Lee Byeong-Heon (이병헌)

2008/04/27 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The world's premier film event, Festival de Cannes, will open for the 61st time May 14-25 in the southern French port city. While there are no Korean entrees this year in the main competition section, five films ― including the world premiere of the anticipated blockbuster "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" ― will shine in other sections of the festival.

"The Good, the Bad, the Weird", directed by Kim Ji-woon, will be shown in the Out of Competition section. This "oriental Western" features exciting horseback races and train rides in vast Mongolian plains.

It stars three of the hottest Korean actors ― hallyu star Lee Byeong-heon (TV soap "All In"), heartbreaker Jeong Woo-seong ("Daisy") and bona fide actor Song Kang-ho ("Secret Sunshine").

The film will receive its own gala event, complete with a red carpet event. It is anticipated to be a big highlight along with the premiere of films like Woody Allen's "Vicky Christina Barcelon...

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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 ...

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

When he was interviewed by The Korea Herald in November 2006, Lee Byeong-heon expressed some doubts about whether he could make it in Hollywood.

His skepticism, which partly reflected his measured approach in entering the world's biggest entertainment market, seems fairly overdone. A string of news items about his Hollywood stint keep coming in, and his acting career is going at a fast clip.

In mid-March, Lee completed his first day of shooting as Storm Shadow in Paramount Pictures' action adventure "G.I. Joe", to be released in October 2008. This week, a couple of photographs have been made public on the Web so that people can see him as one of the most popular characters in the G.I. Joe franchise. Clad in white, Lee seems primed to play a dark, complex character trained by a ninja master.

"G.I. Joe" will mark Lee's full-fledged foray into Hollywood, a crucial development in what has already been a colorful career. Popular in Korea and Japan, Lee has long prepared to broaden ...

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2008/04/24 | 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 33rd 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.

Following is an email interview with Tom Larsen, president of YA Entertainment, the largest distributor of Korean TV drama DVDs in the United States. - Ed.

The Korea Herald: What is the current market position of Korean TV dramas in the U.S. market? How are they perceived in comparison with mainstream U.S., Chinese and Japanese programming?

Tom Larsen: Like most other TV programming from international markets, Korean TV dramas are generally considered a specialty entertainment niche here in the United States. Having said that, the popularity of Korean TV dramas in the United States has grown dramatically over the past five years. Korean TV dramas are now widely recogni...

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I am in LOVE with Korean Dramas!!!!!!! fighting 2008-04-25 20:47:50

2008/04/24 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

The third week of May traditionally equals one of the most prestigious film festivals. This year's Festival de Cannes will include "I Come with the Rain", LEE Byeong-heon's English language film debut. Director BONG Joon-ho will return to Cannes with his short film "Shaking Tokyo", part of a project titled Tokyo!

LEE Byeong-heon might also feature at Cannes with KIM Ji-woon's "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird" (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom). However, it is still uncertain whether KIM's film will make Cannes, the much sought after film is still in the final stages of production.

After delivering stellar films as "A Tale of Two Sisters" (Janghwa Hongryeon) and "A Bittersweet Life" (Dalkomhan Insaeng), KIM's star-studded "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird" – the lead actors are LEE Byeong-heon, SONG Kang-ho, and JEONG Woo-seong – promises to be a highlight of 2008.

"I Come with the Rain" is directed by Tran Anh Hung who also makes his English language film debut. The Vi...

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