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AT: Movie 'Bronze Medalist'

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

Who hasn't been touched by dramatic events that happen from time to time in sports Once an Olympic bronze medalist, Lee Ji-bong retires due to an injury.
After drifting around waiting tables, he finds a job coaching a varsity middle school weight lifting team in the country side.
However, Lee Ji-bong lost all his confidence when he retired from his professional sporting career, and is not in the least interested in teaching or training.
He halfheartedly sets out to recruit members for the team at prompting from the school board.
He knows better than anyone what it's like to practice an unpopular sport.
He has no plans to set the girls on such a path.


[Interview : Park Geon-yong Director of "Bronze Medalist" ] "I heard the story of a weightlifter who went to see her mentor with teary eyes. So I had this image in my head, while working on this film, of a girl lifting weights, her face all wet from a combination of sweat and tears".

The format of the film is pretty standard, ...| More

Surprise ending doesn't help familiar story line

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

The head of an art gallery, Bae Tae-jin (Uhm Jung-hwa), and art restoration expert Lee Kang-jun (Kim Rae-won) are up to no good. That much is pretty evident from the get-go of "Insadong Scandal", a tale of deceit centered around the struggle for a prized painting from the Joseon Dynasty.

Bae is widely respected yet also feared in art circles for her relentless ability to get whatever she wants. Lee is a brash young restoration expert with the skills to match his personality. He is supposed to be the best in the business, possessing "hands of god" that can bring age-old paintings back to life.

Hired by Bae, Lee's job is to restore a 400-year-old Joseon period painting called "Byeokando". A proper restoration of the classic will fetch Bae and Lee the largest sum ever for a Korean art piece. With huge media attention on the effort, a cast of shady characters flock to the scene like the Baltimore Ravens defense swarming a hapless running back.

Although everything is allegedly on t...| More

Ex-union head at MBC slams stance on media reform

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

Jeong Su-chae urges colleagues to reconsider views, accept 'change'

A former chief producer and founder of one of two labor unions at MBC-TV launched a stinging attack on the channel's opposition to media reform bills at the National Assembly when he retired this week after nearly 30 years in the industry.

Jeong Su-chae, 58, who left the company on Tuesday, said MBC's strong opposition to the bills is an act of "turning away from change" simply to secure its own vested interests, and he urged his former colleagues to reconsider their stance.

MBC has two labor unions. Jeong established the minority Fair Broadcasting Labor Union, consisting of 58 out of 200 senior-level workers, in 2007. It started out working for the welfare of senior employees but it has evolved in recent years against MBC's official and dominant labor union, which has 800 workers in the junior level out of 1,740 total. The two labor unions with a huge gap in scale have conflicting political views and their fe...| More

The 11th Seoul International Youth Film Festival

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

Period: July 09, 2009 - July 15, 2009
Place: Seoul Cinema, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Details
The 11th Seoul International Youth Film Festival will be held from July 9 to 15 at
Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul. The festival will screen more than100 films from 37 countries at Seoul Cinema, focusing on family issues and children's growth stories.

* Dates: July 9-15, 2009
* Venue: Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul
* How to get there:
Get off at Jongno-3-ga Station (sunbway line 1, 3, 5) and go out to exit No. 14. Walk about 3 minutes, pass the crossing and turn left.

Further Information
Korea Travel Phone: 1330 (Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese)
Tel: 02-775-0501
Fax: 02-775-0502
Website: The 11th Seoul International Youth Film Festival (http://www.siyff.com/main/eng/default.html)...| More

Male Actors Try New Roles in TV Dramas

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

One of the viewers of the KBS TV2 drama "He Who Can't Marry" has recently written that she was surprised by its main male character, Cho Jae-hee, who is played by actor Ji Jin-hee. So far, Ji has mostly played gentle and smart men, but this time he has been transformed into a narrow-minded old bachelor, whom he portrays in a comical way. The viewer said she had no idea Ji could portray comical roles and that they suited him perfectly.

Ji is not the only one to reflect the latest small-screen trend. A growing number of male actors are shedding their existing images to try on new roles. Despite the risk, so far the majority of them have succeeded in their transformations.

