Ha Jeong-woo (하정우)

Tale of Korea's ski jumpers flies onto the big screen

Source | 2009/07/03 | Permalink |

'I think we've come out with an excellent piece worthy of the film's title'.- Ha Jeong-woo

Stories about people struggling against adversity have the power to move us. The effect is often compounded when sports are part of the story, when the characters push against their physical limits to reflect the emotional arc of the narrative. A good example of this kind of film is "Cool Runnings" (1993) based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team to make it to the Winter Olympics.

The Korean take on this story is the soon-to-be-released film "Ski Jump", or "Gukga Daepyo" in Korean, which tells the tale of Korea's largely unknown national ski jump team. The film's Korean title means "the national team".

"I've had this plan to shoot a sports film for quite some time and I thought that the best way to show the difficulties the characters face and overcome would be through the ski jump team", director Kim Yong-hwa said in a press conference Monday in Daechi-dong, southern Se...| More

Summer Action Flicks Are Coming

Source | 2009/06/30 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, big budget Hollywood movies flow in, and many worry about the potential threat to homegrown films. Recent trends, however, suggest that competition is healthy.

"The fact that such a comparison (between national and international franchises) is even possible is unique; there aren't so many countries around the world where domestic films can compete with American ones", Han Seung-hee, researcher at the Korean Film Council, told The Korea Times.

After the turn of the new millennium, the Korean film industry enjoyed rapid growth, with blockbusters rewriting box office history each year. But the market plummeted for the first time last year, and investment and production hit an all time low. Moviegoers even criticized films that fared well at the box office as being formulaic.

So far, 2009 looks better. The success of "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal") opened up a promising new year. Although February and March...| More

CJ to Expand Art House Film Screenings

Source | 2009/06/05 | Permalink |

Korea's exhibition major CJ-CGV will expand the number of screens its multiplex franchise has devoted to art house and independent films from seven to ten. Under a program entitled Movie Collage, CJ-CGV's specialty films team plans to expand the base for diversity films and support the discovery of talented new filmmakers.

CJ-CGV encourages promotion and distribution of local low-budget films through various platforms such as sponsorship of festivals (Cinema Digital Seoul, Pusan Int'l FF) and awards such as the CJ-CGV Korean Film Distribution Award at the Jeonju Int'l FF, which this year went to SIN Dong-il's "Bandhobi".

The exhibitor recently also announced a deal with indie and art house importer and producer Sponge Entertainment to screen a number of Sponge's local independent films. Upcoming or in-release films on the Movie Collage slate include "Boat", starring HA Jeong-woo, HONG Sang-soo's "Like You Know It All" and JEON Soo-il's "Himalaya, Where The Wind Dwells".

...| More

[ChanMi's movie news] "Like You Know It All"

Source | 2009/06/04 | Permalink |

Last May 14th, this film, "Like You Know It All" has been released and has hit 30,424 viewers around the nation. 

It has only hit 25 movie theaters around nation but receiving this many viewers is a miracle!

This artistic film is an entertaining film with wit and humor that has been popular verbally among fans. Many are planning to see this film even a month after its quiet release! There is a never ending laughter for the audience in the theater for this film....| More

[Talk of the town] Josee star sails into town to promote 'Boat'

Source | 2009/05/22 | Permalink |

Japanese actor Satoshi Tsumabuki will be coming to Korea tomorrow.

The star of the 2003 hit film "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish", is stopping by for a two-day visit to promote his new movie "Boat".

The 29-year-old has not been to the country since his last visit four years ago at the Pusan International Film Festival.

Tsumabuki will join his Korean co-star Ha Jeong-woo at press conferences at various locations around Seoul.

"Boat", which was produced by Korea's Kraze Pictures and Japan's IMJ Entertainment, features Ha as Tsumabuki's counterpart.

The film tells the story of two drug smugglers' lives and friendships when they are ordered to kidnap a young woman, played by Cha Soo-yeon.

The Japanese actor took Korean language lessons for three months for his part in the movie and will show off some of his newly acquired language skills when he arrives.

"Boat" will be released next week in Korea. ...| More