Andy Lau (劉德華)

2008/04/25 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Korea is increasingly becoming an important film market ― ranking sixth and seventh in the world in terms of audience size and ticket sales, respectively, according to the Korean Film Council.

Last week, the Asia junket for the anticipated blockbuster "Iron Man" took place in Seoul ― the second big Hollywood event to be held here the one for since last summer's "Transformers".

In international film festivals, more and more Korean filmmakers and actors are stealing the limelight, notably actress Jeon Do-yeon (2007 Cannes Best Actress) and directors Kim Ki-duk (2004 Best Director awards at both Venice and Berlin), Park Chan-wook (2004 Cannes Grand Prix) and Im Kwon-taek (2002 Cannes Best Director, 2007 Dubai Lifetime Achievement Award).

Local production companies and investors are now out to play in the big league. Last year, Shim Hyung-rae's "D-War" marked the first widely released Korean film in the United States, while domestic ...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/03/27 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 28th in a series of essays by a select group of scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed.

Ahn Seong-gi seems perennially calm and collected. A gentle smile on his face, he does not raise his voice even when he talks about the turbulent developments pummeling the Korean cinema in recent months. But his concerns are genuine because, in his view, the local film industry is in deep trouble and the future outlook remains gloomier than ever.

Ahn's perspective about the current state of Korean movies and filmmakers is hard to be discounted. The list of films in which he played a key role in the 1990s alone include "Two Cops" (1993), "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994), "Festival" (1996), "The Soul Guardians" (1998) and "Nowhere to Hide" (1999).

In the 2000s, he starred...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/03/25 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The star-studded cast and crew of "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon" saw the world premiere of the Korean film project Monday at CGV Yongsan Theater in central Seoul. Superstars Maggie Q and Andy Lau and directors Daniel Lee and Sammo Hung sent a buzz through the city as reporters and fans gathered for the exclusive event before its release across Asia.

Korea and China bring an ambitious war epic inspired by "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The 600-year-old epic novel by Luo Guangzhong is one of the most important literary pieces in China and is also a classic read in Korea.

The film marks many firsts and challenges for the makers. Korea's Taewon Entertainment, which handled sales and post-production scripting, calls it a "global" project that goes beyond being a Korea-China collaboration. It is aimed for wide release outside of Asia.

"We spent a really long time", said director Lee, the martial arts maestro of films like "Dragon Sq...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2008/02/05 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The CGI Center construction project that Gwangju City is vigorously promoting in line with Asia's central cultural-city construction project is starting to take shape. It is expected to spur the growth of Gwangju's cultural-contents industry.

CGI (Computer-generated Image) is a technology that produces images that do not really exist, used as special effects in movies, animations, and games. Shown in recent movies like , , and , it is currently in the limelight as a core technology that will lead the future video contents industry.

CGI Center will be constructed in Nam-gu, Gwangju, with a total investment of KRW34 billion, including KRW26 billion in national expenditures. As the order for its design has been placed within the first half of this year, its construction is expected to be completed by 2010. For its major facilities, it will be equipped with international-standards project production facilities, including a production studio, a motion capture studio, a VR studio, and ...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

2007/12/27 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

- Strategic casting to target Asian market based on the popularity of the Korean Wave.
- Jang Dong-gun, Ha Jeong-woo, Song Hye-kyo are the first ones to make their debut in Hollywood as the main casts of American film.

One after another, an increased number of Korean stars, including Jang Dong-gun, "Rain", Lee Byeong-Heon, Jeon Ji-hyeon, Park Joon-hyung and Song Hye-kyo, had been cast in American films.

But, why would Hollywood be interested in Korean stars?

According to the analysis produced by the Film Promotion Committee, the average annual film marketing growth in America from 2000 to 2005 had been around 31,6 billion dollars. Comparing it against England (2nd – 5,2 billion) and Japan (3rd – 4,6 billion), the American market is approximately 6 time larger, the biggest market in the world. In particular, the film industry had been dramatically advanced and countless American actors are being already appearing in their films. Therefore there's seems no suitable reason t...

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?