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[Talk of the town] 'Attack the Gas Station 2' star to wed in January

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Jo Han-seon will be taking a trip down the aisle on Jan. 9. In a press conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel on Monday regarding his new wedding plans, Jo revealed that his future bride is now 13 weeks pregnant.

He heard the news while in Busan on location for a film; when he finished shooting, he came back to Seoul and proposed.

"I wanted to ask for her hand in marriage after I finished my military service", said Jo. He changed his plans after hearing the "wonderful news".

Jo's girlfriend is an art major in graduate school whom he met through a friend two years ago.

Jo's next film, "Attack the Gas Station 2", a sequel to the 1999 Korean blockbuster "Attack the Gas Station!" by the same name, is scheduled to premiere this year.

By Hannah Kim, Contributing writer...| More

The stimulating cinema experience of films in 4-D

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

When a bloodthirsty felon kills people in a horror movie, a spray of water attacks your face as blood spatters on the screen. When a building collapses and a dust fog arises in a disaster movie, smoke comes out to envelop you. When a helicopter takes a downward plunge in a war movie, you can feel the shock as your seat shakes as well.

The future is here, and it's four-dimensional. The examples mentioned above are just a few of the experiences you can expect when watching a 4-D film.

These films are already popular at amusement parks worldwide, including Disneyland and Universal Studios in Hollywood. Not wanting to be left behind, the local cinema industry is now gearing up to provide moviegoers here with the same experience.

Currently, the CGV Multiplex in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, is the only place in the city to see a 4-D film, but other CGV theaters in Yongsan, Yeongdeungpo and Gangbyeon also plan to add 4-D screens this year.

There are about 20 different 4-D effects. ...| More

The horror! Scary films rely on Magritte

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Christine is having dinner with her boyfriend Clay and his parents at their home. On their plates are pieces of homemade cake that Christine brought as a gift for Clay's parents. Christine is uneasy because she has been suffering ominous hallucinations from time to time ever since she was cursed by an old gypsy woman. As she feared, strange noises begin to scratch Christine's ears again, and the middle of the piece of cake on her plate starts to pulse. She cautiously digs into the cake with her fork and discovers an eye of the gypsy woman staring back at her! Christine, stifling a scream, aggressively stabs the cake with her fork.

This is a scene from the American horror movie "Drag Me to Hell", which was released here this summer. The scene reminds me of the work of Sam Raimi, whose horror movies include the famous "Evil Dead" series and creatively combine both horror and black humor. But I also think the scene with the eye in the cake might have been influenced by a painting by Be...| More

Who Is the Real Midas in Korean Showbiz?

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Park Jin-young: taking Korean talent to the West

"I wanted to form a group that was young but appealed to all ages with music and dance", says Park Jin-young, the man behind the stellar success of the Wonder Girls.

Park debuted as a singer in 1994 and established JYP Entertainment in 1999. His company produced a list of K-pop stars like 'Rain', G.O.D, Byeol and Noel, and in 2007, Park launched his first group manufactured girl band, the Wonder Girls. "The concept of the Wonder Girls is similar to the one I had with G.O.D, who have sold over 6 million albums. As a producer, I want them to be trend leaders, and I want the singers to become the top Asian vocal group through hard training and long hours of practice", he says.

Everything about the Wonder Girls, from writing lyrics and composing music to costumes and choreography is controlled by Park's magic hands.

Not just for the Wonder Girls but for every choice he makes, Park claims personality matters most. "I don't just ch...| More

5 Decades of Korean Girl Bands

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Kim Sisters were arguably the first girl group in the history of Korean popular music. They debuted in their teens in the early 1950s, and were extremely popular among U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea. They played many instruments and danced, and enjoyed substantial success in the United States when they debuted there in 1959. After returning to Korea in 1970, they released a number of hit songs.

Hoping to emulate the Kim Sisters' success, there were many new "sister" groups from the late 1950s.

When did this transmute into the current manufactured girl band format of four or five girls singing cute songs and pleasing mainly the eyes of male fans? Renowned pop critic Im Jin-mo says, "Since girl groups are normally the product of an entertainment management agency in all aspects of the making -- from the appearance of each member of the groups to every song they sing, the first girl 'idol' group in Korea would have been S.E.S".

