Jung Yu-Mi 정유미 (1983)

[Helena]

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/sleep-cannes-review/5182423.article
‘Sleep’: Cannes Review

BY JONATHAN ROMNEY | 21 MAY 2023

A young family is shaken by a strange presence in their home in this mischievous debut thriller from South Korea

SOURCE: CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
‘SLEEP’

Dir/scr: Jason Yu. 2023. South Korea. 95 mins.

A film called Sleep risks being taken as an invitation for weary filmgoers to grab forty winks – especially if it starts, as this one does, with the sound of loud snoring. But this larky South Korean chiller will keep viewers, if not on the edge of their seats, then certainly awake, as it rings imaginative and sometimes tricksy changes on a simple somnambulism premise. Sharp performances from Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi (from Train to Busan), plus a snappy use of claustrophobic interiors, make this a highly exportable and cult-friendly debut by writer-director Jason Yu, previously AD to Bong Joon-ho. 

Sleep is a family-in-peril drama with similar domestic-trauma resonances to The Babadook.

Virtually a two-hander, with some eccentric support roles, Sleep is about a young couple who live in an apartment block with the kind of adorably fluffy dog that seems unlikely to make it through this kind of scarer in one piece. Hyun-su (Lee) is an award-winning screen actor, while Soo-jin (Jung) is an office worker currently pregnant with the couple’s first child, and with an indefatigably tenacious positivity – her motto being “Together We Can Overcome Anything”, as a folksy wall plaque asserts. 

One night, Hyun-su suddenly intones, “Someone is inside,” then promptly falls asleep, leaving Soo-jin to explore their darkened flat. An ominous thump seems nothing more than a door banging in the wind – but then, why has their new downstairs neighbour complained about loud noises coming from the flat for over a week? Hyun-su develops a worrying habit of scratching his face while he sleeps, leaving himself scarred and with bloody pillows. A doctor diagnoses an REM sleep disorder, but Soo-jin’s worried mother recommends spiritual help, and eventually enlists a shaman – a business-like, somewhat glamorous middle-aged woman. She sizes up the problem instantly: Soo-jin is living with two men, and one of them isn’t alive. 

With peril increasing for the household, now including newborn baby Ha-yoon, the determined Soo-jin takes every conceivable step to keep her husband’s dark side under control – while he, a loving dad and partner by day, starts having every reason to fear his previously solicitous wife. The really smart aspect of Sleep is the way it flips Soo-jin’s character: over time, it’s her anxiety and the extremity of her response that become alarming, with Jung Yu-mi’s performance strikingly shifting from nervous composure to full-on frenzy. 

Told in three chapters, the film makes brilliant use of limited spaces. Apart from the odd shift of locale – to a doctor’s office and, at one point, a clinic somewhere in the countryside – Sleep takes place almost entirely in the couple’s flat, sometimes seen as a cosy familial nest, but just as often turned by crafty lighting and slow-creeping camerawork into an enclosed labyrinth, in which the real dangers seem to come from the couple themselves. With its claustrophobic enclosure and play with family structures, Sleep is a family-in-peril drama with similar domestic-trauma resonances to, say, The Babadook.

Ultimately, though, the drama doesn’t quite pay off, despite a clever reveal about the identity of the couple’s unseen enemy, and  a climactic scene that ramps up the frenzy in the couple’s now totally transformed apartment, ripe for a supernatural showdown. The payoff is cleverly ambiguous, although director Yu somewhat mishandles the release of tension in the very final moments: a more emphatic last turn of the screw might have made all the difference. Still, Sleep is a mischievous genre exercise, with the ‘zzzz’ less likely to come from the audience than from the ominous power drill glimpsed in the first scene.

Production company: Lewis Pictures 
International sales: Lotte Entertainment, international02@lotte.net (mailto:international02@lotte.net) 
Producer: Lewis Tae-wan Kim
Screenplay: Jason Yu
Cinematography: Kim Tae-soo 
Editing: Han Mee-yeon
Production design: Shin Yu-jin
Music: Chang Hyuk-jin, Chang Yong-jin 
Main cast: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun 

[Helena]

https://www.screendaily.com/features/jason-yu-talks-critics-week-title-sleep-praised-by-palme-dor-and-oscar-winner-bong-joon-ho/5182405.article
Jason Yu talks Critics’ Week title ‘Sleep’, praised by Palme d’Or and Oscar-winner Bong Joon Ho

BY JEAN NOH | 20 MAY 2023

 

SOURCE: LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT
JASON YU

Formerly an assistant director to director Bong Joon Ho, Korean filmmaker Jason Yu is making his feature directorial debut in Critics’ Week Competition with horror comedy mystery Sleep, which Palme d’Or and Oscar-winning director Bong has lauded as “the most unique horror film and the smartest debut film I’ve seen in 10 years”.

