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February 2010 Newsletter | |||||||||||||||
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Interview with the Director of Old
Partner, Topping the Korean box office is no small feat for a first-time filmmaker, given the perennial offerings of sassy romantic comedies and vivid, attention-grabbing genre flicks from this nation’s impressive stable of film artists. It’s even more improbable when you’ve made a no-frills documentary (not so popular in South Korea) for less than $150,000 about the relationship between an elderly farmer and his aged ox. But a few months after it hit the market at the 2008 Pusan International Film Festival, where it won the best documentary award, Lee Chung-ryoul’s Old Partner became one of the most successful indies in Korean film history, playing on more than 150 local screens and drawing 1 million viewers on word-of-mouth buzz alone. It went on to jostle for the Grand Jury Prize in world documentary at Sundance last January, the first time a Korean documentary has been entered in the Park City competition. No one must have been more surprised than Lee, a veteran TV producer whose humble maiden feature—a human-bovine buddy film—has captured the imagination of audiences from Seoul to Vienna. (More) ____________________________ Read more
Old Partner reviews at
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"Palace” to be Turned Into a Musical
Four years after it was a drama sensation, Palace is being turned into a musical. Production company Group Eight announced on February 2 that the musical would open on September 3 at the Seoul National Museum’s theater. Group Eight had reportedly considered the possibility of a musical adaptation from the outset, and this version will bring back the main producers of the drama series. The Cinderella drama that catapulted Yoon Eun-hye and Joo Ji-hoon to stardom was known for its splendid visuals and costuming that mixed classical Korean hanbok and royal garb with a modern flair. The musical will also feature a fusion of song styles, from classical to hip-hop, jazz, and traditional Korean. Leads for the musical are currently being auditioned. (sources:
Dramabeans: http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/02/goong-to-be-turned-into-a-musical/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Man Called God Prepares for Overseas Shoots
This news has been
rumored for many months already, but finally it’s confirmed by producers:
Song Il-kook is on for MBC’s upcoming drama series A Man Called God. This
means he’ll be following two big historical roles (Jumong, Kingdom of the
Wind) with a contemporary one in this “love story about a modern-day
hero.” The drama is adapted from Park Gong-sung’s manhwa of the same name
and, beginning in mid-February, plans for location shooting in Hawaii — a
first for Korean dramas. Included on the list of shoot locales is Waikiki
Beach, among other famous hot spots. (sources:
Dramabeans: http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/01/a-man-called-god-prepares-for-overseas-shoots/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rom-com fans rejoice: MBC is bringing an upbeat romance to a timeslot otherwise dominated by an action-heavy period piece and a melodrama."Still Marry Me," a spin-off of MBC's 2004 "Marry Me," will continue to chart the escapades of its 30-something and single heroine Lee Sin-young. When asked if "Still Marry Me" could be defined as a second season of "Marry Me," a MBC representative said over the phone. "It is not really a sequel. It has a feel that is similar to that." Original scriptwriter Kim In-young will play a strong connective role in imbuing the upcoming drama with the same feisty characters that gave "Marry Me" its addictive zest. "Lost And Found" actress Park Jin-hee, 32, will be replacing "Marry Me" lead Myung Se-bin as the heroine. Two new female characters, played by actresses Uhm Ji-won and Wang Bit-na, will fill in for Lee's former gal pals and carry on the girl talk legacy that led the original to be dubbed the Korean version of HBO's "Sex and the City." But it is the new male lead that promises to garner the most attention. "Boys Over Flowers" Kim Bum is signed on to star as Lee Sin-young's hot and young love interest. Kim Bum also revealed that he is learning how to play the guitar for his role as a musician and composer. In the new drama, 24-year old Ha Min-jae (Kim Bum) encounters 34-year old newsroom broadcast reporter Lee Sin-young (Park Jin-hee) on campus. The two start off quibbling when they meet again after Lee breaks Ha's guitar string because she thinks he is interfering with her reporting and then she comes to teach a special lecture class at his college. Over the weeks, Ha finds himself growing subconsciously attracted to her, an initial feeling that eventually develops into love. (More) (source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/01/15/201001150029.asp) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hwanhee Takes a Break
Hwanhee, a former member of Korean R&B duo Fly to the Sky, has taken an abrupt break from work on his debut album due to health problems. The singer made his solo debut in October with the release of the songs “Because I Missed Your Heart” and “Bring it Back.” H Entercom, Hwanhee’s managing agency, reported on Tuesday that “Hwanhee has been having problems with his vocal cords and has been receiving treatment for the past three weeks. Doctors recommended that he take a break.” (source: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2914659) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lee Min-ho: 'I
Want My Next Role to be Cheerful and Fun'
"I want to play a macho guy and try my skills at melodrama as well. I want to try so many things. But since I'm still very young, the best role for me would be a cheerful one," said actor Lee Min-ho, who rose to stardom for his role in "Boys Over Flowers," at a news conference on December 15 in Taiwan. The news conference was held prior to Lee's fan meeting at the National Taiwan University. The actor said he felt significant pressure with regard to his next role because his previous role was very popular. "Boys Over Flowers," which ended in March, recorded viewer ratings of nearly 35 percent. Lee said choosing the right role was his priority and dilemma at this point, saying, "I'm feeling pressure because everyone around me keeps asking me about my next production. I want to receive recognition for my acting skills and I want my next drama to record high viewer ratings while also receiving credit for its high quality. I hope at least one of these aspects will be realized." Lee says he wants to receive the
Best New Actor award from KBS this year. Lee said he had been watching the
TV drama "Iris" lately and that he would like to appear in "Iris 2" if he
were offered a part. He said, "I admire Lee Byung-heon for his excellent
acting talent. I envy him. A candy kiss? Hmm, I haven't thought about
that." (More)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seo Do-young Visits Japan
Actor Seo Do-young, who is busy these days shooting the TV drama "Taming Of The Heir" and the Korea-Japan joint movie "Jeolla Poems," has visited Japan. Seo is popular in Japan for his role in the TV drama "Spring Waltz." He held his fourth fan meeting at the Tokyo International Forum Hall on December 12. The meeting marked the third
anniversary of Seo's official mobile site and the launch of his official
Japanese site (s-doyoung.com). The actor said that he had slept only two
hours after shooting a movie until 4 a.m. and that he wanted to have fun
with his fans despite his tight schedule. (More)
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