Ji Jin-hee, Lee Jong-won Realize Their Long-cherished Dreams

Ji Jin-hee has played only serious roles so far, such as Min Jung-ho in "Dae Jang Geum", Oh Tae-seok in "Spotlight" and his big-screen roles in the movies "Soo" and "The Old Garden". But in the TV drama "He Who Can't Marry", Ji plays a very rigid man ...| More

5 Directors Explore Sensuality in 'Eros'

2009/07/02 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Amid the high tide of summer action movies, five star directors are bringing a modest omnibus project with a different sensibility.

"Five Senses of Eros", each depicting unique aspects of sensuality and sexuality, as well as featuring a host of high-profile actors, will provide moviegoers with a more colorful audiovisual experience.

Contrary to expectations, the five shorts don't deal with each of the five senses, nor are they pure erotica. Rather, participating filmmakers experiment with a distinct language and style, be it B-rate comedy or subtle melodrama, to deliver deliciously short episodes about human desire and its perceived complexities ― or basic simplicity.

Daniel H. Byun (Byeon Hyeok, "The Scarlet Letter") opens "Eros" with a stylish urban romance about the thrills of chance encounters and first dates. "His Concern" unfolds like a live journal ― or a guy's version of chick lit ― as it follows the stream of consci...| More

Film Council Chief Resigns

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Kang Han-seop, chairperson of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), resigned Thursday after his council received the poorest grade in a performance evaluation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Minister Yu In-chon accepted his resignation. In his resignation statement, Kang expressed regret.

KOFIC is a government-supported, self-administered body that aims to stimulate the growth and development of Korean cinema through funding, research, policy development, education and professional training. Kang, a renowned film critic, had headed the organization from May 28, 2008. Last year marked an all-time low in the local film industry.

"I knew Chairman Kang was having trouble with management relations but we accepted his resignation after deliberating the issue from different angles", Minister Yu In-chon told reporters Thursday.

A new chairperson succeeding Kang has yet to be chosen.

In the resignation statement addressed to "respected ci...| More

Lotte and Cinus Join Megabox to Increase Movie Ticket Prices

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

Lotte Cinemas and Cinus have just announced that they too are following Megabox's lead in raising ticket prices. Since 2001 prices have remained at 7000 ($5.50 U.S.) won in the weekdays and 8000 ($6.20 U.S.) at the weekends. These will increase to 8000 KRW and 9000 KRW respectively.

The price hikes started with Megabox's announcement nearly two weeks ago. Cinus and Lotte Cinema's announcement will affect ticket prices from today (July 1). The cinemas involved cite operational costs and the price of commodities as reasons for the increase.

The ancillary market in Korea is famously small due to illegal downloading and other issues. Therefore, what is bad news for the consumer is being cautiously welcomed by the Korean film industry badly in need of increased revenue. The only major cinema change not to follow suite is CJ's CGV.

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)...| More

Korean Stars Honoured at NYAFF

Source | 2009/07/02 | Permalink |

The New York Asian Film Festival which has already screened a host of Korean films has honoured two of Korea's up and coming actors KONG Hyo-jin and SO Ji-sub. Both actors received the Rising Star Asia Award. Both actors appeared accompanying their films showing at the 8th annual festival.

KONG who won the award because of LEE Kyoung-mi's "Crush and Blush" (2008) earlier won The 11th Director's Cut Awards for Best actress in Korea. SO who has been acting for a number of years now appeared in TV drama "Sorry, I Love You" back in 2006 and numerous other TV series since then. He received his award at the NYAFF for "Rough Cut", the film written and produced in part by KIM Ki-duk. KONG on the other hand appeared in the thriller "M" (2007) and as far back as 1999 in the school girl, supernatural thriller "Memento Mori".

The NYAFF opened June 19 and will wrap up this Sunday July the 15th.

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)...| More

[ChanMi's star news] Cutie Park Bo-yeong!

Source | 2009/07/01 | Permalink |

Don't you just love her?

She has such a cute face. Park Bo-yeong's bright charm makes everyone happy.

We loved her in "Speedy Scandal" and we hope to see her in more films and dramas!...| More