The film stars Jung Yu-mi from Train To Busan and Lee Sun-kyun from Parasite - also to be seen in Midnight Screenings title Project Silence at this Cannes - as a young couple before and after the birth of their first child when the husband’s sleeping habits become increasingly grotesque and they try to find out why before he harms the newborn.

It will premiere in Cannes on May 21.

How did you start making films?

 


It was only in college when I happened to take a creative writing class and came to see films not just as something to consume but as stories that are crafted by people. I wrote short stories and joined a film club where we made short films. I realised I wanted to keep making them after graduation so when I came back to school after my mandatory military service, I worked on film sets like [director Jang Cheol-soo’s hit] Secretly, Greatly (2013). For director Bong Joon Ho’s Okja (2017), I was hired as part of the assistant directors team because of my experience on sets and ability to speak English after living in the UK when I was younger as well as going to an English-language international programme at Yonsei University.

How did you write the script?

 


My initial goal was to create a fun genre film but whilst writing the script, some personal elements seeped into it. I was preparing to marry my longtime girlfriend and that’s probably why I decided to make the protagonists a married couple and have the story revolve around their relationship. I do think, on a subconscious level, I wanted to create a different kind of marriage story. In the films I watched about marriage, the central conflict comes from each other, but because I was on the cusp of married life, I wanted to show a couple that really loved each other dearly and supported each other as best friends. And then throw an obstacle in their way to show they could overcome it together.

I wrote it intensively over the summer of 2020 and showed the script to director Bong Joon Ho that autumn. We met because he was about to suggest I work on another project of his but after reading the script, he said he enjoyed reading it and that I should go straight into casting and encouraged me to make my debut.

How did the production come together?

 


One of the production companies of Okja, which I worked on in 2015, was Lewis Pictures and the president is Lewis Taewan Kim. Although I was the lowest of the low on the totem pole and he was the highest of the high, he always treated me with respect and said to me, “If you ever have a script, don’t hesitate to show it to me,” and that’s exactly what I did. I showed it to him in 2020, a few days after director Bong, and he shopped it around for financing. We started pre-production in November 2021 and shot from February to April 2022.

SOURCE: CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
‘SLEEP’

Tell us how the casting happened with these well-known stars for a first-time director.

 


Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun have the ability to nail genre acting while making their performances feel so grounded in reality and this is what I precisely needed for Sleep. I always wanted them for the film but I can’t say I cast them. They chose the film. They told me they enjoyed the script every much. I did get to meet the actors and pitch to them why they should be in this film directed by a debuting director. Lee and Jung also liked that they’d be working together again – because they had been in three Hong Sangsoo films and a short film together and had always wanted to work together again.

How did you go about shooting the film?

 


The cinematographer Kim Tae-soo (Svaha: The Sixth Finger) and I agreed the rule of thumb was to always shoot it in a way that perfectly accentuates each character’s psychology or how they are feeling. We always wanted to be in their perspectives, whether it was the wife or the husband. We didn’t want to deviate from that – for example have an omniscient presence, have one of those overhead shots or have shots that slide through the walls or something like that. We wanted every single cut to follow how the characters are feeling and have the camera have the same physical limitations as the characters. Which was quite a big challenge for the cinematographer because there are horror elements to the film, and what is horror without style? But I think ultimately it was the right choice.

Like with the actors, I couldn’t have done this without him, or our editor Han Mee-yeon who also edited The Voice Of Silence, Beasts Grasping At Straws and was also the on-set editor on Okja and agreed to join the team without even reading the script. She was a great help, guiding me through the post-production process.

How was the shoot?

 


The shoot was very fun. They say a debuting director is the least experienced person on set, which was true. But I didn’t feel the pressure from that. Everybody understood the vision and if I didn’t know something, they were happy to teach me and none were condescending at all. What I really loved about this project was how passionate the cast and crew were about it. They were so precious about the project. Whenever there were any producorial obstacles that made me contemplate cutting out a scene or shortening something, they would insist on keeping it and we always exchanged ideas on how to circumvent those obstacles.

It’s impressive that it all happened during the pandemic.