S.E.S. enjoyed enormous popularity among men w...| More

Production Starts on John Woo Movie Starring Jeong Woo-seong

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The shooting of John Woo's new movie "Rain of Swords", starring South Korean heartthrob Jeong Woo-seong, started Wednesday in Shanghai, Taurus Film announced Thursday.

The 36-year-old actor stars opposite Michelle Yeoh ("Memoirs of a Geisha") in the film which is being co-directed by Woo, the famous Hong Kong helmer of "Mission:Impossible II", and Taiwan's Su Chau-bin.

Renowned producer Terence Chang, who has partnered with Woo for big Hollywood projects such as "Face/Off", is taking part in the movie, which he calls "`Face/Off' meets `Mr. & Mrs. Smith' set in the Ming Dynasty", according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"Rain of Swords" is a "wuxia" or martial arts film that follows a love affair between a retiring assassin (Yeoh) and a messenger (Jeong) whose father was killed by the assassin's former associates.

The assassin is initially oblivious of her lover's history and the fact that he is well-trained in martial arts. Meanwhile a charact...| More

Hyeon Bin, Tang Wei-wei Cast in Korea-US Project

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

South Korean actor Hyeon Bin and Chinese screen beauty Tang Wei-wei are set to appear in "Manchu" (working title), which will go into production at the end of the month in the United States, Boram Entertainment and M&FC announced Friday.

The "My Name is Kim Sam-soon" star will play the role of a man on the run who falls in love with a woman who is on special leave from prison, to be played by Tang, who is best-known as the heroine of Ang Lee's epic romance "Lust, Caution".

The Korea-U.S. joint project ― Korea's Boram Entertainment and M&FC and the Unites States' North by Northwest ― is a remake of the 1966 masterpiece "Full Autumn" (Manchu) by Lee Man-hee. Kim Tae-yong, the award-winning director of "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family") will helm the project.

The movie will be "a modern interpretation" of the classic movie and will be set in the United States, said the producers in a statement. It is slated for theatrical relea...| More

'Legend of Rainism' to Rock US in Dec.

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Singer-actor 'Rain' will give concerts next month in the United States, for the first time in three years, J-Tune Entertainment announced Thursday.

The 27-year-old pop star will reappear Dec. 24 and 25 at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, where he performed three years ago. This will be the U.S. leg of his "Legend of Rainism" tour that took place in Japan in August and in South Korea last month.

" 'Rain' is preparing to perform at the Caesars Palace Hotel, which is famous as a concert venue for top pop artists such as Celine Dion and Elton John", J-Tune Entertainment was quoted as saying, according to Yonhap News. "The concerts will feature the fancy visuals and events that characterized the `Legend of Rainism' tour. We received the offer from a staff member who worked on "Rain"'s 2006 tour, and all that is left to do is sign the contract".

The singer, who is also known as Jung Ji-hoon, performed at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New Y...| More

Son Dam-bi Passes Entrance Test for Kyunghee University

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter

K-pop singing sensation Son Dam-bi has passed the entrance exam for Kyung Hee University, the school said Thursday.

"She has passed all the procedures and will study at the postmodern music department from next year", a school official said.

Son, born in 1983, is known to have prepared well to enter the department where Rain and other popular singers have studied.

Korean universities pick new students from the entertainment industry through special selection procedures that acknowledge their talent in the field.

Son debuted with the single "Cry Eye" in 2007. After a training period in the United States, she returned to Korea and released a mini-album in April 2008. She released her hit song "Crazy" in September last year....| More

'Relation' Trips Over Own Subject Matter

Source | 2009/11/05 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

"The Relation of Face, Mind and Love" is the first installment in the seven-part TV soap-meets-movie series TeleCinema Seven, which brings together top Korean stars and directors and Japanese writers.

Popular Japanese scriptwriter Shizuka Ooishi presents a romantic comedy akin to "Shallow Hal" that attempts to ponder the classic question of how much looks weigh in when it comes to love.

Note the emphasis here is that it "attempts" ― and ends up being no more than a clichéd mess of B-movie parodies, third-rate slapstick and characters who are completely devoid of any graspable personality or appeal.

The only concrete effort the film makes is in whipping up some fancy hardware and props such as expensive sports cars and glitzy interior spaces. The movie thus trips over its own theme and showcases style over substance.

The movie could have been, at best, a mindless diversion for fans of the leading actors, perhaps as a straight-to-DVD p...| More