A Battle of Wits (2006) - 묵공 (墨攻) (Mook-gong)

2008/03/27 | 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 28th 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.

Ahn Seong-gi seems perennially calm and collected. A gentle smile on his face, he does not raise his voice even when he talks about the turbulent developments pummeling the Korean cinema in recent months. But his concerns are genuine because, in his view, the local film industry is in deep trouble and the future outlook remains gloomier than ever.

Ahn's perspective about the current state of Korean movies and filmmakers is hard to be discounted. The list of films in which he played a key role in the 1990s alone include "Two Cops" (1993), "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994), "Festival" (1996), "The Soul Guardians" (1998) and "Nowhere to Hide" (1999).

In the 2000s, he starred...

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2007/10/02 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Industry heavyweight CJ Entertainment's President KIM Joo-sung has unveiled the first film project partnership with China Film Group Corp (CFGC), easily the largest movie group in China. The announcement follows on the heels of memorandum of understanding between the two companies, signed in June of 2007. The Korea-China co-production will be a martial arts epic called Thangka, based on a Tibetan Buddhist painting of the same name.

The film is about a Tang Dynasty princess who was married to a Tibetan king and introduced Chinese culture in Tibet. It will be directed by Jacob Chang ("A Battle of Wits)" from a script by Liu Heng, whose Assembly is opening PIFF this year. Shooting is slated for March of next year with a released date in China planned for the Lunar New Year 2009. CJ hopes to complete about two films a year with CFGC.

The two companies, along with Sony Pictures USA, My Space China and Hong Kong studios Media Asia and Emperor Motion Pictures, have also announced ...

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2007/09/28 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

CJ Entertainment has agreed to launch a joint project with China.

The president of CJ says that he signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing with the chief of China's largest film agency, the China Film Group, on the jointly invested production of the film 'Thangka' and another project aimed at fostering young Chinese filmmakers.

The film is about a historical Tang dynasty princess married to a Tibetan king who introduced Chinese culture to Tibet.

'A Battle of Wits' diretor Jacob Chang will produce the film alongside the playwright of 'Assembly', the opening film of this year's Pusan International Film Festival.

Filming will start in March with a planned 2009 release.

The other project to discover and nurture young Chinese filmmakers will be organized by the China Film Group and participated in by CJ, Sony Pictures of the US, Media Asia of Hong Kong and Emperor Pictures....

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2007/09/11 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Featuring Korean beauty KIM Hye-soo on the front cover of its program guide, the 6th annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) wrapped August 30th with closing film "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War Of Flower"). With the film's lead actress KIM striking a glamorous pose, the AFFD program guide proposes calling the film's director CHOI Dong-hoon "Korea's Guy Ritchie".

Running August 23rd to 30th, AFFD featured 25 films of Asian and Asian-American origin. The 'Centerpiece Film' of the festival was Korean-Japanese director SANG Il-lee's "Hula Girls", a heartwarming true story set in a coal mining town in northern Japan. The film was selected by Japan as its submission for the best foreign film category nominations at the Academy Awards.

Award-winning Korean documentary director LEE Ho-sup's "And Thereafter II" screened in a double-bill with "And Thereafter", the first part of his intended trilogy. The films deal with the fates of Korean women who married American G.I'.s. ...

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2007/07/08 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

Super Junior, one of the most popular boy bands in K-pop, is making their big screen debut with the film "Attack on the Pin-up Boys" this month.

At first glance, the film may seem like another "idol movie" meant to show off the charms of Super Junior's good-looking members, rather than their acting ability.

However, Park Jeong-su, the group's leader who is also known as Lee Teuk, said he hopes people would not judge the film as just an "idol movie". "Since we debuted (as a group), we announced we will work not just as singers, but also as MCs and actors. I hope people will get rid of their prejudices a little, and watch us as new actors, not as singers", he said, during the film's press conference at Imperial Palace Hotel in Apgujeong, Thursday.

Since Super Junior is one of most popular groups today, there are a lot of high expectations for the film. The film, with a budget of 850 million won, is the first to be produced by S.M. Enter...

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