Kwon Sang Woo 권상우

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*** Kwon Sang Woo and Lee Jong Hyuk have worked together before in "Once Upon a Time in High School",  which explains the easygoing rapport between the two.

 

 

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"Shall We Do It Again" Presscon

 

 

 

 

photo credit : https://breathlesssurvival.wordpress.com/2019/09/17/shall-we-do-it-again-trio-meets-the-press/

 

 

 

[willenette]

September 18, 2019

 

 

Rom-com ‘Love, Again’ begins at divorce

 

From left; Actors Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Jong-hyuk and director Park Yong-jip pose for the cameras holding up signboards that promote their upcoming romantic comedy film, “Love, Again.” The film is scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 17. [NEWS1]

 

 

Marriages need work, people say, and relationships are almost always complex and difficult. This less romantic side of romance is the focus of upcoming romantic comedy “Love, Again.”

Hyun-woo and Sun-young (played by Kwon Sang-woo and Lee Jung-hyun) are a freshly divorced ex-couple who even held their very own “divorce ceremony,” inviting all their close friends to witness their divorce and declare each own’s freedom.

Although the two seem to enjoy their single lives at the beginning, they somehow continue to cross each other’s paths. Any hopes of them starting afresh are thrown into disarray when Hyun-woo reconnects with his old high school friend Sang-chul (played by Lee Jong-hyuk), who introduces him to his new love interest, the very same Sun-young that Hyun-woo just divorced.

“Before I read the script, I was worried that the plot setting of holding a divorce ceremony wouldn’t be natural,” said actor Lee Jung-hyun.

“But [after I read the script] I came to understand how the two had to hold the event. Hyun-woo and Sun-young didn’t have a proper wedding and Sun-young never really wanted a divorce. But seeing Hyun-woo wanting to get a divorce so badly hurt her pride, and she struck a deal with Hyun-woo that she will give him their divorce if they hold a proper ceremony to announce their separation.”

Lee Jung-hyun also thanked the director Park Yong-jip for casting her in her first rom-com. “I was mostly cast and portrayed as dark or complex characters that have their own distinct stories,” said the actor.

“So I’m so excited about how the film will come out, and the three of us had such good chemistry. Kwon and Lee were already veterans of the genre, so I was able to work comfortably with them.”

Kwon and Lee Jong-hyuk met on the set for the first time after 15 years since they last worked together on “Spirit of Jeet Keun Do” (2004).

“As Hyun-woo and Sang-chul are high school friends, we have a scene parodying a scene from the ‘Spirit of Jeet Keun Do,’ because our former characters also met each other in high school,” Kwon said.

“Both of us were newbies at the time, and I think just the fact that we are able to meet and work on another film together is really meaningful.”

Meanwhile, Park commented that although the idea of holding an official event to make a divorce seems far-fetched, he thought that audience members involved in any kind of relationship would find the characters relatable.

“After doing some research on the divorce rate, I found that over 60 percent of the reasons were ‘irreconcilable differences in regard to personality,’” said Park.

“The reason behind Hyun-woo and Sun-young’s divorce is the same. All of the insignificant disagreements accumulated over the years, ultimately leading to their separation and they wanted to mark it official through the ceremony.”

Kwon has mostly appeared in thriller or action films over recent years, such as “The Accidental Detective” series in 2015 and 2018.

“[I think] one of the most popular genres for actors - regardless of their gender or age - is romance,” Kwon said.

“Everyone can relate to falling in love and working on a relationship, which is why I believe the film can be sympathized with by audiences from all kinds of relationships - whether they’re deliberating upon marriage, are married, divorced, or just broken-up. I can assure that they won’t be bored while watching the film for two hours.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

 

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Kwon Sang-woo as vengeful Go master in ‘The Divine Move: Ghost Move’

 

 

The 2014 film “The Divine Move” about a Go master was a brutal, violent film about vengeance and gambling, shattering any expectations one might have had about watching the millennia-old board game that is played completely silently with minimal movement.

“The Divine Move: Ghost Move,” an upcoming spinoff and prequel, stars Kwon Sang-woo as the mysterious “Gwi-soo,” or “ghost move,” whose presence was never fully explored in the first film.