 


We were incredibly lucky to have this film greenlit and made during the pandemic when the market was so bad. People said it was a miracle. I am eternally grateful to our producers and investors who made it work. It was in the height of Covid and some people did have to self-quarantine. Some days we had to shoot without the production designer or the first AD or line producer and that was incredibly challenging but somehow we scrambled to make it work and ploughed through.

What are you working on next?

 


Other filmmakers have advised me this is the best time to write and I tried to think about a new project during post-production. I do have a couple of ideas floating around but nothing concrete - but I ended up feeling immensely guilty and it felt almost like I was cheating on Sleep with this other project. So I’m just going to give it my all for Sleep, whether it’s for promotion or post-production until it’s released this autumn.

Yu spoke in both Korean and English, with comments translated and lightly edited to fit this article space.

[Helena]

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/08/689_356389.html
Jason Yu's horror thriller 'Sleep' invited to Toronto film fest

By Kwak Yeon-soo | 2023-08-04

A scene from the film "Sleep" / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment

"Sleep," a horror mystery thriller starring actors Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi, has been invited to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film's distributor Lotte Entertainment said Friday.

The film has been invited to the Midnight Madness section of the festival's 48th edition taking place from Sept. 7 to 17. 

"Sleep" tells the story of newlyweds Hyun-su (Lee) and Soo-jin (Jung) whose lives turn into horror as the husband begins exhibiting strange behaviors while asleep. It is written and directed by Jason Yu, previously assistant director to Bong Joon-ho on "Okja" (2017). 

"We're excited to be showcasing Jason Yu's debut feature film 'Sleep' at TIFF's Midnight Madness program. Yu skillfully subverts genre expectations through suspense, wit and ambiguity," TIFF International Programmer Peter Kuplowsky said.

"Sleep is the most unique horror film and the smartest debut film I've seen in 10 years," director Bong said of the film.

The horror thriller premiered at Cannes Critics' Week, a parallel film festival of the Cannes Film Festival, and has been invited to the Official Fantastic In-Competition section at Sitges Film Festival, which is scheduled for Oct. 5 to 15.

"Sleep" will hit local theaters on Sept. 6.

[larus]

Jung Yu Mi is in discussion to return to the K-drama scene with Ju Ji Hoon.

According to an industry insider on February 21, Jung Yu Mi has been picked to star in the upcoming K-drama  Love Is On Single Log Bridge  (working title).  This was also the K-drama that was offered to Ju Ji Hoon for his grand return to the romance genre. 

Jung Yu Mi's agency hasn't responded to the casting reports. 

Love Is On Single Log Bridge will showcase the love story of a man and woman who will overcome fate and different obstacles. It will tell the story of a man and a woman who loved each other dearly at the age of 18 but because of their parents' opposition, they had to separate. 15 years later, the two meet again and decide to fight and grow their love. 

Jung Yu Mi will reportedly play the role of Yoon Ji Won who will get reunited with her high school lover after 15 years. 

According to reports, the production team of the upcoming series is currently fixing the drama's settings and its contents, The team will soon begin casting the supporting actors.

Love Is On Single Log Bridge will be the collaboration work of director Park Joon Hwa (Alchemy of Souls, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, and Because This Is My First Life) and writer Im Ye Jin (The Tale of Nokdu, Love in the Moonlight, and Who Are You: School 2015). 

 

 

If Jung Yu Mi confirms her casting, this will be her grand comeback to the K-drama world after almost four years. 

She last starred in the 2020 Netflix original K-drama The School Nurse Files with Nam Joo Hyuk, Lee Joo Young, Yoo Teo, Kim Dong Hyun, and Jang Joon Hyun. 

Jung Yu Mi is also expected to lead the upcoming K-drama When the Day Breaks alongside Han Seok Kyu, Yeom Hye Ran, Kim Joon Han, Ryu Hye Young, and Lee Hee Joon. 

The actress will also reportedly return to the new season of tvN's variety show Jinny's Kitchen. 

 

https://mydramalist.com/article/jung-yu-mi-in-talks-to-make-a-romance-k-drama-comeback-with-ju-ji-hoon

[larus]

Jung Yu Mi Joins Joo Ji Hoon In Talks For New Romance Drama By “Love In The Moonlight” Writer

TV/Film

Feb 21, 2024

by M. Lim

 

Jung Yu Mi and Joo Ji Hoon may be teaming up for a new romance drama!

On February 21, Sports DongA reported that Jung Yu Mi and Joo Ji Hoon have been cast as the lead characters for a new romance drama.

In response to the report, Jung Yu Mi’s agency Management SOOP shared, “[Jung Yu Mi] received an offer to star in the drama and is positively reviewing the offer.”

