Hwang Jung-Min 황정민 [Upcoming Movies: “12.12: The Day”, “Mission Cross”, “Veteran 2”, “Hope”]

[rubie]

Looks like it's 'The Aerialist" which will be HJM's next project instead.

---

May 1, 2008

Jeonju unveils studio and production incentives

Written by Han Sunhee

The Jeonju Film Commission has opened a new film studio in Jeonju city. Facility in the Western part of South Korea comes complete with various services and financial incentives intended to attract international as well as local production companies.

Jeonju Cinema Studio covers an area of 56,000㎡ (over half a million sq ft) including indoor and outdoor studios, with facilities that provide one-stop production system. Biggest sound stage covering 2,067m2, which with prop rooms, dressing rooms and AV facilities.

Though the country is not known for winning large numbers of footloose int'l movies, the JFC has devised a wide range of Cine Incentive Programs. These are intended to attract local production companies to shift production from the dominant Seoul and to a lesser extent Pusan.

Jeonju already boasts Korea's number two festival which starts today (May 1-9) and municipal authorities would like to see the film industry establish deeper roots in Jeonju city and Jeollabuk-do province. The program offers discounts on studio rental fees and various supports in-kind, which run from $30,000 to a maximum $80,000.

The first film to lense in Jeonju Cinema Studio is "A Frozen Flower", a historical drama by helmer Yoo-ha ("A Dirty Carnival".) Production got underway April 16. Pic depicts a triangular love affair of a king, his wife and a bodyguard.

JFC also announced that CJ Entertainment's newly unveiled project "The Aerialist" (working title) will be lensed at the studio's outdoor lot. Produced by Yoo Il-han of CJ Entertainment, pic tells a story of two men who follow a mysterious murder case which happened in Kyung-sung (old name of Seoul), right before the period of Japanese colonization.

Hwang Jung-min ("A Man who was Superman") and Ryu Duk-whan ("Like a Virgin") join the $5 million pic helmed by new scripter-director Park Dae-min. Hwang plays a private detective who just wants to earn money and go to U.S., while Ryu portrays a medical student who is wrongly accused of a murderer.

The production team will recreate the street of old Seoul with the JFC will provide support in kind worth $30,000 including antique props. Pic will be released later this year by distributor CJ Entertainment.

Source: Variety Asia Online

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6010/

[Guest kdramafanusa]

The 2nd Musical Awards

Haeorum (Sunrise) Theater in Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul

April 28, 2008

Hwang Jeong-min earned a Best Actor nod for musical 'Nine'. The award went to Jo Seung-woo for musical 'Man Of La Mancha'.

Images: Edaily

[rubie]

^aWww.. HJM-ssi looking impeccably good in a suave tux!

Thanks so much Helena for the much-needed sweet surprise.. too bad we never had that much highlight on the Musical Awards. But it's good to know that HJM was also nominated in the ceremony.

Waahh.. I love all my Leading Men.. always so smartly and well-dressed at formal functions. Not only Best Actors but real men who knew how to rock the acting scene.. with especially excellent acting.. and a cool dress sense. obviously. LOL.

[rubie]

May 1, 2008

Ha Jeong-woo-Kim Hye-soo, 1st for this year's 'wonderful face'

Photographers picked Ha Jeong-woo and Kim Hye-soo for having the most 'wonderful face'.

The movie entertainment weekly magazine Movie Week held its annual 'Wonderful Face 25', and the two were the top two males and females. It is Ha Jeong-woo's first time, and it is Kim Hye-soo's second time after 2006.

The order is determined by Korea's photographers and photo reporters, who see the stars' faces closest. Movie Week asked them to pick three males and three females who had a 'wonderful face for a subject for photography'.