In the new film, Gwi-soo, whose previous appearance was clouded in mystery, is a master Go player who loses everything via the game he loved. After losing his teacher Heo Il-do (Kim Sung-kyun), he plots revenge on the world, gambling on Go.
 

“The Divine Move: Ghost Move” (CJ Entertainment)

Kwon said the movie provided an opportunity to make the kind of “masculine” action film he preferred, with his recent works mostly comedy or drama. Despite being an action enthusiast, Kwon admitted his most talked-about action scene is from 2004 film “Spirit of Jeet Keun Do.”

“After reading the script, I thought there was a clear charm that I could show (in the film), and that the film might be a turning point in my film career,” said Kwon in a press conference held to promote the film in Seoul on Tuesday.

“This is also the first time in my career that I have slimmed down for a film. ... I wanted to show the ‘extremes’ since it’s a crime-action film. So I worked very hard for three months,” he added, offering a glimpse into a film series known for its intensity. “‘Gwi-soo’ is a film that is a pinnacle of masculinity. I wanted people to say, ‘Wow, he can actually do that’ (after watching me).”

Director Lee Khan said that he attempted to keep the best parts of the previous film, which was its fast-paced storytelling and action. The difference, he said, was his focus on creative retelling of the Go games and action.

“I tried to blend Go and action, and also introduce many different characters,” he said, mentioning the variety as an upgrade from the previous film.

The characters are featured in the forms of different types of Go masters around the country, including Gwi-soo’s sidekick “Teacher Ddong” (Kim Hee-won), “Busan Weed” (Heo Sung-tae) and “Loner,” played by Woo Do-hwan.

“My character is named Loner. I tried to tell how he became a loner, and why he keeps his distance from the world and wants nothing else than to take revenge on someone,” said Woo.

The film opens in November.

 

 

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)

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Kwon Sang Woo Arena Homme Plus 2019 October

 

 

 

source : https://sunshineemine.blogspot.com/2019/10/kwon-sang-woo-arena-homme-plus-2019.html

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*** Kwon Sang-woo mentioned the drama "Stairway to Heaven" when he appeared on the SBS Power FM show yesterday (October 7) to promote his upcoming movie "Love, Again".  He said that there wasn't a drama that was as touching as "Stairway to Heaven". He said that he cried reading the script.

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[Photos] New Stills Added for the Upcoming Korean Movie "Love, Again"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source : /www.hancinema.net/ko...

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Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2019.10.18 ~ 2019.10.20

 

The number one movie this week is "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil"

Korean Box Office - Admissions for the Weekend 2019.10.18 - 2019.10.20 (www.kobis.or.kr)

#	Films	Release date	Week-end	Total
1	"Maleficent: Mistress of Evil"		540 313	611 450
2	"Joker"		389 989	4 548 685
3	"Crazy Romance" (가장 보통의 연애)	2019/10/02	266 471	2 543 804
4	"Love, Again" (두번할까요)	2019/10/17	90 046	136 264
5	"Man of Men" (퍼펙트 맨)	2019/10/02	65 891	1 182 330

 

 

 

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source :

Source : /www.hancinema.net/ko...

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[Photos + Videos] New Stills, '3D' and Showcase Trailers Released for the Upcoming Korean Movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

 

New stills, '3D' and showcase trailers released for the upcoming Korean movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

"The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful" (2019)

Directed by Khan Lee

With Kwon Sang-woo, Kim Hee-won, Kim Sung-kyun, Heo Sung-tae, Woo Do-hwan, Won Hyun-joon,...

Synopsis
A prequel to "The Divine Move".
"The Divine Move: Ghost Move" is criminal action film 'Ghost Move', a man who loses everything in Go and seeks revenge.

Release date in Korea : 2019/11/07

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Source : /www.hancinema.net/ko...

 

LINK to SEE the VIDEO here : https://www.hancinema.net/photos--videos-new-stills--3d-and-showcase-trailers-released-for-the-upcoming-korean-movie-the-divine-move-2-the-wrathful-134762.html

Spoiler

 

 

 

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MALEFICENT Casts a Spell over LOVE, AGAIN

 

 

Disney once again scored a top place opening at the box office, but with much less fanfare than usual, during a quiet weekend that saw a 15% decline from the previous session’s holdover-led chart. A total of 1.47 million admissions were collected, with the local share dipping to 31%, though that should rebound significantly this coming weekend.