Earlier in January, Joo Ji Hoon’s agency H& Entertainment had also acknowledged that the drama was among the projects he was considering. When approached for comment, the agency reiterated, “As previously mentioned in January, it is one of the projects [Joo Ji Hoon] has received an offer for and is currently reviewing.”

The drama, initially titled “Love on a Single Log Bridge” (literal title), is reportedly undergoing discussions for a potential title change, with no final decision made yet.

The romance drama unfolds when a man and a woman, who were passionately in love during their school days but had to break up painfully due to family enmity and a twist of fate, reunite after 15 years. Writer Im Ye Jin of “Love in the Moonlight” and “The Tale of Nokdu” as well as producing director Park Joon Hwa who helmed “Because This Is My First Life,” “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim,” and “Alchemy of Souls” will be working together.

For Jung Yu Mi, this will mark her drama comeback after four years since Netflix’s “The School Nurse Files” in 2020.

If Joo Ji Hoon accepts the casting offer, it will be his first romance drama in 18 years after MBC’s “Princess Hours.” Currently, Joo Ji Hoon is also gearing up for the release of his Netflix series “The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call” and Disney+ series “Light Shop.”

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1643982wpp/jung-yu-mi-joins-joo-ji-hoon-in-talks-for-new-romance-drama-by-love-in-the-moonlight-writer

 

 

I have not seen Jung Yu Mi on the small screen for some time. I like the couple for this drama. I am looking forward to see them .

[larus]

Jung Yumi London look Burberry muffler trench coat coordination

 

 

Spoiler

 

I like what she is wearing except the boots.

 

https://view.nate.com/beauty/view/139049/

[larus]

Park Bo Gum, Suzy, Choi Woo Shik, Jung Yu Mi, Gong Yoo, And Tang Wei’s Movie “Wonderland” Confirms June Premiere

Film

Mar 22, 2024

by M. Lim

 

After a long wait, “Wonderland” is finally set to hit theaters!

On March 22, JoyNews24 reported that “Wonderland” is in discussions for a June premiere.

In response to the report, the film’s distributor ACEMAKER MOVIEWORKS confirmed, “We are currently preparing to release ‘Wonderland’ in June and have already initiated marketing preparations.”

“Wonderland” tells the story of people who use the “Wonderland” service, which allows users to reunite with their deceased loved ones by reconstructing them through big data. The movie is helmed by Kim Tae Yong, the director of the hit 2011 film “Late Autumn” starring Tang Wei and Hyun Bin.

Even prior to production, “Wonderland” generated significant buzz with its stellar cast, featuring Park Bo Gum, Suzy, Chinese actress Tang Wei, Gong Yoo, Jung Yu Mi, and Choi Woo Shik. “Wonderland” wrapped up filming before Park Bo Gum’s enlistment in August 2020, but its premiere remained indefinite until now.

Suzy and Park Bo Gum portray a young couple who can no longer communicate in real life after Park Bo Gum’s character falls into a coma.

Jung Yu Mi and Choi Woo Shik will play characters who control the events that take place within the simulated reality called Wonderland.

Gong Yoo takes on the role of a man in his forties who misses his deceased wife, portrayed by Tang Wei.

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1650492wpp/park-bo-gum-suzy-choi-woo-shik-jung-yu-mi-gong-yoo-and-tang-weis-movie-wonderland-confirms-june-premiere

 

 

[larus]

Moving cover with Burberry and Jung Yu-mi

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4Wz8L5LSnF/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=5cb212d6-8c94-4fb4-94f2-6f38732bb50d

 

https://www.marieclairekorea.com/fashion/2024/03/burberry-jungyumi/

 

 

*****

Exclusive) Joo Ji-hoon and Jeong Yu-mi, starring ‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge’ to be aired on tvN in December Joo Ji-hoon appears in a romantic drama for the first time in 18 years, and Jung Yu-mi appears in a drama for the first time in 4 years. The follow-up to ‘Jeongnyeon’, the biggest hit in the second half of the year, predicted to be a hit for broadcasters

 

News Tomato Reporter Kim Jae-beom] The release schedule for the drama ‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge’, which attracted attention as actor Ju Ji-hoon’s return to a romantic drama after 18 years and actress Jung Yu-mi’s return to the small screen after 4 years, has been confirmed. According to a broadcasting official on the 21st, the final programming of the romantic drama ‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge’, which confirmed Ju Ji-hoon and Jung Yu-mi as the lead roles, was decided on ‘tvN in December’.