This year, Jeong Ryeo-won was second, Jeon Do-yeon was third, Im Soo-jeong was fourth, and Kim Min-hee was fifth. Han Ye-seul, Kim Min-seon, Han Ji-min, Han Chae-young, Lee Yeon-hee, Bae Doona, Son Ye-jin, and Kim Tae-hee were also picked. For men, Jang Dong-gun was second, Jo In-Seong was third, Cha Seung-won was fourth, and Jo Seung-woo was fifth. Won Bin, Kang Dong-won, Ryoo Seung-beom, Jeong Woo-seong, Lee Byeong-Heon, Hwang Jeong-min and Kim Kang-woo filled the 'Wonderful Face 25".

It was unexpected that Ha Jeong-woo, a new face who became close to the public through his thriller "The Chaser", passed Jang Dong-gun and Jo In-Seong to place first. Photographer Lee Bo-kyeong said, "A volatile but natural face", Kim Jeong-soo said, "Because of it's plain face, there are infinite things to express", and Kim Hyeon-sung said, "Charismatic acting. Expressions and movement that a model cannot show".

About Kim Hye-soo, photographers said, "Charm and passion that overpowers the photographer", and "An actress that reverses time". Movie Week's 'Wonderful Face 25' special will come out on the 2nd, in its 326th issue.

Original article isplus.joins.com

English translation www.hancinema.net

[rubie]

June 12, 2008

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter 'Black House'

A meek but kind insurance salesman Jeon Jun-O (Hwang Jeong-Min, "Happiness") is handpicked by a creepy metalworker, Park Choong-Bae (Kang Shin-Il, "Silmido"), for renewal of the policies on the his family. Visiting Park's spectacularly decrepit adobe, Jun-O ends up discovering the body of Park's young son, apparently a suicide.

Meeting Choong-Bae's wife Yi-Hwa (Yu Sun, "The Wig"), a pale beauty who has seemingly exhausted her capacity for grief, Jun-O begins to suspect that the boy's death was in fact a murder, and that she is next in line.

What Jun-O does not understand is that his small act of kindness (and breach of professional ethics) over a phone consultation has already ensnared him in a web of deceit, mutilation and murder, spun by a psychopath who makes Norman Bates in "Psycho" look like SpongeBob SquarePants.

©2008 Genius Entertainment/CJ Entertainment

A Japan-Korea coproduction, "Black House" is based on Japanese writer Kishi Yusuke's award-winning early novel, having been filmed once in 1999 by Morita Yoshimitsu ("Family Game"), also scheduled to debut this summer on Region 1 DVD. Unfortunately, it emulates the strategy of Hollywood remakes of the J-horror, by boosting up volume and scare tactics but largely abandons the kind of phlegmatic, deliberately paced terror expected in the high-end Japanese genre literature or film, not to mention the original's superb characterizations.

Lee Jong-Young's screenplay invents a rather hackneyed childhood trauma for Jun-O, while reducing one of the novel's most fascinating and complex characters, the company "enforcer" Miyoshi, into a crude thug with a fondness for dental floss.

Helmer Shin Terra is clearly an inventive filmmaker but has some way to go before mastering storytelling skills. Those who have not read the novel might be befuddled by the sequences that are in turn confusingly presented, inadequately explained or simply illogical. (Did Choong-Bae bite off his thumb or not? And all children who have dreams of flying off into the air in a swing are supposed to grow up to be psychos? Maybe that explains Ann Coulter.)

Despite these weaknesses, however, "Black House" works. Like, say, "Blood Rain," the movie's power is greatly enhanced by its colorful production design (supervised by Jo Hwa-Sung) and competent cinematography/lighting (Choe Joo-Young and Lee Sung-Jae). The psychopath's lair, with its makeshift abattoir-operating room ambience, smeared with blood and filth, is impressively frightening.

Hwang Jeong-Min, one of the most reliable character actors working in Korea today, makes for a thoroughly believable and sympathetic hero. Yu Sun, fragile-looking but strangely alluring, provides an interesting contrast to the Morita version's slightly whacky but memorable performance by Otake Shinobu, and admirably holds her own against Hwang.

