result, I wanted to create many different points even in one single take, making them overlap with each other. I tried to create the rhythm through a collision of shots, their different sizes, different movements, and so on.   - What do you think was most important in adapting the characters from the original Hong Kong film into your rendition?   JOH In the Hong Kong original, HWANG had a cold persona. However, SEOL Kyung-gu turned him into a more human and warm character. When I was writing his lines in the script, I mimicked his voice and read them out loud. He is an analogue person, as opposed to the modern, digital person, if you like. For HA, I wanted to make a female character that female spectators would love - An independent and righteous cop. James was a petty criminal in the original, but I wanted to turn the character into a more charismatic figure.   - JOH, would you say you have succeeded in making a more interesting film than your last effort?   JOH As a joke, I would say that it could be my last work. That’s how desperately I worked on this film, and as such it is all the more dear to me. However, I was not quite expecting this kind of passionate reception from the audience. I am still somewhat puzzled.   - KIM, you have now made your debut as a film director. Are you planning to work on both directing and shooting in the future?    KIM Yes. I’ve always felt some kind of thirst as I worked as a camera director. I wanted a bigger involvement in films. So this film is in a way a reflection of my own growing up in filmmaking. Directing was a totally different world than what I used to imagine, but it was so much more fun and rewarding. I would love to work on both if I possibly could.   - Could you tell us about your next film?   JOH I have a costume drama in mind. Actually, I am attracted to every genre, including melodrama and horror. For a while, I want to make the kinds of films that the audience would want to see, rather than what I wanted to see.   KIM I will be working on a film as a camera director later this year. It is going to be something that brilliantly steals the audience’s mind, so to speak. I would love to experiment in different genres, within their formulaic structures. Let me put it this way: I want to be a pitcher with his own killer ball.

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class="title" style="margin: 0px 5px 8px 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; clear: right; width: 650px; "Korean films draw fewer viewers in July than a year earlierSource: Yonhap News Agency via global post
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean movies attracted nearly 15 percent fewer viewers in July than a year ago due to the relative strength of Hollywood films, a market tracker said Monday.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which tracks box-office records, about 8.51 million people viewed Korean films in July, down 15.2 percent from 10.04 million during the same month a year ago.
This represents only a 7.2 percent increase from June, a weak performance compared with July last year when the audience tally rose 47.5 percent month-on-month with four films drawing more than 3 million viewers.
As only one film -- "Cold Eyes" starring Seol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung and Han Hyo-joo -- surpassed the 3-million milestone in attendance last month, Korean films took up 45.2 percent of total box-office sales, down from 47.9 percent a year ago.Also in July, "Cold Eyes" topped the monthly box-office rankings, racking up 38.41 billion won (US$34 million) in ticket sales, followed by Hollywood movies "Pacific Rim" (20.21 billion won), "RED2" (17.99 billion won) and "World War Z" (14.71 billion won). Korean baseball film "Mr. Go" came in fifth with 8.7 billion won.

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Cold Eyes shows how South Korean producers find inspiration in Hong Kong films

Remakes of Hong Kong films are hitting the mark with South Korean cinema-goers

Darcy Paquet                                                        Tuesday, 06 August, 2013, 6:45

Song Hae-sung's remake of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow.

Cold Eyes, one of the hottest films at the South Korean box office this summer, may strike fans of Hong Kong cinema as oddly familiar. That's because it is an official remake of Eye in the Sky, the gripping 2007 Milkyway Image feature about a police surveillance unit that is scriptwriter Yau Nai-hoi's sole directorial outing to date.

Transposed to the city of Seoul, Cold Eyes easily topped the South Korean box office in its first week of release (July 3), taking in US$13.8 million. It had taken in US$34.4 million as of August 1. It has fared equally well among the critics, with at least one praising it as "refreshingly new" and for successfully retaining the spirit of the original, while smoothly incorporating elements of South Korean culture.

