Oasis (Movie - 2002)

HONG Sang-soo casts MOON So-ri

Source | 2009/06/12 | Permalink |

2002 Venice Film Festival's Best actress winner MOON So-ri will challenge herself this time with a leading role in director HONG Sang-soo's next project. Details about HONG's film are sparse. The celebrated indie director is known for improvisation, writing and rewriting while filming.
 
KIM Sang-kyeong has been cast in the male leading role. It will be KIM's third film with HONG after "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate" in 2002, and "Tale of Cinema" in 2005. KIM also worked with directors like BONG Joon-ho ("Memories of Murder") and KIM Ji-hoon ("May 18").
 
HONG's latest feature film "Like You Know it All" was invited by Festival de Cannes. HONG's films are conveted by film festivals around the world. He garnered acclaim from his first films "The Day a Pig Fell into a Well" and "The Power of Kangwon Province" on.
 
MOON So-ri is well known for her acting skills which attracted LIM Soon-rye ("Forever the Moment") and KIM Tae-yong ("Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Fa...| More

Korean Filmmakers to Appear at Cannes

Source | 2009/04/24 | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Top Korean movie directors have been invited to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival running from May 13 to 24.

The festival delegation announced the list of this year's competitors and jury members Thursday through the festival's official Web site ― they included Koreans Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong.

According to the list, Park's "Thirst" will vie for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded to competing films at the event. This is the second time that one of Park's films has been nominated, the first being "Old Boy" in 2004. The movie won the Grand Prix at Cannes that year. The thriller "Thirst" tells the story of a priest who becomes a vampire and falls in love with his friend's wife. It's slated for release here on April 30.

"I've worked on experimental works, even in the past, when people worried about the local movie industry, and I'm happy that my hard work has been recognized", Park said.

Fellow filmmaker...| More

CJ Ent. Makes Waves at HK FILMART

Source | 2009/04/16 | Permalink |

The film sales arm of Korean major CJ Entertainment did brisk business at the Hong Kong FIILMART, closing deals on a slew of titles including pre-sales for its big-budget disaster film "Haeundae" going to Indonesia's VSG for rights over Malaysia, Singapore and home territory.

The Busan-set CGI driven film about a tsunami that hits the popular Korean beach resort of Haeundae, boasts a top cast of SEOL Kyeong-gu ("Oasis"), HA Ji-won ("Duelist"), PARK Joong-hoon ("Radio Star"), and UHM Jung-hwa ("Princess Aurora"). JK Youn (Yoon Je-kyoon - "Miracle on 1st Street") directs with Hollywood master Hans Ulrich (Star Wars 4 & 5, The Day After Tomorrow) supervising CGI.

"Haeundae" also sold to Indo Overseas along with KIM Ji-woon western "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" for India. CJ also sold KANG Woo-seok thriller "Public Enemy Returns" to Palisades Tartan for the US and UK, and JEON Yoon-soo's erotic period drama "Portrait of a Beauty" to UniArt for Japan. CJ also signed an agreemen...| More

Moon So-ri returns to her salad days

Source | 2008/09/25 | Permalink |

Moon So-ri, an award-winning Korean actress, was a single when she joined the cast for "Sa-kwa", a movie about relationships, marriage and reunion.

While the release date for the film, directed by Kang Yi-kwon, was put back again and again, Moon got married and her perspective about the movie also changed.

Because of the long delay, Moon expressed her special feelings about the film when she joined the press screening of "Sa-kwa" in Seoul on Wednesday.

"It's overwhelming", Moon said. "There are so many good memories and stories about this movie, but I felt a sense of helplessness when the release got delayed".

Moon said the much-awaited movie would bring back the younger image she had in her debut film "Peppermint Candy" (2000). "The image in 'Sa-kwa' is different from how I am today, and I felt as if I was watching myself from the days when I was in 'Peppermint Candy'. I was certainly not sophisticated back then", Moon said.

"Sa-kwa", whose Korean title can be interpret...| More

LEE Chang-dong on poetry, women, and maturity

Source | 2008/09/05 | Permalink |

Internationally revered writer/director LEE Chang-dong is writing the scenario for his fifth film which he will be producing as well. The film is titled "Si" (English translation: "poetry") and the project has been selected for Pusan International Film Festival's Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP).

"Si" chronicles the story of a woman of age who lives with her grandson. She writes her first poem for her grandson. Filming is scheduled to start at the end of the year and the highly anticipated film should be in cinemas next year.

LEE's previous film "Secret Sunshine" also revolved around a woman and a boy, her son. The film earned critical acclaim at international film festivals and JEON Do-yeon was crowned Best actress at Festival de Cannes 2007 for her leading role in "Secret Sunshine". MOON So-ri won the Marcello Mastroianni award for her role in LEE's "Oasis" at the Venice Film Festival in 2002.

LEE started out as a novelist before writing film scenarios. He debuted as a director...| More