It is a tribute to their chemistry and Hwang's superior acting ability that you completely believe that Jun-O could be so frightened of Yi-Hwa, when, if you stop to think for a moment after the movie, their confrontation should look in real life like a grizzly bear cowering in terror before a hissing mountain cat.

In one important aspect, the film happily does not follow a Hollywood cliche. It culminates in a series of rather preposterous but extremely suspenseful Grand Guignol confrontations, but the monster remains the monster to the bitter end. Neither sexual abuse during childhood, nor Freudian psychoanalysis nor the "unrequited desire to be loved" is dredged up to explain away why it became the way it did.

By honoring Kishi's open-ended conclusion and putting the utterly conscienceless (but not unattractive) monster at the center of the movie, "Black House" ultimately recovers much of the goodwill initially lost by the rather slapdash way the novel was adapted.

DVD Presentation:

Genius Entertainment. NTSC. Dual Layer. Region 1. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1. Audio: Korean Dolby Digital 5.0. Subtitles: English. Supplement: Making-of featurette, production design featurette, deleted scenes. Retail Price: $24.95. Release Date: April 22, 2008.

"Black House," a potentially appropriate title for the Tartan Extreme Asia label, is again directly released by Genius Entertainment. The transfer is good, if not outstanding. It retains a bit of the high-contrast, heavily filtered, edge-enhancement-spotted look familiar from Korean DVDs. Color scheme faithfully approximates the theatrical experience, not slipping too much into sickly yellow or brownish muck, and sporting nicely balanced cold blue and gray in key scenes.

Korean Dolby Digital 5.0 track is adequate to good, with some serious bang-up sound effects during the last 20 minutes.

English subs are high quality, providing translations of key texts as well as dialogues.

©2008 Genius Entertainment

Cover design, however, is pretty hideous, and fails to sell the film's strength: it looks like one for an indifferently put-together haunted-house flick, which "Black House" most definitely is not. They should have used CJ Entertainment's composite poster that shows Hwang Jeong-Min crouching in terror against an unseen assailant.

If US distributors are refusing to put Korean actor's faces in the posters because they are "unknowns" in the US, their logic is a total bunk. Do any of these people make the same argument for American posters for French films? (Quick, name the French actress seen through a keyhole in the poster for "With a Friend Like Harry"!)

The supplements are fairly generous, carried over from Region 3 DVD, with OK English subtitles. The making-of documentary is rather subdued, with director Shin, Hwang and Yu taking turns and discussing such topics as the difference between the novel and the screenplay. It clocks at around 20 minutes.

A shorter piece (seven minutes) on production design is more interesting, interspersed with full-blown architectural designs of the black house itself and other onscreen sets. Designer Jo reveals, among interesting tidbits, that the design concept for the psychopath's lair was a public bathhouse from '70s, fallen into disuse for 30 years.

Deleted scenes are mostly character-expanding scenes for Jun-O working as an insurance agent. It does include a cameo appearance by the author Kishi as a Japanese customer.

"Black House" is a robust, muscular horror film, rather effective as a gut-wrenching, red-meat example of its type. While not entirely satisfactory as an adaptation of Kishi Yusuke's novel, it is nonetheless recommended to the horror and thriller fans.

Source: http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/ar...24&rel_no=1

[rubie]

June 24, 2008

Jeong-min Hwang set to star in "Gongjung Gokyesa"

Posted by luna6

One of the best actors working in Korea today, Jeong-min Hwang, is working on his next picture titled “Gongjung Gokyesa” (literal translation Air Acrobat). The film will co-star actor Deok-hwan Ryu (Our Town/Like A Virgin) and actress Ji-won Uhm (Traces of Love/Scarlet Letter). “Gongjung Gokyesa” will also feature acting vets Dal-su Oh and Je-mun Yun in supporting roles. The film is also directed by first time director Dae-min Park (having previously directed two short films).

