Seoul is to become the setting for many international movies. Seoul disclosed that "Seoul Raders", a movie which is being jointly made by Korean and Hong Kong capital, is to be cranked up starting at the end of this month at the earliest, with Seoul as its backdrop. Approximately 90 percent of the shooting is scheduled in Seoul. Casting Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Ren Xian Qi, both popular entertainers in Hong Kong, as an international police officer and a CIA agent in Hong Kong, respectively, this movie tells the story of a counterfeit note plate stolen by Korean gangsters.
The staff of the movie, "Seoul Radars", on location in Seoul, visited Seoul City Hall Wednesday to ask for cooperation. They took a picture with Lee Myung-bak, the mayor of Seoul. From left, Actor Ren Xian Qi, Media Asia Film Chairman Lin jian wei , Mayor Lee, Actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Director Chor-Sing Ma and Korean actress Cho Han-na.
It is quite phenomenal for a major foreign film company to produce a Seoul-related film -- it is the first time to use the name "Seoul" in the film title and to shoot most scenes in Seoul. The shooting is planned mostly for the Gangnam district and its subway stations. Buildings, roads and footpaths will be used as long as shooting does not hinder traffic. The Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation has decided to spare off-service time to cooperate with filmmaking. Seoul expects good publicity will be obtained if Seoul appears as a film backdrop. "Entrapment", which was filmed at the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the tallest building in the world, and the Beach, which was made on location at Pipi Island, Thailand, both attracted large numbers of the tourists to the filming locations, gaining a large profit.
A scene from "Tokyo Radars"
"In order to appear on a movie and drama as background, major cities in the world are fiercely competing. Seoul will join in the competition", said an official at Seoul municipal administration. He added, "We will utilize the Digital Media City (DMC) in earnest, which is being planned to become the center for cutting-edge culture and contents industry such as cartoon animation and symbols at Sangam-dong, Seoul". "Respectively, as a background of movie and research center for film promotion, we will focus on the preparation of Seoul and DMC". "Seoul Radars" is the second volume of "Tokyo Radars", which was filmed back in 2000 in Tokyo. Director Chor-Sing Ma, who made "Hot War", "Fly Me to Polaris" and "Silver Hawk", will take charge of the film production like in the previous volume. Media Asia Films, the filmmaker in charge of this movie, has produced several popular movies so far, such as "Casino Raiders", "The Killer", "Chinese Ghost Story" and "Internal Affairs".
Tony visited Seoul City Hall at 4 p.m. on Wednesday with Director Ma and other film staff. "I will do my best to cooperate with the shooting", said Lee Myung-bak, the mayor of Seoul.
Kim Joon
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