Marathon (Movie - 2004)

Another side to Empress Myeongseong

Source | 2009/08/26 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Film focuses on her possible love affair

Empress Myeongseong of the Joseon Dynasty is one of the most talked-about figures in Korean history due to her extraordinary life, which was highlighted by political ambition and tragic death.

So it's no wonder that she's been at the center of various productions such as the acclaimed musical "The Last Empress" and the 2001 hit TV series "Empress Myeongseong".

A new film to be released late next month is tackling her story again, with a twist.

The movie, called "The Sword with No Name", examines the life of the empress through the lens of a love affair between her and a bodyguard.

"The productions depicting the life of Empress Myeongseong so far have shown the charismatic side of her, but I think there must have been a soft side to her, because she was a woman after all", Kim Mi-hee, the producer of the film, said during a press conference Tuesday.

"In the film, we focused on the more personal aspects of the life of the empres...| More

Soo-ae and Jo Seung-woo in royal drama

Source | 2009/08/14 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Director KIM Yong-gyoon cast Soo-ae as Chosun era queen Myeong-seong in his period drama "The Sword With No Name". Jo Seung-woo will play the queen's bodyguard.

The film is a combination of action, drama, and romance. The film is scheduled to enter Korean cinemas in September this year.

Soo-ae lead the cast of LEE Joon-ik's "Sunny" and starred alongside LEE Byeong-heon in "Once in a Summer". Jo played the lead in box office hit "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and played a mentally challenged man in "Marathon". KIM previously directed horror film "Red Shoes" and "Wanee and Junah".

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)...| More

In the movie industry, does digital film making prevail?

Source | 2009/07/28 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Hosted by the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK) and Kodak Korea a forum on film making will be held at Cinematheque of the Korea Film Archive (KOFA), Sangam-dong in Seoul on Aug. 5 at 3 p.m.
With the theme of 'Film vs. Digital, which one should be adopted for Korean film making?', the forum will cover strengths and weaknesses of existing ways of film production and those of digital production and room for improvement as well as forecasting production format of Korean films.
With the theme of 'Suggestion of a Format for Efficient Film Making and Film Story' Oh Sang-min, Chairman of the Education Department at PGK will deliver speech on merits of films and characteristics of alternative films and Super 16 mm films at the first section of the forum at 3 p.m.

The second section at 4: 10 p.m. will be participated by PD Lim Chung-guen ("Seven Days"), PD Yang Jong-gon ("Baby and I"), and PD Shin Chang-hwan ("Marathon") as panelists with the theme of 'Where should the format of Korean film ...| More

Real Army Role for Actor Jo Seung-woo

Source | 2008/12/16 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Jo Seung-woo, a musical star of "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Man of La Mancha" who also starred in a number of popular movies such as "The War of Flower" and "Running Boy" ("Marathon"), entered the Nonsan Training Center on Monday afternoon.

Jo kept the date secret because he "wanted to start his military duty quietly". Jo said he will be alright, waved and smiled at those who saw him off in front of the Training Center.

Jo is one of the most sought-after musical actors in Korea. After he finished shooting "The Sword with No Name" at the end of November, Jo cut his hair short.

Those who bought tickets to Tuesday's show of musical "Jekyll and Hyde" at the LG Art Center in Seoul can still see him, as interviews of actors and actresses from the show will be screened as a celebration of the 300th rendition of the musical since 2004, when Jo first took up the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde role.

In an interview conducted before entering the army, Jo said, "I can't believe 'Jekyll and Hyde'...| More

Real life hero of the Korean movie 'Marathon', Bae Hyeong-jin

Source | 2008/11/27 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Bae is autistic but he completed a marathon race within three hours and became the youngest Korean to finish a triathlon. He is the real-life hero of the 2005 blockbuster "Marathon" watched by five million Koreans. He was busy with events and interviews for three to four years following the movie, which gave him extreme stress. His hair fell out, he suffered fits and went through physical changes. He is no longer running marathons. He and his mother are trying to expand the scope of his life, which has been lonely and tough up to now. His mother wants him to live an enjoyable life. In the past, she tried to first and foremost find a job for him to settle him down in society. She also tried to let him stand on his own.

But it wasn't easy. He managed to work at a company but he didn't receive the proper wages. The company's excuse was that government subsidies had decreased. Bae ultimately left his workplace of four years last year and he looked for another job, but most firms were on...| More