In “Gongjung Gokyesa” Jeong-min Hwang plays Jin-ho Hong, the first Private Investigator of the Joseon era. Jin-ho Hong is noted for his uncanny intuition and also very high price tag. Playing Jin-ho Hong’s sidekick is medical student Kwang-su Jang (Deok-hwan Ryu). Actress Ji-won Eom will play Madame Deok-sun, a married lady of virtue who also secretly works as an inventor. The movie is reported to be a unique period piece / detective thriller.

“Gongjung Gokyesa” has started filming and should be released by the first half of 2009.

Source: lunapark6.com

[rubie]

Wednesday, 6 August 2008

KOFIC to support films overseas

Written by Han Sunhee

L - R: Secret Sunshine, The Chaser, Dream, The Man Who Was Superman, Happiness

Posters in clickable-thumbnail format, please click to expand the images

SEOUL – The Korean Film Council (Kofic) Wednesday announced $54,000 of financial support to overseas distributors releasing Korean movies. Stichting Nederlands Filmmuseum was awarded Euros12,000 ($18,700) aid to help with its Netherlands release of Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" on Sept 12. Hong Kong's Golden Scene receives $12,000 to underwrite its Sept 4 release of Na Hong-jin-helmed "The Chaser" and a further $23,000 to assist November outings of "A man who was Superman," Hur Jin-ho's "Happiness" and the December release of Kim Ki-duk's "Dream."

Source: Variety Asia

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6650/

[Guest valley girl]

he is so Grounded person he even not confident while was shooting with JJH i think he just being Modest

[rubie]

September 8, 2008

Cimino Inaugurates Chungmuro Competition

By Lee Hyo-won

Staff Reporter

Jury members of the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS)

appear at a press meeting in central Seoul, Monday (from left): Kim Young, Ken Terawaki,

Michael Cimino, Im Sung-soo and Lise Bellynck./ Yonhap

Director Michael Cimino and other esteemed cineastes came together as judges for the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS). Chungmuro, the founding ground of South Korean cinema, has turned into a cinephile's playground with some 140 films from 40 odd countries, of which 13 are competing for cash prizes in CHIFF's new competition section.

Cimino, who is best known for his Academy Award-winning film "The Deer Hunter" (1978), leads the panel of judges including Korean helmer Im Sang-soo, producer Kim Young, Japanese film critic Ken Terawaki and French actress Lise Bellynck. While he has not yet viewed all of the competing films, Cimino said they were "generally of a high level." "I have a very simple definition of a good movie: a good movie makes you forget you're watching a movie," he told reporters at a press conference Monday.

Kim, who recently appeared as chair of the International Women's Film Festival in Seoul (IWFFIS), said the competition pool is diverse, and works range from artsy independent films to more commercials endeavors. Terawaki, who is known for promoting exchanges between Korean and Japanese cinema, said the movies from Russia to Thailand are a window to different corners of the world and its eclectic cultures. The colorful selection enables the festival, which was founded as a retro film event, to reflect upon current events.

The jury will award four prizes: a $30,000 grand prize; $5,000 special jury prize; $3,000 "Discovery of CHIFFS" award; and an audience's choice award for $2,000. Im, the maverick filmmaker of controversial movies like "A Good Lawyer's Wife" (2003), and Bellynck, heroine/co-producer of Jean-Claude Brisseau's "The Exterminating Angels" (2006), agreed that it is important to focus on a filmmaker's potential, as cash awards can benefit those who make films under tough conditions.

"The festival is only in its second year. Some may criticize the incorporation of a competition, but there are many wonderful out-of-competition sections. CHIFFS is still in its early development and is trying to attract the general public, and a competition is a means of doing so," said Im.

Cimino expressed concern about the "distorted" role of film festivals in general. "Now, unfortunately, festivals have become consumed with prizes, and too many film festivals measure the quality of what they see against the general quality of Western (Hollywood and European) movies… It would be healthier if festivals returned to their original intentions," he said. Film festivals should expose rare-to-see independent movies and encourage experimentation, risk-taking and even test outlandish ideas, he said.

