Shim Hyung-rae (심형래)

Fajr Film Fest Hosts Korean Retrospective

Source | 2009/01/14 | Permalink |

Iran's major annual film event, the 27th Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF), held in Tehran, will showcase a retrospective of contemporary Korean films. 13 features produced from the years 2000 through 2008 will screen in the Persian capital, January 30 to February 10, 2009.

Along with the retrospective, JEON Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil" (2007) was selected in the line-up of the Asian Cinema competition section. It will vie alongside North Korean film "A School Girl's Diary" by JAN In-hak and 11 other features from across Asia.

Among selections in the retrospective are titles such as PARK Chan-wook's "JSA - Joint Security Area" (2000), BAEK Woon-Hak's "Tube" (2003), KIM Ji-woon's "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" (2008), JOO Kyeong-joong's "A Little Monk" (2002), and SHIM Hyung-rae's "D-War" (2007).

In previous year's a number of Korean films have won awards at FIFF, including YOON Jong-chan's "Blue Swallow", which won the Best Screenplay award for Asian Cinema ...| More

'D-War' Producer Ordered to Return W500 Million to Investor

Source | 2008/11/17 | Permalink |

The producers of "D-War", a fantasy blockbuster that topped South Korea's box office in 2007, have broken a distribution contract with a local investor and should return its money, a court said Monday.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled against Younggu Art Entertainment, run by movie director and comedian Shim Hyung-rae, saying it signed double contracts for D-War's distribution at home and abroad in 2006 and should now pay back 500 million won ($352,112), according to Yonhap News.

The plaintiff, whose name was withheld, signed a 720 million won contract with Younggu Art for exclusive rights to distribute the movie to theaters and TV stations and for home video in and outside the country on behalf of the producers.

The investor provided a first tranche of 500 million won, but before the outstanding amount was cleared, Younggu Art signed a contract with another investor, commissioning it to carry out home video and other sales.

With regard to the termination of the earli...| More

"The Good, the Bad, the Weird" strikes gold

Source | 2008/07/23 | Permalink |

The fight and race over what is believed to be a valuable map - titled "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" (Joheun Nom, Nappeun Nom, Isanghan Nom) - entered cinemas with its guns drawn and left its competition behind in clouds of gunfire. The kimchi western dug up treasure when it surpassed the 2 million landmark in its opening weekend. Its distributor CJ Entertainment announced on Monday morning a total of 2,186 million viewers since its release on Thursday July 17.

Director KIM Ji-woon's US$ 17 M star vehicle (LEE Byeong-heon, SONG Kang-ho, and JEONG Woo-seong) grossed US$ 14 million over the weekend alone. "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" recorded the third highest opening day with 400,000 tickets. Top opener in Korea is SHIM Hyung-rae's "D-War" (470,000) and BONG Joon-ho's "The Host" (Gwemool) comes second (450,000). "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" is with "The Host" the fastest film to reach 2 million spectators, namely four days.

"The Good, the Bad, the Weird" outperforms this yea...| More

Filmfest offers a summer haven for indie fans

Source | 2008/07/17 | Permalink |

Sultry summer days drive people to seek shelter.

Getting a comfy seat at an air-conditioned movie theater is a fine choice; watching indie-style films is an excellent choice.

The second annual Nextplus Summer Film Festival is targeting those who want some cinematic relief from the sizzling weather. Nextplus will kick off on July 25, featuring 220 films that tend to push the artistic envelope on the silver screen.

"Although art-house films do not attract a huge crowd in Korea, we believe that such high-quality movies deserve an important place in the country's culture industry", said Korean Film Council deputy director Shin Sung-min at a news conference Tuesday.

The filmfest, jointly organized by the Korean Film Council and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, will be held in the Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi areas from July 25 through Aug. 7, while theaters in other areas are scheduled to join the festival Aug. 1-14.

Unlike other festivals that involve only a handful of thea...| More

The Chaser Top Winner at Grand Bell Awards

Source | 2008/07/01 | Permalink |

Hit thriller, "The Chaser", the top Korean film at the box office for the first half of 2008, was also tops last Friday at the nation's annual film awards fest, the 45th Daejong (Grand Bell) film festival, held in southern Seoul. Director NA Hong-jin's debut feature picked up six awards including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography and Actor for KIM Yoon-seok).

Actor KIM, known for numerous supporting roles, won for his first lead performance as the cop-turned-pimp who is hot on the trail of a serial-killer played by the equally gifted HA Jeong-woo. KIM also won the BMW Popularity award at Daejon. "The Chaser" went on to captured the Best Production award as well.

The Best Actress award went to KIM Yoon-jin for her role in another successful thriller, "Seven Days", a tale of kidnapping and blackmail. KIM is known to American audiences for her role in the hit TV sevies "Lost", for which she has also won acting awards. The fast-paced plot-twister also won awards for Best...| More