| Director explores magical realm (Source) |
2010/01/21 |
'The magical arts made the impossible possible, just as CG effects do for film.
James Cameron's masterwork "Avatar" is currently in high favor with moviegoers, but it is not the only movie that's doing well at local box offices. The Korean action flick "Jeon Woo Chi : The Taoist Wizard" has also become a commercial success, attracting more than 5 million viewers in less than a month after its release on Dec. 23.
The movie, which is based on the classic Korean novel "Jeon Woo Chi", may not have the spectacular special effects and computer graphics that Avatar does, but the imaginative story featuring a legendary Korean anti-hero seems to be attracting moviegoers, critics say.
Director Choi Dong-hoon, 39, who is known for movies such as "The Big Swindle" (2004) and "The War of Flower" (2006), said in a recent interview that with Jeon Woo Chi, he wanted to show something different from his previous works. Following are excerpts from a recent interview with Choi.
Q. Your previo... |More
|
|
| 'Fantasy of Korea Key to Drawing Global Audience' (Source) |
2010/01/11 |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea doesn't seem to spark the imagination of North Americans, and this partly explains why Korean films are not popular there, observed an award-winning filmmaker.
Choi Dong-hoon, 39, director of the latest box-office hit "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard", said that the lack of information about Korea makes it difficult for Korean filmmakers to be successful at the Western box office.
"North Americans know that Korea is part of Asia. Compared with Japan and China, however, Korea has little to appeal to the people there", Choi said in an interview with The Korea Times last Thursday at his office in southern Seoul.
By Monday, more than four million moviegoers had flocked to see his latest movie that deals with superhero Jeon Woo Chi. The critically acclaimed film, based on a Korean folktale, marked the third consecutive box-office hit produced by Choi.
Choi made his filmmaking debut in 2004 with "The Big Swindle", a thriller that drew ... |More
|
|
| [PREVIEW] Film "WOOCHI" (Source) |
2010/01/05 |
A scene from film "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist WizardWOOCHI" [Zip Cinema]
"JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard" is the sole Korean movie on the local box office which will be up to par for competition against the recent rush of some of Hollywood's most anticipated films. The collaboration between director Choi Dong-hoon of hit films "The Big Swindle" and "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War of Flower") and the cast composed of Kang Dong-won, Kim Yoon-seok and Im Soo-jeong is already enough to catch the eye of the moviegoers. But the plot in which character Woochi (played by Kang Dong-won) comes to life in modern day Korea for the first time in 500 years to fight off his opponen... |More
|
|
| "WOOCHI" sets box office record on opening day (Source) |
2009/12/24 |
Movie poster for "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard" [CJ Entertainment]
Korean movie "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard" set a Korean box office record on its opening day, according to the film's distributor CJ Entertainment on Thursday.
The movie -- shown on 597 screens around the country -- attracted 201,682 viewers on December 23, the highest opening-day figure set by a Korean movie which opened this year.##
It surpasses the opening-day admission records previously set in July by "Take Off" and the year's biggest blockbuster "Haeundae", which drew 120,000 and 194,000 viewers, respectively.
"The biggest advantage of 'JEON WOO CHI : The ... |More
|
| |
| Sold to 9 countries, 'Jeonwoochi' sets to dominate box office (Source) |
2009/11/16 |
"JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard" has been sold to 9 countries. It is due to release in December. Stars in the film industry gathered together to make the movie. It was produced by director Choi Dong-hoon famous for "The War of Flower" and "The Big Swindle" and it starred actors such as Kim Yoon-seok, Kang Dong-won, Im Soo-jeong, Yoo hae-jin and Yeom Jeong-ah.
Its production cost of around 10 billion won has become hot news. Its 5 min promotion film was unveiled on Nov. 4, the opening day of the 30th American Film Market (AFM). It is one of the biggest film markets in the world. The film alone was enough to make possible pre sale of its full version to a total of 9 countries including 4 from Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) and China as well as East Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
This achievement was meaningful given that the pre-sale was made with good conditions attached amid falling exports of Korean films. Moreover the de... |More
|
|
|