 

 

According to this official, ‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge’, which had been discussed for programming on terrestrial and cable channels, finally decided to air with tvN. Previously, tvN also confirmed that the broadcaster's most talked-about drama, 'Jeongnyeon', which was competing for terrestrial and cable programming, will be broadcast in October. As a result, tvN has secured the highest box office guarantee in the second half of this year in the battle for viewership ratings with its two works, ‘Jeongnyeon’ and the follow-up ‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge

 

‘Love on a Single Tree Bridge’ depicts the process of a man and a woman who were passionately in love around the age of 18 but broke up due to family opposition, meeting again after 15 years and building their love after many twists and turns. Ju Ji-hoon, who plays the lead role,'s last romance appearance was the 2006 MBC drama 'Palace', and Jung Yu-mi's last drama appearance was the 2020 Netflix series 'Health Teacher Ahn Eun-young'. Broadcasters have high expectations for the synergy between the two.

 

Director Park Joon-hwa, who made global hits with romance-themed dramas such as tvN’s ‘Because This is My First Life’, ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’ and ‘Hwanhwa’ series, will be in charge of directing. The script is written by writer Lim Ye-jin, who wrote KBS2’s ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’ and ‘Joseon Romance Story of Nokdu’.

 

The production team said that they are refining some settings and content of the completed script and that the title is also likely to be revised internally. Once casting for other roles besides Ju Ji Hoon and Jung Yu Mi is completed, filming is scheduled to begin soon.

 

http://www.newstomato.com/ReadNews.aspx?no=1224094&inflow=N

[larus]

“Drama version is a mess” Joo Ji-hoon is an exception… Relay of works with Han Hyo-joo, Park Bo-young, and Jung Yu-mi [MD Pick] [MD Pick]

 

Reporter Park Seo-yeon

 

[My Daily = Reporter Park Seo-yeon] Due to the recent recession in the drama industry, actors and officials alike could

not hide their bitterness, saying, "Even if I want to work, there is no work." In particular, Lee Jang-woo said, “Dramas are a mess these days,” and “even the camera directors are playing around.” Nevertheless, I don’t think it applies to this actor. This is the story of actor Ju Ji-hoon. Joo Ji-hoon, who says, “I lived hard. I like working,” has 4 to 5 works scheduled to be released this year. So, let’s take a look at what works are waiting for us.

 

 

 

Ju Ji-hoon will soon begin filming tvN's new drama 'Love on a Single Tree Bridge' (working title) with actress Jung Yu-mi. 'Love on a Single Tree Bridge' is a reunion romance drama that unfolds when a man and a woman who were passionately in love during their school days but had to break up painfully due to family enmity and a twist of fate meet for the first time in 15 years. It is attracting attention because it is a romantic drama that Ju Ji-hoon attempted for the first time in 18 years since 'Palace'. It has been decided to schedule the show in December.

 

https://mydaily.co.kr/page/view/2024033119441352191

 

*****

I can`t wait to watch this drama. I like both Yu Mi and Ji Hoon and I expect a mature romance.

[larus]

‘The highest weight of my life is 47kg’ Jeong Yu-mi also stops in front of ramen… “I couldn’t resist and ate it”

 

 

 

[My Daily = Reporter Lee Ye-ju] Actress Jeong Yu-mi shared her daily life in London. On the 15th, the magazine Marie Claire Korea released a video titled 'London Vlog with Jung Yu-mi' through its official YouTube channel. In the video, Jung Yu-mi turned on the camera on the plane to London and smiled somewhat empty-handed, saying, "As soon as I got on the plane, I went to sleep without eating the in-flight meal. I woke up and was chatting next to her friend, and she said I had to fly for another 8 hours." .

 

Inside the plane, Jung Yu-mi is seen wearing no makeup and a cap. Jung Yu-mi showed off her innocent beauty by showing off her clean skin without any blemishes even on her face without makeup.

 

 

Eventually, Jeong Yu-mi arrived in London. She appeared at the airport wearing a light trench coat and glasses. She even made a ball heart towards the camera. After she got her hair and makeup done, Jung Yu-mi smiled brightly and waved her hand at the camera before looking around her, saying, "I guess purple is the key color here." “She failed to adjust to the jet lag,” she said. “When I thought about it, we ate breakfast and we didn’t eat anything,” she said. When the staff recalled her memory by saying, "You ate ramen," Jung Yu-mi burst out laughing, saying, "I couldn't resist eating it. I couldn't bear it."

 

Spoiler

 

https://mydaily.co.kr/page/view/2024031516384516444