Cimino gave some advise for the future growth of CHIFFS, which is still in its infancy. He suggested bringing movies from the Middle East and the Americas so it is truly international as opposed to regional. Terawaki pointed out the selection's lack of gender diversity, as most of the films were told from the male point of view. To this, Cimino disagreed, saying that a heroine can play a more important role than the male protagonist, as in Hur Jin-ho's "Happiness" (Korea, 2007).

The festival runs through Thursday in the Chungmuro and Myeongdong area, central Seoul. For more information visit www.chiffs.kr.

Credits: hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/speci.../178_30750.html

[Guest valley girl]

hwang jung min mR funny.. like him..

he is korean notable actor

[Guest huangsy]

His next movie, Sharaku http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=247933

[rubie]

^ Thanks Huang for starting the new movie thread for HJM. ^^

October 19, 2008

Korean actress Jeon Ji Hyun says: I've had enough of playing beauties

By Chang May Choon

READY: Actress Jeon Ji Hyun says she will settle down

when the right guy comes along. --PICTURE: FESTIVE FILM

SHE may be one of Korea's hottest babes, but Jeon Ji Hyun's criteria for men is surprisingly simple. 'I used to like the strong and macho type of guys when I was younger,' she told Shanghai Times recently. 'But now that I'm older, I prefer guys who are gentle, sentimental, and know how to take care of me.'

The 27-year-old, who shot to fame in Asia in the hit romantic comedy My Sassy Girl, is ready to get hitched when her Prince Charming comes along.

She told the Korean media earlier this year: 'The most important thing to consider is whether I'd be blissful or not. So I'll only marry if I meet the right guy by fate and he can satisfy this criteria.'

Emotional scenes

For now, though, Ji Hyun is focusing on her acting career.

She is set to make her Hollywood debut next year with Blood: The Last Vampire, playing a 'beautiful but fearsome' half-vampire, half-human who hunts demons as a living.

But, she does not wish to be stereotyped as a martial arts heroine - a common career path for Asian actresses in the US. 'No matter where I am, I hope to do what I like to do. I haven't thought about what specific roles I want to play... but since I'm turning 30 soon, I hope to be able to do more emotional scenes.' No wonder she decided to do the heartwarming Korean film If I Were Superman, which opened in Singapore cinemas on Thursday.

Never mind that it required her to make several sacrifices - chopping off her signature long fringe, casting aside her cosmetics, and smoking for the first time in her life. She plays a messy-haired, chain-smoking producer who is tired of churning out heartrending human documentaries, until she meets a crazy guy (Hwang Jung Min) who claims he is Superman.

She goes on to film him as he embarks on a mission to help people and save the earth, even though he has no super powers. During the film's media conference in Korea early this year, Ji Hyun said: 'I thought about the smoking part very seriously, but the story was fun. 'I'd get to work with Hwang Jung Min, so I decided to take a gamble on my health.'

Reviews of the film were mixed, and the average box-office result of less than 530,000 admissions in Korea meant that audiences were not so impressed with Ji Hyun's hyped-up transformation from glamour girl to make-up-free human chimney who exploits people for work.

To the actress, though, the unglamorous role was a dream-come-true. 'I've had enough of playing beauties, and it's necessary for every actor to change his image. This is a role that I've been waiting to play.'

She added that this was her most realistic role to date, and like her alter ego, she is also a casual dresser who does not put on much make-up. 'I won't follow fashion trends blindly. I'm just me. If a girl has a certain striking quality, she will stand out from the rest even if she's carrying an ordinary bag.'

Of course, more so if her name is Jeon Ji Hyun.

Source: The Electric New Paper (Singapore)

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,...,180552,00.html

[rubie]

October 21, 2008

Actor Hwang to Star in New Play

By Chung Ah-young

Staff Reporter

A scene from 'University of Laughs'

Renowned movie star and musical actor Hwang Jung-min will star in a new play, "University of Laughs" written by Japanese dramatist Koki Mitani.

