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August 3, 2018

 

Han Hyo-joo is happy to break out of her shell :

‘Illang’ star studied the original animated film in between takes

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

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[WARNER BROS. KOREA]

 

It’s been just over a week since “Illang: The Wolf Brigade” hit theaters. The film revolves around a member of a special police unit and his lover in the year 2029 as the two Koreas begin a five-year plan towards unification. The movie may not be performing as well as she would have hoped for, but for actor Han Hyo-joo, it has nevertheless been a chance to break out of her shell and try something new.

 

“I’ve heard other directors call me a ‘very stable actor,’” said Han in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “Stability has its strengths, but there are some downsides to it. It was like breaking out of that stable shell. I wanted to show something that would have people say, ‘Oh, she had this side of herself?’”

 

Having debuted in 2003, Han has filled up her filmography with numerous works like “Always” (2011), “Masquerade” (2012), “Cold Eyes” (2013) and “The Beauty Inside” (2015), which put her on the top of the list for many directors and fans. All her characters were natural with just the right amount of emotion. Although she makes it look easy, it’s all a result of the constant training that she pushes herself through.

 

“I always try to look at myself in an objective light on screen,” said Han. “I watch my past works and try to look at it as a character from the movie, not me. That was the case for this movie as well. But this time, it felt like I was more of a stranger. I got a new feeling [from myself], something unfamiliar. That was actually what I had hoped to get with this movie.”

 

Because “Illang” was based on the 1999 Japanese animation “Jin-Roh” directed by Hiroyuki Kimura and written by Mamoru Oshii, the actor was careful not to miss out on what fans of the original would be looking for. “I watched the original as if it was a textbook, even during the shoot. Even though the lines in the original were different, there were some that I wished I could use for this movie,” said Han.

 

In “Illang,” Han plays Yun-hee, the romantic interest of the main character Joong-gyeong, played by Gang Dong-won. In hopes of escaping their depressing reality, Joong-gyeong and Yun-hee fall into each other’s arms, which didn’t look convincing to some movie critics. “They make those choices because of love,” said Han. “I think it may have been better for those [emotions] to have been portrayed more deeply.”

 

Funny enough, even though the relationship between Han’s character and Gang’s failed to appeal to audiences, the two actors had been rumored to be dating. A photograph of Han and Gang walking together in the United States went viral on July 5, even though they had denied having any emotions for each other.

 

“There’s really not more to say,” said Han. “We had a meal because our schedules matched when we were in the United States. We were worried that [the rumors] were so big that it might damage the movie, but there was nothing else to it.”

 

According to Han, Gang is an actor she can learn a lot from and a helpful colleague who’s there to lend her a shoulder, but that’s it. 

 

“We’ve done two films in a row together. And we said to ourselves, ‘This is just very natural.’ We didn’t care much about it. We just laughed about it,” said Han.

 

BY PARK JUNG-SUN [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]

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8 hours ago, frozentundra said:

@rubie Thank you for the elegant translation. Language barriers are frustrating, it's nice to see this so clear and well done. 

 

I hope her next project is one that will appeal well to audiences and be one that is personally fulfilling to her as well. 

 

Here's another English article highlighting HHJ's interviews. It's only now that the media portals are releasing them.

 

August 4, 2018

 

Han Hyo-joo Gets to Show Another Side of Herself in Latest Film

 

By Song Hye-jin The Chosun Ilbo

 

Actress Han Hyo-joo appears in one of this summer's most hyped films. "Illang: The Wolf Brigade" directed by Kim Jee-woon and released last week is an adaption of the Japanese animated film.

 

She said, "I was very interested in the movie even before I was offered the role." 

 

Set in 2029, the movie depicts a dystopian future in which South and North Korea get ready for a unified government after years of preparation.

 

"About six years ago I watched the original animated version after I heard that Kim was preparing the Korean version of the film. I liked the animation's mysterious atmosphere so I was delighted to get an offer from him," Han said.

