How many films can a Korean director put out every year? When the industry is booming, the optimal number might be one, maybe more if they are lucky. When business is sluggish, the number is bound to shrink, and so far 2008 has been a bad year for most Korean filmmakers.
Director
Jeong Yeong-bae has defied the conventional wisdom dramatically. At a time when releasing even one film is regarded as an admirable feat, he is now set to introduce his second film - "
Santamaria" (Jalmot-doen man-nam) - in less than two months after the release of his debut feature, "
Cherry Tomato", in May.
It is all the more surprising when you consider that "
Santamaria", to be released July 10, is not the best candidate for a box-office jackpot. The movie focuses on how two men cope with an emotionally taxing mixture of mistrust, hatred and resentment, even though they were best friends when they were yo...
More"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 failed.
Ko So-young's come back movie, "
Go Go Sister",
Kang Dong-won's "M",
Song Hye-kyo's "
Hwangjin-y - Movie - 2007",
Shin Hyeon-joon's "
Three Kims",
Uhm Jung-hwa and
Han Chae-young's
"Changing Partners" have been rejected by the audiences. Top star,
Kim Tae-hee's 2nd movie "
Venus and Mars" is also having a hard time.
The naming value of directors had also drawn an inverse proportional line with the success of their work. Director
Lee Chang-dong ("
Secret Sunshine"),
Lee Myeong-se ("M") and
Heo Jin-ho (
"Happiness") made their come back but failed to attract audience. On the contrary, ...
MoreBy Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Some fans send presents and letters to their favorite stars, shouting their names and wishing they could get a closer look at them. But little they may know about the special meanings to the names of their favorite stars hold.
"Cover Story", a celebrity gossip program on the "Story On' channel, offered fans the true story hidden behind the names of celebrities last Thursday.
Gong Yoo, heartthrob of the hit drama "
Coffee Prince" created his name by putting together the last names of his ...
MoreThe film "
Secret Sunshine" directed by
Lee Chang-dong has won four prizes in the sixth Korean Film Awards.
In downtown Seoul Saturday, the film earned top honors for best film, best directing and best leading actor and actress.
The award for the best supporting actor went to
Seong Ji-roo for "Paradise Murdered" "
Paradise 1986") and t...
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