The play will be shown in Korea for the first time as the ninth work of the Yeongeuk Yeoljeon 2 (Best Plays Series) programmed by veteran actor Cho Jae-hyun. The play will be staged at Dongsoong Art Center in central Seoul Oct. 24 to Nov. 30.

The piece is a comedy based on the story of an artist's freedom of expression when faced with censorship. The work is a two-man play set over seven days amid World WarII in 1940.

A young playwright comes up against a government censor to put a comedy on stage. The censor's job is to prevent anything political or taboo from getting into the pre-war media, but this particular censor has a thing against comedy, too.

Hwang will play the role of a young writer while actor Song Young-chang will take the role of a cold-blooded government censor.

The play was originally performed at Parco Theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan in 1997 to high acclaim. It was also made into a film which was then released in 2004 by Toho Studios, and directed by Hoshii Mamoru.

"It is the first time for me to take a leading role in a play. I will show how exciting the play is," Hwang said in a press conference on Friday. "The script is so well-organized that the audience can spontaneously laugh. This work reflects the scriptwriter's philosophy about laughs," said Hwang.

Hwang gained popularity as a movie star but he began his acting career in theaters. The award-winning performer first began his acting career as a musical actor in "Line 1" (1995) and then starred in various musicals such as "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Cats" and recently "Nine." "I think a movie is the art of a director but the play is the art of an actor," he said.

Starring in various musicals and plays in Daehangno, Hwang is now a household name on the big screen with successful performances in "You Are My Sunshine," (2005) "Black House" (2007) and "Happiness" (2007).''

Hwang's debut film was "The Waikiki Brothers" in 2001. Then he appeared in prominent films like "A Good Lawyer's Wife," "You're My Sunshine," and "Bloody Tie," in which he portrayed many diverse characters.

Tickets of the play cost from 25,000 won to 45,000 won. For more information, call (02) 766-6007.

Credits: chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2.../145_33022.html

[rubie]

Hwang Jung Min in 'University of Laughs'

with actors Song Young-chang & Cho Jae-hyun

ファン・ジョンミン＆ソン・ヨンチャン、愉快な笑い『笑の大学』韓国初公演

Source: travel.innolife.net

[Guest valley girl]

jo jae hyun i know him in Piano he is a Good actor so hwang jung min this must be a good movie

[rubie]

^ Indeed, valley girl.. Jo Jae Hyun is such a good actor. Saw him in Snowman.. awesome! But 'University of Laughs' is not a movie but a stage play. HJM and JJH are also very well-known stage actors. :blush:

VODS from the Play..

http://vod.innolife.net/2008/10/tv_081024_1.wmv

Source: innolife.tv

http://vod.innolife.net/2008/10/tv_081024_2.wmv

Source: innolife.tv

http://vod.innolife.net/2008/10/tv_081024_5.wmv

Source: innolife.tv

[rubie]

October 24, 2008

"'night, Mother" Extended for Two Months

The theatrical production, "'night, Mother," playing at the Daehakro Wonder Space Theater will extend its run by two extra months.

"The play opened on August 29th and we have seen a 97 percent audience turn-out during its run," stated a representative from YeongeukYeoljeon, the company behind the planning of the production. "After such a positive response, we have decided to keep the play running until January 4th, 2009."

"'night, Mother" is about a mother and daughter spending their last night together before the daughter's death. It stars Na Moon-hee and Sohn Sook as Thelma, and Seo Joo-hee and Hwang Jung-min as Jessie.

Ye Soo-jung, wife of actor Han Jin-hee and daughter of theater actress Jung Ae-ran, has been added to the cast as Thelma for the extended run.

Beautiful Store chairwoman Sohn Sook has put together a benefit performance of "'night, Mother" on the night of October 26th. All proceeds will be donated to flood relief in India.

Source: KBS Global

http://english.kbs.co.kr/society/events/1552474_11777.html

[rubie]

October 30, 2008

Hwang Jung-min back on theater stage

Top-ranked actor Hwang Jung-min is in a play for the first time in eight years. He is starring in the "University of Laughs," now playing in Daehangno, Seoul.