 

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Han Hyo-joo /Courtesy of BH Entertainment

 

The film took about a year-and-a-half to shoot and it turned out to be harder than she thought. She spent many sleepless nights thinking of how to portray the role. "One day I arrived on the set with some ideas about the role, but when shooting started, nothing went as I expected," Han said. "I think I have always tried to step out of my comfort zone to embrace changes, but this time I tried even harder and I believe I was finally able to show a different side of myself through this film."

 

It is Han's second time co-starring with actor Kang Dong-won, after the action thriller "Golden Slumber," which was released early this year. "Neither Kang nor I are very talkative but I have known him for a long time, which made me comfortable while working together," Han said.

 

When asked about recent dating rumors with him, she said, "Neither of us care about the rumors very much as they are going around all the time as long as you work in showbiz, but I felt sorry and was afraid that it might distract attention from the movie," she said.

 

Han made her debut after winning a beauty pageant in 2003. "I have just kept working without pause, and now I'm starting to think about who I am and what I want to be. This movie helped me to find answers to those questions and reflect on my career." 

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4 hours ago, adamag said:

@adeleyam i remember you said you were going to korea and were waiting for the 2nd week’s stage greetings schedule to come out. Did you manage to get tickets? Also are you gonna watch inrang there. Am very interested in your review.

haha~ yup. gonna watch it tomorrow if everything goes fine. will try to update afterwards... ^_^

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Since Inrang turned out badly I'm hoping to see Hyo cast in a new project as soon as possible.

Allthough no opportunity for us ifans to watch it yet it doesnt sound like the movie is too great. I'm going to blame this on the writer & director, not the fault of any of the cast. I have to say it was a red flag for me when HHJ and KDW said:

"Our characters like each other. WE DON'T KNOW WHY. The director didn't give us any reason (insert major FACEPALMING here!) , so we just joke that 'You are a person who just likes beautiful people' "

 

To me a huge part of a plot well done is characterization, especially the inner life and motivations of the characters will make a project come alive and bring in that deep human relatable element, which will function to touch one deeply. Hell, it's the THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT in my opinion.

Okay I get it, this isn't a melo focused movie but an action one;  but as someone who likes thrillers and scifi alot too, great less "human -themed"/drama/melo etc. and more thriller/action/scifi projects very well add in that human element and inner motivations of characters at least enough for the characters to have clear motivations. Otherwise you have empty shells running around doing whatever for no reason.

 

So Inrang writer & Director: 

...if even the ACTORS THEMSELVES don't know the motives of their characters: then Houston we have a  (MAJOR!) problem!!!

 

So to me those bad reviews unfortunately sound reasonable. So better if Hyo just moves on from this project into a better one as soon as possible.

Of course girl deserves to rest after these exchausting 2 movies, so by "moves on" I mean "just gets cast" and not "starts filming asap" haha that would be too much. 

 

 

 

 

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To compensate for lack of inner life/characterization/human component in this Inrang now flop of a project (:tears:)

.....How about Hyo does a drama written by a woman who is THE go-to-writer when it comes to great chararacterization and touching deeply with that human component?:

 

http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/06/veteran-melodrama-writer-lee-kyung-hee-back-with-chocolate/

 

My favorite drama writer is BACK and dare I hope Hyo would be cast in this!??!

 

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TOP STARS, huh? :D

How about pairing Hyo with So Ji Sub, GoSoo, Yoo Ah In, Rain, Lee Joon Gi, Lee Dong Wook or Kim Nam Gil then?

I would die if any of those pairings happen (if some of them happen AGAIN)....:wub:

I could also like seeing HHJ with LSG on screen again but the guy is SUPER Busy these days...

Actually I'd die of happiness already even to just see HHJ + This writer.

 

Since this writer has such characterization skills, she tends to also bring out the absolute best of whoever ends up acting out the roles. I'm praying so hard over here that Hyo now being free means she will be cast in this....:bawling:  pretty please? 

