Amanda Brooks (아만다 브룩스)

2007/12/24 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The Korean movie industry got off to a shaky start this year, due to the weakened market position of local flicks versus Hollywood blockbusters, but it received a big shining ray of hope from director Lee Chang-dong's thought-provoking drama, "Secret Sunshine".

Jeon Do-yeon, the heroine of "Secret Sunshine", grabbed the prestigious Best Actress award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in May, setting the upbeat tone for the domestic film industry.

The 34-year-old actress won international acclaim for her brave and inspiring depiction of a grieving Korean woman struggling to rebuild her life in a new city in "Secret Sunshine", the first picture in four years by Lee Chang-dong, a former Korean culture minister.

Despite the positive turn on the filmfest front, the local movie market faced increasing pressure this year. Although the market volume of the Korean film industry remains relatively solid, with 104 films released between January and November this year, the number of movieg...

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2007/09/24 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

One week after setting foot in the United States, Dragon Wars ("D-War) currently occupies the 12th slot at the box office, having grossed over 8 million. Considering the number of screens – more than 2000 - this is not exactly a stellar performance. But director Shim Hyung-rae seems to be satisfied with the result. During an interview at the Korean Embassy office in New York, Shim revealed his plans to make a sequel to Dragon Wars.

"Some major companies have seen how Dragon Wars has performed at box office and approached me about making a sequel", Shim said. "I am considering making Dragon Wars 2 and competing with real Hollywood blockbusters in 2009 summer, fair and square".

Dragon Wars is a story of a couple's fight against the Imoogi, Korean mythological creatures. Young Ethan Kendrick (Cody Arens) meets Jack, an antique dealer (Robert Forster) who claims that Ethan is the reincarnation of ancient warrior apprentice Haram who saved his lover Narin from Buraki, an evil Imoogi. ...

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2007/09/11 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

SHIM Hyung-rae's big-budget fantasy blockbuster "D-War" will have its North American premiere at the Egyptian Theater in downtown Hollywood on September 13th under the title Dragon Wars. 400 guests will preview the film before its nationwide release the next day on over 1700 screens, the largest exhibition deal ever for a Korean film in the US. Director SHIM, along with American actors Jason Behr and Amanda Brooks will attend the reception after the premiere screening.

The English-language film, shot primarily in LA, is officially budgeted at US$33 million, making it the most expensive Korean film ever produced. Even so, the actual budget is rumored at more than US$75 million, when costs to develop homegrown CGI technology at SHIM's Younggu Art Studio are included. It was released locally on July 25th, quickly becoming a box office phenomenon, raking in 8.2 million admissions to make it the 5th best selling Korean film of all time.

US distributor, Freestyle Releasing has ...

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2007/09/10 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

This September, a reincarnated ancient Korean warrior and his lover will be fighting an Imoogi (a mythical, dragon-like creature) and its evil army of monsters in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles' Egyptian Theater is going to hold a premier screening of the Korean blockbuster film "Dragon Wars" on September 13th. On the 14th, the movie will be showing nationwide on more than 2000 screens, distributed by Freestyle Releasing.

"Dragon Wars", which was written, produced, and directed by Korean comedian and director Shim Hyung-Rae, has been the biggest summer hit in Korea. Released on August 1st, "Dragon Wars" has grossed over $ 60 million and attracted over 8 million viewers as of September 1. This makes it the fifth biggest hit in Korean film history. The film is also getting noticed for stirring endless debate on various topics, including the quality of film itself, the Korean film making process, and Korean nationalism.

After the box-office failure "Yonggary", Shim dedicated five years...

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2007/08/03 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Snarling against the Los Angeles cityscape, the evil imugi looks sloppily Photoshopped into the frame, as comparatively tiny Ethan (Jason Behr) and Sarah (Amanda Brooks) cower in fear. Provided by Younggu Art
At this point, anyone not living under a rock in Korea must know "D-War" is coming out soon. Ads plaster the sides of buses, monitors in subway stations perpetually play trailers for the movie and even the ticket collectors at movie theaters wear D-War T-shirts. Apparently most of the film's costly budget ― tens of billions of won ― went into its promotion.
Director Shim Hyung-rae should have known better. While promoting "2001 Yonggary", his previous sci-fi flick about a giant destructive reptile, Shim went overboard, proclaiming it would be the first Korean film to meet widespread commercial success in the United States. But Yonggary bombed, big time, and D-War appears to be little more than Yonggary version 2.0.
For one, this new release seems to be suspiciously ...

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