Choi Dong-hoon (최동훈)

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

CHOI Dong-hoon, the director of the major hit films "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and "The Big Swindle" is preparing his next project with the assistance of IM Soo-jeong and KANG Dong-won.

KANG is set to play an undisciplined womanising Taoist from the Joseon era (the name of Korea previous to the Japanese occupation) who ends up in present day Korea, causing mayhem with his knack for magic. IM will play a double role, portraying a Joseon woman and an aspiring actress in contemporary times.

KIM Yoon-seok will reunite with CHOI after their collaboration on "Tazza:The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower"), KIM will be fighting against KANG's character. KIM is currently highly successful with his leading role in NA Hong-jin's The Chaser.

CHOI is also responsible for the scenario and will start directing from August. The film will enter cinemas in 2009.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...

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2008/05/01 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Director Choi Dong-hoon of "The Big Swindle" and "The War of Flower" has a new movie "Jeon Woo-chi Story", starring Kang Dong-won, Im Soo-jeong, Kim Yoon-seok, and Yoo Hae-jin.

This movie tells the story of a Joseon Taoist Jeon Woo-chi, who comes into the present-day world and faces a ghost that confuses the world. It is based on a Joseon novel with the same name. It copies "Hong Gil-dong Story" and tells the heroism of Jeon Woo-chi, who was a real Taoist. The movie put the background in today's time and gives it a new feeling. Director Choi is in charge of the screenplay and the adaptation.

Kang Dong-won plays the young Jeon Woo-chi, who excels in Taoist magic but is more concerned with elegance and women than self-discipline. He has played serious characters in the past, but he will be showing a new image through this movie. Im Soo-jeong plays the woman Jeon Woo-chi loved in the Joseon era, and a coordinator who wants to be an actress.

Kim Yoon-seok, who played the evil, gre...

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2008/01/07 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

"What is the interrelationship between the naming value of a star and the number of audience?"

In conclusion, the interrelationship is inverse proportion according to the trend in 2007 box-office success in Korean film industry. Among the 100 movies released this year, only 4 movies had more than 3 million audiences, including "D-War" (8 million), "May 18" (7 million), "Voice of Murderer" (3.25 million) and "Le Grand Chef" which recently reached 3 million.

Among many movies that went into the black, following are those which closely reached the break-even point, including "Miracle on 1st Street" (Im Chang-jeong and Ha Ji-won), "Voice of Murderer" (Seol Kyeong-gu and Kim Nam-joo), "May 18" (Kim Sang-kyeong and Lee Yo-won), "D-War" (Jason Behr), "Paradise 1986" (Park Hae-il and Seong Ji-roo), and "Le Grand Chef" (Kim Kang-woo and Lee Ha-na). Among the 100 movies released this year, only 7% made a profit.

However, all movies that drew attention for top stars' appearance have fa...

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2008/01/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Chun Su-jin

Director Park Chan-wook declared last week that cinema is "growing worse slowly and steadily as time goes by". This film director who earned international acclaim with "Old Boy" (2003) was speaking before the press last Wednesday in support of Seoul Art Cinema which specializes in independent films. What consoles Park is the existence of the Seoul Art Cinema under the Korean Association of Cinematheques.
Park, who won several international festival awards for "Old Boy", including the grand prize at Cannes, is reputed to be the main supporter of the arthouse cinema. His enthusiasm has become the basis for the launch of festivals under the name "Friends of the Cinematheque", which show classic films recommended by directors like Park and other film industry people. Park, who is also the leading organizer of the festival, announced that the the third festival will open next Tuesday, and is slated to run through Feb. 3 at the Seoul Art Cinema in Jongno, central Seoul. ...

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2007/12/30 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The New Year will dawn with a special treat for local cinephiles. It marks "Year Zero", or a fresh new start for Seoul Art Cinema, with the Third Cinematheque Friends Film Festival due Jan. 9-Feb. 3, as well as big plans to revamp Korea's one and only cinematheque or "cinema library".

The upcoming film festival features 29 works from six countries, 12 of which were handpicked by "Friends" of the cinematheque ― Korea's celebrated directors and actors and renowned film critics.

Director Park Chan-wook chose Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Conformist" (1970). "I'm into Italian films so I recommend this one", said the maker of "Old Boy" and the head of "Friends" during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. "This is a film that the Coen brothers watch with their staff before shooting a film, and perhaps I can do the same with my staff for (my upcoming piece) `Bakjwi' ('Bat')".

Choi Dong-hoon, the director of "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War ...

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