 

 

 

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Guest kaz11

Well, hyojoo loves melo and the drama role and material sound just about right for her so I hope she gets an offer. Seriously I’d love to see her work with Lee Kyunghee and Noh Heekyung, I was just saying this, too, who knows this might just be what she needs, to have another breakout role. 

 

I would love a seungjoo reunion, too :)

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I was not a fan of lee kyung hee’s last drama so am not sure abt her....it happens to be the only drama of hers i’ve tried watching so..... Also, the synopsis of her new drama does not interest me. Maybe its because am not a fan of dramas abt chefs. All the korean chefs shows i’ve watched have sucked lol. But if hyo goes for it. I’ll have to watch.  So ji sub has a new drama coming, LSG too, Go soo too, lee dong wook is busy. I bet we are not getting anything from hyo till next year. Too bad. As for a noh hee kyung drama, i will be as happy as can be but nhk already had a drama this year...dont know wen she’ll be bringing another one.

 

Am just sad that after waiting so long for a project, it didnt bear good fruits. It makes the year quite unfulfilling in that sense.

 

I dont know what genre it would be, what story it would tell but that project that would put hyo in everybody’s mouth, make her shine and give her the epiphany she needs, thats the role am praying hard for. It honestly feels like in this thread, we need something great to happen lol.

 

 

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I'll be completely honest, in terms of being a fan of HJ, these past 2 years have been extremely underwhelming. All of last year she spent her time filming two movies which were released this year just for them to be a complete letdown in terms of quality and box-office success. I don't want to be that fan, but I need her to work with a big named actor, whether it's in a drama or film. Also, I hope she chooses a good script next time with a strong character instead of a damsel in distress type character. She needs to read scripts first instead of jumping to a project just because of who the director is. In this case, none of the three main actors read the script, they themselves admitted to having accepted their roles because of their wish to work with KJW, and look at how well that turned out for them.

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5 hours ago, adamag said:

I was not a fan of lee kyung hee’s last drama so am not sure abt her....it happens to be the only drama of hers i’ve tried watching so..... Also, the synopsis of her new drama does not interest me. Maybe its because am not a fan of dramas abt chefs. All the korean chefs shows i’ve watched have sucked lol. But if hyo goes for it. I’ll have to watch.  So ji sub has a new drama coming, LSG too, Go soo too, lee dong wook is busy. I bet we are not getting anything from hyo till next year. Too bad. As for a noh hee kyung drama, i will be as happy as can be but nhk already had a drama this year...dont know wen she’ll be bringing another one.

 

Am just sad that after waiting so long for a project, it didnt bear good fruits. It makes the year quite unfulfilling in that sense.

 

I dont know what genre it would be, what story it would tell but that project that would put hyo in everybody’s mouth, make her shine and give her the epiphany she needs, thats the role am praying hard for. It honestly feels like in this thread, we need something great to happen lol.

 

 

 

Actually the drama's slated airdate is januari 2019, so people who are now busy will be more free around that time so those castings still possible.

Especially since when this drama was announced in june they mentioned them looking to cast "Top stars" and 90% of topstars were busy already by then, evenmoreso with males, ALL the ones I checked were busy lol. So I think that drama will WAIT until top stars get less busy to get more of their ideal casting choices later on. Last I heard the writer had only reached synopsis stage and just begun writing out the scripts.

 

Lol if you've only watched her LAST drama (which I still haven't watched because I hate the casting choice, one of these days will watch it after Ive finished some other currently watching dramas ), judging by how many whom liked her other dramas simply dont like her latest one (of course I need to confirm this myself too by watching her latest one too), you probably have the wrong impression of that writer.

She wrote I'mSorryILoveYou, WillItSnowForChristmas? and ALoveToKill which are all in my list of top 5 best dramas ever.

Personally not eager about doctor plot + baker either, but then I was not eager about story synopsis from this writer before only to end up falling in love with her dramas. So if it's this writer she can write anything into a great story.

Anyway hoping they'll cast Hyo.

