It wasn't an easy decision for Shim Hyung-rae to give up his fame and reputation as a top comedian after being chosen as the most lucrative entertainer in the 1990s, but he couldn't stop himself from taking an audacious chance to become a movie director.
He said he was so fascinated by the potential of sci-fi films, which can appeal to everyone regardless of their nationality, age, ideology and gender.
But after repeated failures, some called his movie business quest stubborn foolishness although some praised his persistence.
In particular, the failure of his movie "Yonggary", the nation's first big-budget science-fiction film that was released in 1999, hit him hard.
But six years have passed since "Yonggary", and Shim finally achieved his ultimate goal -- a wide release in the United States and full-fledged computer-generated graphics with his monster-fest movie "D-War",
Based on a Korean legend, the film tells the story of a huge snake-shaped creature called
"Imoogi", which shows up in Los Angeles and devastates the city in search of a young woman who possesses a hidden power to transform the creature into a powerful dragon.
With "D-War" and its Hollywood cast, Shim began to earn widespread respect. Not only local filmmakers but also foreign distributors had doubted he could complete the film because the project was plagued by rumors of failure.
The budget was also problematic. It cost about $33 million, making "D-War" the most expensive move ever made by a Korean filmmaker.
But the movie turned out to be a success.
The mega-budget D-War, which was shot in Los Angeles, was released in about 1,500 theaters in the United States in Sep. The movie also made $53 million in Korea, the country's fifth-largest-grossing film.
"D-War", a graphics-heavy monster flick, is groundbreaking, in many respects. Its supercharged action sequences have rewritten the history of Korea's computer graphics technology, and its record production budget has generated gasps of envy from other cash-hungry Korean filmmakers.
Some may argue that the local box office success of "D-War" came from marketing tactics that pandered relentlessly to sympathy and national pride. Still, with the undisputable technologies and skills developed for "D-War", Shim plans to make full 3-dimensional animation and help create computer graphics and other local and international films.
Shim is now moving forward with plans for a comedy, "Last Godfather", about an American mafia boss and his illegitimate son born in Korea.
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