 

Fellow local romcom LOVE, AGAIN, featuring KWON Sang-woo, LEE Jung-hyun and LEE Jong-hyuk, was a non-starter in fourth place with a 90,000 entry (USD 674,000) debut. In fourth days, the film reported 136,000 sales (USD 977,000).

 

 

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credit : http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/reports.jsp?pageIndex=1&blbdComCd=601008&seq=558&mode=VIEW&returnUrl=&searchKeyword=

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[Photos] New Drawn Posters Added for the Upcoming Korean Movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

 

 

LINK to SEE more new drawn posters : https://www.hancinema.net/photos-new-drawn-posters-added-for-the-upcoming-korean-movie-the-divine-move-2-the-wrathful-134810.html

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[Herald Review] ‘The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful’ a flawed, but entertaining piece

 

“The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” is flamboyant, preposterous and exaggerated, taking viewers on a wild ride.

Directed by Lee Khan and starring Kwon Sang-woo, the sequel to the “The Divine Move” (2014) -- about high-stakes gambling via the game of Go -- has an obvious premise and plot as well as one-dimensional characters. But it manages to provide fun and action.

The film starts by tracing the footsteps of a boy who was abandoned by everything in the world. He stumbles across a man named Heo Il-do (Kim Sung-kyun), who trains him to be an ingenious Go player to be used in scams in high-stakes gambling. But a scam gone wrong costs Heo’s life to the infamous gambler “Busan Weed” (Heo Sung-tae), and he is left alone.

Having grown up to be a masterful Go player with a vengeful heart -- who later becomes known as “Gwi-soo” portrayed by Kwon -- he hunts down those who have wronged him, including the nation’s best professional Go player, whose actions led to the death of his sister, the only one whom he truly loved.

 

“The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” (CJ Entertainment)

At first glance, the premise of high-stakes gambling reminds one of “Tazza: The High Rollers” (2006), a drama about the precarious lives of sharpers. But unlike “Tazza,” this film does not have a variety of charming characters, an interesting plot filled with twists and turns and memorable lines.

“The Divine Move 2” is not a particularly well-made film. Gwi-soo -- which literally means move of a ghost -- played by Kwon is neither deep nor memorable. The same goes for the side characters.

However, the film manages to keep suspense with fast-paced editing and impressive imagery that floats on-screen. It knows that the characters lack memorable lines, so it keeps the dialogue and monologue to the minimum. It is rare to see a protagonist as silent as Gwi-soo. In fact, I don’t think he uttered 10 lines since reaching adulthood.

Instead, he is constantly on the move, seeking out opponents, playing Go, fighting, and always keeping the movie on the move. This helps hide the weak plot. In short, what the film lacks in writing, it makes up for in style.

Despite Go being the main subject, the game is hardly the focus of the movie. The characters play Go all the time, but the film glosses over all the specifics, and the game is merely a tool that Gwi-soo uses in his quest for vengeance. This is very different from “Tazza,” where the skills, tactics and mind games used in the game of hwatu (a type of card game) were critical to the film.

“The Divine Move 2” plays out more like “The Man from Nowhere” (2010), a simple, straightforward film plastered with blood and action. Or comic book-based film “Blade” (1998), as this movie is also basically a superhero film, albeit with superhuman Go-playing abilities.

The obvious shortcoming of “Divine Move 2” is that the protagonist lacked presence, unlike those in the aforementioned films. Kwon looked the part and had some great actions, but he wasn’t really on-par with Won Bin’s performance in “The Man from Nowhere.”

One-dimensional characters, comic-bookish exaggeration, numerous plot holes and no real twist -- yet the film still manages to be quite fun with adrenaline-pumping action and excitement. It’s not a masterpiece, but it manages to create an intriguing, messed-up world.

“The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” opens in local theaters on Nov.17.
 

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)

credit : Korea Herald

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Kwon Sang Woo And Woo Do Hwan’s New Film “The Divine Move 2” Surpasses 1 Million Moviegoers

 

 

The new spin-off film of “The Divine Move” has surpassed 1 million moviegoers!

 

On November 10, “The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” officially reached a total of 1,000,828 moviegoers after premiering three days earlier, on November 7.

