Jason Behr (제이슨 버)

D-War to open in Chinese cinemas

2008/05/15 | Source | Permalink |

SHIM Hyung-rae's "D-War" will receive a wide release in China on May 11. The monster film will screen in hundred Chinese cities, including the major cities Beijing and Shanghai, on 500 screens.

"D-War" was a blockbuster in Korea and the U.S. last year. "D-War" holds the record number of screens for a Korean film in the U.S., namely 2200. The biggest Korean hit in China is BONG Joon-ho's "The Host", another monster film which was released in Chinese cinemas in 2007.

"D-War" is Korea's most expensive film and boasts spectacular special effects. Critics were less enthusiastic, but the film garnered US$ 11 million at the U.S. box office. In Korea, the film attracted seven million viewers. The film is English spoken and stars Hollywood actor Jason Behr. The film was shot in LA and the plot revolves around a legend about dragons who return to present day LA.

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

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Trend in 2007 box-office success in Korean film industry, "The naming value of a star and the number of audience are in inverse proportion"

2008/01/07 | Source | Permalink |

"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...| More

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[Year-end Review : Movies] 'Sunshine' offers hope to Korean cinema in 2007

2007/12/24 | Source | Permalink |

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...| More

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Who Asked for 'Dragon Wars?'

2007/09/15 | Source | Permalink |

South Korea tries their hand at awful American product

Brian Orndorf (briano)

South Korea is a land of unparalleled beauty and rich cinematic language. Now why would they want to screw all that up by making an extraordinarily dreadful fantasy picture to compete in the worldwide film market? The short answer is money (perhaps the only answer), but the reality is that America does just fine making cringingly terrible special-effect extravaganzas, so back off, South Korea!

"Dragon Wars" (or "D-War" for those with less imagination) is a $70 million action spectacle in the vein of "Lord of the Rings" or, more accurately, a monster-budgeted episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". The film takes the viewer into the world of poor CGI and no-talent actors, hoping to weave a tale of mayhem so noisy, crowds won't notice the whole shebang barely makes sense, approaches continuity as a mere suggestion, and features nothing in the way of recognizable excitement.

Certainly kids will t...| More

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D-War Premieres as Dragon Wars in Hollywood

2007/09/11 | Source | Permalink |

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 ...| More

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