 

If not this then I hope SOMETHING great comes along which will make Hyo shine. She needs it now after Inrang.

 

It's just to me a work from this writer is pretty much a guaranteed 9-10 out of 10 story, can't do better.

Of course if there's any 9-10 project elsewhere to be found it would be great too. Hoping for a full 10, especially now that Hyo really needs it.

I'm really hoping she'll take up a drama this time around.

Choosing a drama means we fans would get so see her longer on screen.

 

 

 

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If she wouldn’t take a drama for this year, I hope she could at least have a cameo here? She would love to but if JTBC wouldn’t even call her to do it :( ....

 

 

I also hope she gets a drama next, it is logical to do so. Her past 3 consecutive movies were all a letdown in Box office, from Love Lies to Inrang so, I think a drama will be a lot better for now. 

 

But I am not sure, Hyo is a bit picky with scripts so wouldn’t be surprised too if she gets another movie again.

 

@intrariver when I read the news of that Chocolate drama, I thought of Hyo too, that she might get an offer. Lets wait and see.

 

 

 

 

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Guest kaz11

I liked "Will It Snow For Christmas?'.  

 

IMO, not only is it logical for her to pick a drama for her next project but also more... safe, for lack of a better word, to choose a melodrama, a genre she's best at. The two mentioned writers are the best in that field, aren't they? Praying that she gets cast, lol. I am not crazy about medical or chef dramas, too, but that is about a chef and a doctor -- she played a doctor who fell in love with a firefighter in Love 911 and that went well enough. As much as I want her to be the kind of actress that can portray any role,  there are roles that suit her best, like someone said, and those roles are the introspective type which you usually find in melodramas. As to her next co-star, be it in a film or drama, I actually don't care who. As a fan of an actress I'd rather she headline the project. Even if it turns out to be a failure at least she was the star/title role/central character. Like in Love Lies.

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From my experience, top actors take time to rest for the most part, they hardly ever move that quickly from one drama to the another drama considering the stressful filming and pace of production. Its okay if you think lee kyung hee is that good. Am not gonna argue about that haha. Everybody has their different prefrences and i respect yours. I have heard others praise her too. Maybe i just ended up watching her worst work. Hopefully, when i finally get my binge watching mojo back, i will watch another drama of her to see what i think haha.

 

As of now, the only melo writer i can personally  vouch for is noh hee kyung. Did anyone watch My Mister with IU. A drama like that wont be bad.

 

Tbh some dramas end up with maybe one top star and a rising star and end up being a hit. Like pretty noona with son ye jin and jung hae in for example. At this point it doesnt matter to me if her partner is a top star, kdw was a top star. Whatever combo is gonna give us the hit we need, that’s the combo am rooting for. 

 

Love lies not doing well must have been expected before its release, regardless of whether it was good or not, that’s what happens to korean films without a top male lead with a story that revolves around the women as its central characters. Heaven knows i still dont why hyo did golden slumber. Inrang’s results are the most devastating one and probably the one that hurts her career the most. We need a hit after inrang.

 

From what i know, i’ve actually seen a lot of chugmuro hit actors doing projects without reading scripts. Many actors talk about drinking with their director buddies and signing up for stuff lmao. Or just meeting the director and agreeing to do stuffs. So, i wont hammer hyo too much for doing same. I think she was just unlucky.

 

At this point, i dont even knw if doing a drama guarantees better results, all i hope for is a hit project regardless of its length. Altho i agree with u guys that it makes sense for her to do a drama next.

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I watched this actor from Are You Human, Too...He isnt an A lister, I think? But he is 34 and is good too. Lee Joon Hyuk. Haha he can work with Hyo.

 

 

Today is Inrang’s last day of promo, right? We’re almost there, lol, all ready to move on. I’m glad she isnt doing anything regarding to it anymore, and she isnt coming to that San sebastian festival.

 

I’ll post if there are vids because I dont know when I can post again as Hyo might go into hiatus mode until she finds her next project.lol

 

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