 

The new film stars Kwon Sang Woo as Ghost Move, a man who loses everything at a young age because of the strategy board game Go. He dreams of revenge on the people who ruined him and enlists the help of others. Kim Sung Kyun plays the teacher who introduces young Ghost Move to the world of professional Go, Kim Hee Won plays a broker who works with Ghost Move after he becomes an adult, and Heo Sung Tae plays a father figure who takes Ghost Move in after he loses his family. Woo Do Hwan plays a loner who is out for revenge against Ghost Move, while Won Hyun Joon plays a shaman.

 

To celebrate the milestone, the cast of “The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” released a set of commemorative photos, including one in which they creatively pose as the number 1,000,000. Another photo captures the cast holding up a Go game board with the number 100 (shorthand for 1,000,000 in Korean).

 

 

Congratulations to the cast and crew!

 

 

 

Source (1) / soompi news

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November 12, 2019

 

 

[Korean Box Office] ‘The Divine Move 2’ is a surprise box-office hit: Baduk action flick pushed out ‘Terminator’ in its debut weekend

 

To the surprise of many in the local film industry, “The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” turned out to be the perfect light-hearted action film for moviegoers over the weekend. [CJ ENTERTAINMENT]

 

 

Despite a lack of major buzz prior to its release, action film “The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” found a passionate audience who rallied behind actor Kwon Sang-woo and praised his performance.

The local movie shot to the top of the box office on its first weekend, drawing 877,000 moviegoers to 1,246 screens. Although the first film left an impression on audiences for being an action-packed story about the game of baduk, also known as Go, thanks to an impressive performance from Jung Woo-sung, audiences did not show many signs of excitement for the sequel. However, Kwon was able to smash through low expectations with his action skills and the movie’s fast-paced plot.

The movie tells the story of protagonist Gwi-soo, who is on a blood-filled path of revenge after he loses everything that is dear to him because of the game of Go. After his Go master Heo Il-do is killed by the notorious gambler Busan Weed, he grows up to be a master of Go and throws himself into high-stakes bets that could cost him his life, building up his reputation to ultimately meet and defeat the legendary gambler and achieve his lifelong goal of avenging his master.

The movie’s success pushed the female-led action blockbuster “Terminator: Dark Fate” to second place after it sold 379,000 tickets at 995 screenings. The film surpassed 2 million ticket sales in just 12 days.

“Kim Ji Young, Born 1982,” fell to third place, with 343,000 moviegoers seeing the film at 1,013 screens. The local film has sold over 3.1 million tickets since its release on Oct. 23.

“The Addams Family” took fourth place, gathering 187,000 viewers to 802 screens.

Based on the comic by the cartoonist Charles Addams, the characters were brought to life through the voices of its star-studded cast like of Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac as the parents Morticia and Gomez Addams and Chloe Moretz and Finn Wolfhard as Wednesday and Pugsley Addams.

Japanese animated fantasy “Weathering With You” finished off the weekend with 95,000 viewers seeing the film at 479 screens.

Meanwhile, “Parasite” continued to fare well at the North American box office, becoming the highest-grossing foreign language film of the year by surpassing $11 million in ticket sales over the weekend. The previous record was held by Mexican film “No Manches Frida 2,” which was released in March and made over $9.2 million in ticket sales.
 

 

 

 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]

credit : JoongAngDaily

 

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Kwon Sang-woo's Latest Film Draws 1 Million Viewers in Just 4 Days

 

 

Actor Kwon Sang-woo's latest film, "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful," drew over 1 million viewers in just four days after its release on Nov. 7, according to the Korean Film Council.

 

The crime action film is a sequel to the one with the same title released in 2014.

 

While off to a good start, it remains to be seen if it can surpass the record set by action-packed crime flick "The Outlaws," which drew nearly 7 million viewers in 2017 to become the most popular film in the genre.

 

The film is about a young man who winds up in the street after his father becomes addicted to baduk, or go gambling, and depletes the family's savings.

 

 

credit : Chosun Ilbo

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'The Divine Move 2' rocks box office

 

The poster for the movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful." Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

 

 

By Dong Sun-hwa

"The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful" took first place at the local box office, accumulating more than a million ticket sales as of Monday.

