| Kim Jeong-eun Finds New Meaning in Life Through Cookery (Source) |
2010/03/06 |
Kim Jeong-eun used to be one of the best actresses in romantic comedies. From "Marrying the Mafia", which drew 5.2 million spectators in 2002, to TV series "Lovers in Paris", which hit peak viewers' rating of 57.4 percent in 2004, Kim played the role of cute, adorable girls to perfection.
But just three or four years ago her image began to change. Her new film "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" is part of that development. It is her first outing on the big screen in two years since "Forever the Moment".
"Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" is about world class chefs fiercely competing to find the true taste of kimchi to gain control of a restaurant. Kim plays one of them, a woman who puts on a cold-hearted mask while trying to hide her broken heart.
Kim was given intensive cookery training for the part. "I started with little details like how to hold knives and how to prepare ingredients. I cut five radishes a day in order to get comfortable with knife", she recalls.
Kim experienced pers... |More
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| Pre AFM Success for Film Version of TV Hit IRIS (Source) |
2009/12/04 |
| "Iris", the film version of the TV show currently taking Korea by storm has had commiserate success pre selling to a number of territories ahead of this year's AFM. Staring the rapidly ascending international star LEE Byeong-heon, the TV version is currently garnering ratings of more than 30%. The show itself is also about to play in Japan and other Asian countries. The new sales come amongst a successful Korean film industry year that for some harkens back to the days of the Korean Wave when films like "My Sassy Girl" (2001) put Korean pop culture on the map for much of the world. More recent success was evident with the titanic Haeundae, which sold to a number of territories overseas and broke box office records domestically. Other Korean actors like Gianna JUN have been seen in international productions, directors such as KIM Ji-woon are directing international productions and the International Film Festival of Marrakech will play 44 Korean films as part of a Korean film retrosp... |More
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| Incredible 'Hong's' Offers Comedy, Action (Source) |
2009/11/19 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
"Descendants of Hong Gil-dong" ("Hong's Family Business" - working title) by Jeong Yong-ki, who directed the second and third installments of the "Marrying the Mafia" series, brings yet another family slapstick that provides bona fide lighthearted entertainment.
Earlier this year, mid-budget films such as "Speedy Scandal" have shown that good old humor rooted in witty ideas can prevail. "Hong's" relies on classic formulas ― a cast of endearing actors playing quirky characters, B-movie humor that retains a certain uniformity in the internal logic of the film and an adeptly crafted mise-en-scene that shows that mind boggling spectacles aren't crucial to a fulfilling audiovisual experience.
The Hongs are the perfect model family ― Mu-hyeok (played by the popular Lee Beom-soo), a darling high school music teacher, and his cheerful student-cum-younger brother Chan-hyeok have a respected professor for a father and a mother who exemplifies ... |More
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| Convergence of movie and TV drama continues to evolve (Source) |
2009/11/05 |
Simultaneous production of drama and its theatrical version increases efficiency
Generalization of digital shooting breaks down barriers of human resources & technology
Respect of different ways of producing broadcast programs and movies brings higher efficiency
Combination of movie & TV drama continues to evolve. Exchange between Chungmuro, Korean equivalent to Hollywood, and Yeo-ui-do, hub of broadcasting networks, was born as filmmakers produced TV dramas and drama PDs made movies. The exchange has brought the boom of 'Cross Over' such as 'TV Movie' and 'Theatrical Version'. Recently, there is an increasing number of works whose two versions as TV drama and movie were simultaneously made even in the stage of planning. The film and broadcasting industries expect this kind of 'format convergence' to be a chance to increase efficiency and quality in each genre and call for thorough preparedness based on understanding of features that each medium has.
◇'IRIS'
◆S... |More
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| "My Girlfriend is an Agent" Captivates Viewers' Hearts (Source) |
2009/05/12 |
The Korean comedy movie "My Girlfriend is an Agent" (directed by Sin Tae-ra and produced by Harimao Pictures) is off to an impressive start.
The production costs of "My Girlfriend is an Agent" amounted to 4.2 billion won, which is quite a lofty amount given the low-budget trend these days. But just 19 days since its opening, it has already drawn more than 2.4 million viewers – the break-even point, according to the production company's estimates.
Since week one, "My Girlfriend is an Agent" has maintained its edge even despite a number of Hollywood blockbusters that opened, including "Knowing", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Star Trek XI". During the third week, it even beat Park Chan-wook's "Thirst", which drew significant media attention.
The stellar performance of "My Girlfriend is an Agent" is even more impressive because, despite all odds, it has gained recognition for its outstanding quality.
The film's director Sin Tae-ra has released only two commercial films so far... |More
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