Remaking Hong Kong films is nothing new. American filmmaker Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed (2006), based on Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak Siu-fai's Infernal Affairs (2002), is probably the most famous example. But in recent years, South Korean producers have also shown interest in Hong Kong cinema's back catalogue.

2007's Eye in the Sky

That is partly because many of them grew up in the late 1980s and early '90s, when the genre was tremendously popular in South Korea, and voiced their respect for the well-structured plots dreamed up by Hong Kong screenwriters.

The interest in remaking Hong Kong films may also be seen as part of a broader trend in the South Korean film industry, in which producers increasingly focus on films adapted from existing material, such as novels, webtoons and comic books.

Zip Cinema chief executive Eugene Lee Yu-jin, the producer of Cold Eyes, originally watched Eye in the Sky as a reference for an original script about surveillance she was developing with directors Jo Ui-seok and Kim Byeong-seo.

"As soon as I saw it, I knew that this was the story I wanted to make," she says. "It's centred much more on drama than on action sequences, which makes it harder to market to the Korean audience. But the drama was extremely well handled, and I thought it would bring something new to Korean cinema. I called immediately and bought the remake rights."

A still from Cold Eyes, the South Korean adaptation of the 2007 Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky.

But as directors Jo and Kim worked on adapting the screenplay, they confronted the dilemma faced by all filmmakers involved in remakes: preserving the strengths of the original in a completely different setting and context. In moving from the densely packed streets of Hong Kong to the more open vistas of Seoul, the new film gradually expanded in scope.

In addition, a somewhat gruesome climactic scene involving a large hook was also cut. "I really love the original ending, but we thought it might be too much for the local [south Korean] audience," says Lee.

Financing and casting progressed smoothly, with respected actor Sol Kyung-gu ( Peppermint Candy) assigned the part of the police chief, Jung Woo-sung ( The Good, the Bad, the Weird) tackling his first villain role, and popular actress Han Hyo-joo ( Always) taking the role of the young recruit, played by Kate Tsui Tze-shan in the original. Although all three stars are well known in South Korea, critics praised the fact that these roles brought out something new in all three of them.

While remakes don't necessarily capitalise on the name recognition of the original - Eye in the Sky, the Hong Kong film, was not even released in South Korea - Cold Eyes contains an unexpected cameo by Simon Yam Tat-wah, who gave a memorable performance as the police chief in Eye in the Sky.

Lee and Yam met at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival, where Yam was promoting The Thieves. She later broached the idea of having him portray a criminal in the new film. "I think because he has a lot of affection for the original, he was supportive of the remake."

Remaking Hong Kong films for the domestic market has created fresh opportunities for the country's filmmakers. A Better Tomorrow (2010), a remake of John Woo Yu-sum's 1986 "heroic bloodshed" classic of the same title that featured stars Joo Jin-mo, Kim Kang-woo and Song Sung-hyun was not nearly as well received as Cold Eyes. B ut the Song Hae-sung ( Failan) directed film still grossed US$10.2 million.

More recently, director Choi Dong-hoon, who cast numerous Hong Kong stars in his record-breaking The Thieves (2012), acquired the remake rights to Alan Mak Siu-fai and Felix Chong Man-keung's crime thriller, Overheard (2009). And although the project never came to fruition, a remake of Woo's The Killer (1989) had also been in development.

Remakes of other countries' films have also been successful: All About My Wife, a remake of Argentinian comedy A Boyfriend for My Wife, grossed US$29 million at the South Korean box office in 2012.

"I don't think people realise how hard it is to do a successful remake," says Lee. "Preserving the strengths of the original, while adapting it for a different audience, is difficult."

Nonetheless, as Korean cinema becomes more internationally minded, producers are increasingly looking abroad for inspiration. "If you take Hollywood as an example, they produce a tremendous number of remakes," Lee says.

"Often we're not even aware that these films are remakes," she says. "In South Korea too, I suspect they will become more common."

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1294643/cold-eyes-shows-how-south-korean-producers-find-inspiration