The movie, a thriller over the subject of "baduk," or a Chinese board game, has sold more than 1.07 million tickets since its premiere on Nov 7, according to the Korean Film Council. It drew around 680,000 moviegoers during the weekend (Nov. 9-10).

The flick outperformed the blockbuster "Terminator: Dark Fate," starring Hollywood heavyweight Arnold Schwarzenegger. Some 300,000 people watched the movie on Saturday and Sunday.

"The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful" is a spinoff of the 2014 film "The Divine Move." For the 2019 version, actor Kwon Sang-woo assumes the role of desolate baduk player "Gwi-soo," who plays "live or die" games with his competitors. Actors Kim Hee-won and Woo Do-hwan also appear.

"I stayed alone at the shooting site to be immersed in the character," Kwon said during the movie's press event in October at the Yongsan CGV in Seoul.

 

 

credit : Korea Times

 

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[Photos] New Stills Added for the Korean Movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Source : /www.hancinema.net/ko...

Spoiler

 

 

 

[willenette]

THE DIVINE MOVE 2 Posts Strong Debut

 

 

As we edge closer to winter, admissions were down marginally to 2.04 million but with a strong new local title in the mix the Korean market share shot back up to a healthy 61%.

 

Opening over five years after the original and with KWON Sang-woo replacing JUNG Woo-sung as the lead actor (but as a different character), the prequel The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful posted a strong debut with 879,000 sales (USD 6.74 million) over the weekend, and a total of 1.07 million entries (USD 8.07 million) since its Thursday launch. This compares very favorably with the original, which amassed 1.18 million after four days in theaters. While the critical reaction has been lukewarm, audience scores are decent and a lack of competition for the rest of the month gives the action-thriller an opening to drum up more sales going forward.

 

 

 

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credit : http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/reports.jsp?pageIndex=1&blbdComCd=601008&seq=561&mode=VIEW&returnUrl=&searchKeyword=

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[HanCinema's News] Kwon Sang-woo Talks About the Physical Agony Involved in Shooting "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

 

As "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful" nears the 1.5 million mark, comments made by lead actor Kwon Sang-woo in the press have taken on greater attention. In particular, Kwon Sang-woo's statements about his trying to master acting without dialog have come under notice, as the hero he plays in the Go centered action flick is unusually taciturn.

 

Kwon Sang-woo has described his thought process in taking the role following shooting and promotional work for the "Accidental Detective" films, where the character he plays is a bit of a loudmouth. Kwon Sang-woo was thinking about trying to challenge himself with something different, and started to think about a project from much earlier in his career - "Volcano High" from 2001, a movie which dealt with a high school focused around martial arts where he also had little dialog.

 

 

In particular, Kwon Sang-woo remembered worrying a lot about the work he was putting into the role. However, it was not easy to tell whether he was doing well or not, since his character didn't say much. So it was that Kwon Sang-woo ended up focusing on communicating what his character was thinking via facial and bodily expressions alone.

 

Kwon Sang-woo also had distinct memories of the final shooting for that movie's grand battle. Kwon Sang-woo described the shooting of the scene as being very painful. He felt dizzy and he hurt all over, to the point that he even caught the flu. Kwon Sang-woo said that he was freezing and wearing a jumper, but still took a medical injection to come back on site. He described that feeling as being comparable to the one of the ending of "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful".

 

According to Kwon Sang-woo, director Khan Lee described Kwon Sang-woo's condition as fortuitous, since it was such a perfect mirror of what his character was facing. Kwon Sang-woo regarded these developments as positive, relating the anecdote with a very satisfied air as he called it destiny.

 

 

 

Written by William Schwartz

[willenette]

[Photos] New Stills Added for the Korean Movie "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful"

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source : /www.hancinema.net/ko...

Spoiler

 

 

 

[willenette]

November 15, 2019

 

 

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

 

 

The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful
(Korea)
Opened Nov. 7
Crime, Action
Directed by Lee Khan

A boy who is all alone in the world stumbles across a man named Heo Il-do (Kim Sung-kyun), who trains him as a Go player to facilitate his high-stakes gambling scams. The boy, later known as “Gwi-soo” (Kwon Sang-woo), grows up to be a masterful Go player with a vengeful heart and he hunts down those who have wronged him, including the nation’s best professional Go player, whose actions led to the death of his beloved sister.

 

 

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credit : Korea Herald