Although his current stardom is derived largely from films, including "You Are My Sunshine!" (2005) where he played opposite the best actress at 2007 Cannes film festival Jeon Do-yeon, Hwang actually started out his acting career in theater. He made his debut in 1994 in the musical "Line 1."

"University of Laughs," based on the popular Japanese novel by Koko Mitani, depicts a seven-day confrontation between an inspector trying to ban comic plays and a scriptwriter who values humor the most in his works, and the friendship that later develops between the two.

Hwang plays the role of the playwright, while veteran actor Song Young-chang took on the role of the inspector. "Because the play's script was so good, I couldn't help but take the role," said Hwang at last week's press conference in Seoul.

Hwang said that he felt burdened at first to lead the whole play only with Song -- the play is a two-person show -- and because of the many lines he had to memorize.

But the actor said he soon found the interaction with the audience thrilling. "Unlike when shooting films, I can get instant responses on stage from the audience when doing plays -- for example, different audiences laugh at different moments -- and I think that's the charm of play acting," Hwang said.

"University of Laughs" continues through Nov. 30 at Dongsoong Arts Center. Tickets run from 25,000 won to 45,000 won. For details, call (02) 766-6007 or visit www.idartcenter.co.kr

By Koh Young-aah (youngaah@heraldm.com)

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

[rubie]

Official website (English) goldenhorse.org.tw

November 4, 2008

HONG Sangsoo, NA Hong-jin, and HUR Jin-ho films at Taiwan fest

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival selected HONG Sangsoo’s Night and Day, NA Hong-jin’s The Chaser, and HUR Jin-ho’s Happiness, according to the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF).

Night and Day and Happiness will screen in the Gala presentation section, while The Chaser will feature in the Midnight people section.

This year’s release Night and Day has already traveled to multiple international film festivals, quintessential of HONG Sangsoo films. The story about an artist who fled to Paris to avoid arrest over smoking marijuana, played at Jeonju International Film Festival, Buenos Aires Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival.

Happiness stars LIM Soo-jung and HWANG Jung-min as two seriously ill people who meet and fall in love in a hospital. Director HUR is best known for his widely praised Christmas in August.

The Chaser is a low-budget thriller which became a sleeper hit, in the process, turning the character actors KIM Yoon-suk and HA Jung-woo into stars laden with awards. The dark thriller is NA’s directorial feature film debut and like his leading men, he and his film are collecting awards.

PIFF’s program coordinator PARK Sung-ho has been appointed as a member of the jury in charge of the NETPAC award. The Taiwan film festival opens its doors on 11 November.

Credits: Yi Ch’ang-ho (KOFIC)

http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?...esimul_SNO=1112

[rubie]

November 13, 2008

Korea and China tagteam for industry boost

Film agencies unveil pair of events to help local movie businesses

Written by Clifford Coonan & Han Sunhee

South Korea and China have announced a deal to boost both countries' film industries. Launched by Korean Film Council (Kofic) chairman Kang Han-sup, the program involves two events. One is the South Korea-China Business Campus, which runs Nov. 13-17 in South Korea and will focus on the process of sharing films as well as co-production opportunities.

Among those taking part as mentors will be Genesis prexy Jeong Julian Tae-sung, former chief operating officer of Showbox/Mediaplex, and Chungeorahm Film CEO Choi Yong-bae.

The second involves the Korea Film Festival, which will be held in three major Chinese cities -- Beijing (Nov. 14-19), Shanghai (Nov. 16-21) and Kunnming (Nov. 25-28). Fest will unspool 12 films, kicking off with "The Happy Life" by Lee Joon-ik.

Other pics to screen include Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine," Chung Yoon-chul's "A Man Who Was a Superman," Chang Yoon-hyun's "Hwang Jin Yi," Hur Jin-ho's "Christmas in August" and Im Kwon-taek's "Beyond the Years."

Source: Variety Asia