Hwangsanbul (Movie - 2003)

Female Film Producer Jung Dies

Source | 2009/05/17 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Jung Seung-hye, the head of movie production company Achim and a famed copywriter, died Sunday from colon cancer. She was 44.

Jung has been suffering from the illness since 2006 and was hospitalized last month after her condition worsened.

"She struggled against the disease, but as the cancer spread to her lungs, her condition got worse", said Lee Joon-ik, director of the hit movie "The King and the Clown" (2005) and Jung's friend of 20 years.

Jung started working in the movie marketing business in 1989 at film company Shin Cine with the film "Happiness Does Not Come From Grades".

She moved to Lee's Cine World and produced numerous films including "The Spy" (1999), "Anarchists" (2000) and "HwangSanBul" (2003).

When the film "The King and the Clown" hit the mark with more than 10 million viewers, she flew solo with her own company Achim in 2005 and continued to produce popular films including "Radio Star" (2006) "Shadows in the Palace (...| More

Lee Joon-ik Casts Soo-ae and Eom Tae-woong

Source | 2007/08/29 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The leading roles for Lee Joon-ik's "Sunny" (Nimeun Meon Gose, English translation: "someone dear is far away") went to Soo-ae and Eom Tae-woong. Soo-ae will play the female lead role. Her character joins an entertainment group bound for Vietnam to entertain military troops, but her real agenda is to search for her husband who serves in Vietnam. The husband will be portrayed by Eom. The film is set during the Vietnam War in the 70s.

Director LEE has been influential with films like: "The King and the Clown", "Radio Star", and "Once upon a Time in a Battlefield" ("Hwangsanbul"). "The King and the Clown" became the most popular Korean film in 2006 and is currently second after BONG Joon-ho's "The Host". "The King and the clown" was a surprise hit when the film went on from a modest release to become a record breaking film through positive word-of-mouth.

Soo-ae starred opposite LEE Byeong-heon in JO Geun-sik's drama "Once in a Summer". Eom played in "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Fa...| More

LEE Joon-ik Explores Love and War

Source | 2007/08/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Celebrated director LEE Joon-ik will next film Nimeun Mon Gose (English translation: "Someone Dear is Far Away"), about a woman who sets out to search for her missing-in-action husband during the Vietnam War. She decides to become a member of an entertainment group lined-up to give shows in Vietnam for soldiers. The melodrama is a co-production between Tiger Pictures and Achim Pictures.

Showbox is involved as the main financer, investing US$ 7 million in the project. Showbox will also be responsible for distribution. Filming will commence in October and the film is scheduled to be released in next year's summer. Casting has not been announced yet.

With Nimeun Mon Gose LEE continues to build a distinctive body of films that explore recurring themes and elements. He often unfolds his stories in the past ("Once upon a Time in a Battlefield" ("Hwangsanbul"), and "The King and the Clown", Nimeun Mon Gose) and like "The King and the Clown", Nimeun Mon Gose will also be a drama dealin...| More

LEE Joon-ik's Joyful Life

Source | 2007/02/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Director LEE Joon-ik has announced his next project, reprising themes from his previous film "Radio Star" (2006). He is currently preparing to shoot "Joyful Life", a nostalgic tale about three unhappy middle-agers who, some 20 years ago, had a room-salon-touring rock band along with a fourth member. Reunited after the funeral of the fourth, they meet the son of their dead friend, and together form a new rock band to escape from their daily doldrums.

The main cast for the male-bonding movie will be JEONG Jin-yeong, star of LEE's mega-hit "The King and the Clown" (2005), KIM Yoo-seok of "Family Matters" (2006) and "The Isle" (2000) and KIM Sang-ho, known for various supporting roles, including in "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and "Between Love and Hate" ("The Unbearable Lightness of Dating") (2006).

Producer-turned-director LEE debuted with the successful "Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield" ("Hwangsanbul")(H (2003) and followed it up with the biggest box-offic...| More

Boys Will Be Boys, Friends Will Be Friends

Source | 2006/10/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Yi Chang-ho
Contributing Writer

What are the best days of your life? For the high school friends in Riverbank Legends it's when they hang out at night on their territory, a bare riverbank; a hard-won place they fought over side by side. For the friends in Radio Star it's when they have nowhere left to go than a remote provincial town, but realize they can still rock and still have their friendship. As the films show: time changes, but boys will be boys and friends will still be friends.

"Riverbank Legends" ("Gangster High")

While in reality Korean high schools are all about studying until late at night, "Riverbank Legends" ("Gangster High") is one of Korean high school films with male protagonists for whom studying is not an issue. They spend their days establishing their names as the toughest fighters, in this case, by proving who rules the riverbank.

Director Jo Beom-goo succeeded in making Riverbank Legends ("Gangster High") an entertaining and fun film without many ...| More