|
|
TV Drama "Firebird" to Air in Japan from July
2006-06-29
The MBC TV drama [I]Firebird[/I] starring Eric Moon from the male band Shinhwa, will
air in Japan every Thursday at 8 p.m. on the satellite broadcaster BS Fuji
beginning July 19 .
The Japanese daily "The Sankei Sports" reported June 29 that Firebird recorded
viewer ratings of up to 31.4 percent in Korea and was the last production of the
late actress Lee Eun-ju, who took her life last year at a young age. The daily
predicted that the drama would gain enormous popularity among Japanese female
fans for starring Moon.
Moon plays a scion of a conglomerate who falls in love with Lee's character, a
house maid. But he nearly goes insane with jealousy when he learns about Lee's
ex-husband and his new fiancee. Moon's character lives in self-abandonment
following the death of his twin brother.
The Sankei Sports wrote that the series provides a glimpse of how Moon, known
more as a popular singer at the series' start, transformed into an actor by taking
a challenging role that required exquisite expression of subtle feelings.
BS Fuji said it decided to show the drama at the request of viewers who liked
another TV series starring Moon, The Rookie which has aired in Japan since
October. The broadcaster chose Firebird because it earned Moon MBC's Best New
Actor award in 2004.
c: KBS Global |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
loveinsung This user has been deleted
|
Cho In-sung Oozes Charm in Dirty Carnival
The film Dirty Carnival??? ?? has been getting a lot of attention and good reviews from the press and public. One of the biggest reasons behind the film's success is Korea's all-time favorite "pretty boy" actor Cho In-sung. Despite his clean-cut, handsome looks, he plays a rather rough around the edges gangster in this film. In the movie, he spits out vulgarities and fights like a madman but shows a soft spot for the people he loves. During the press conference, the Teen Times had a chance to meet up with the Dirty Carnival's good luck charm Cho In-sung. So check it out.
?? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??. ? ??? ?? ? ? ??? ?? ? ?? ? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??. ???? ??? ???? ????, ?? ? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??. ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????. ???? ?? ? ???? ??? ??? ? ?? ??? ???? ?????. ?????.
We heard that your popularity has earned you a movie preview in Japan, too.
Cho: I'm very flattered with their attention, but at the same time very nervous . I hope we can build up some common interests.
????? ??? ?? ? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????.
???: ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???. ??? ??? ???? ???? ? ??? ????.
With the soccer fever sky high and your movie coming out, do you feel threatened at all?
Cho: I'm more scared of the foreign films than the World Cup. I hope everyone supports our domestic films , including my new film.
????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?????. ??? ??? ????
(???: ????? ????? ? ????. ?? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???, ?? ?? ???? ?? ?????.)
You've always played the role of a rich family's son. However, the image is very different this time. Which part do you think fits you more?
Cho: I can't say which role I feel more comfortable in. As an actor, I think I should feel comfortable portraying both characters. I hope I look natural in every role I play. By the way, it's not my voice trembling , it's the mike not working well (laughs).
???? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????. ??? ??? ???? ?? ???. ?? ??? ???? ? ??????
???: ?? ?? ??? ? ???? ? ? ? ???. ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????. ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???. ??? ? ???? ??? ? ???, ???? ? ??? ?? ???. (??)
Have you ever tasted the bitterness of life?
Cho: A few years ago, during the early stages of my acting career. Then I filmed What Happened in Bali???? ?? ?, which opened the door to a lot of other things I wanted to do. Now, I can look back with a smile.
credit to : wiwi site |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Originally posted by jelly_manis2611 at 28-6-2006 04:41 PM
boleh ke letak synopsis kat sini..kalau X bleh jgn marah ahhhh!!!
memang pon tak bleh!!!...wakakakak...ni updates bukannya outdates...kekkekeek
:nerd:  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
06-29-2006: Song Yun Ah, Lee Dong Wook
'Arang' Interesting But Falls Short
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
A new movie "Arang" takes its main theme from one of the most popular Korean folk tales, "Arang Tale," and develops it into a mixture of horror and thriller with a modern touch.
While maintaining the gist of the original tale, about the agony of a sorrowful ghost, the familiar tale is suitably changed for the present.
Song Yun-a stars in the film "Arang."
As the film offers its audiences clues behind a series of tragic accidents, it also attempts to invite them to an interesting game of "whodunit."
But, as the film has a few flaws in story development, it ends up getting stuck somewhere between an unsuccessful horror and thriller.
In the original tale, county governors die strangely, one after another, a few days after taking positions in a town in Milyang, North Kyongsang Province. A young and brave governor who is newly dispatched to the town after the series of mysterious deaths decides to investigate and finds out that they were killed by a female ghost who haunted them. Yet, he learns her visit was to ask for help in settling a grudge.
A maid for a noble family, she was raped and killed by one of the sons. The governor catches and punishes the murderer and has her body buried properly.
In the film, the brave governor is adapted into a tough female detective, So-young, (played by Song Yun-a), who investigates a serial murder case.
While tackling the case with her partner, she finds that those murdered received e-mails from the same sender before they were killed. So-young and her partner link the mail to a blog, 'Min-jung's Salt Storehouse.'
The investigation reveals the victims were friends and involved in a violent death 10 years ago, but only one of them was jailed.
The four friends raped a girl named Min-jung in a salt storehouse, and when her boyfriend tried to stop them, they beat him to death.
But the mystery regarding the serial murders is still unsolved as Min-jung's ghost is always accompanied by the ghost of a little girl. And the film enters a new phase as So-young's tragic memory of being raped is revealed and overlapped with Min-jung's sorrow.
Overall, the film is an interesting attempt in itself and it could've produced a successful result satisfying both horror and thriller film buffs, but only if it had a slightly more well-organized buildup and tactful revelations.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
06-29-2006 17:23
Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...17233511700.htm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 29, 2006: Ko So Young
Surprising Comeback of a Reserved Star
The first prejudice people have against actress Ko So-young is that she is a trend-surfer. The second is that she is a snob who will marry into the owner family of one of Korea's big conglomerates. She shrugs off the first, declaring herself "oblivious" to trends. But the other charge clearly rankles. "I just can't cope with that. I want a man who is ordinary and takes good care of his family, and who stays faithful to me his whole life," she says.
Back after a hiatus since her 2002 movie "Double Agent," Ko is promoting the new horror movie "Apartment," due out on July 6. The Chosun Ilbo caught up with her at a caf |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 29, 2006
Matching Hairstyles for Your Facial Shape
If the same hairstyle creates different impressions depending on who wears it, it's because of the facial shape of the wearer. Long hair can softly frame triangular faces with high cheekbones like football player Cho Jae-jin, but the style will make those with a rather wide nose ridge and chubby cheeks like actor Park Joong-hoon look square-faced.
In short, match hair to face, and you're on to a winner. Cho Jae-jin now has plenty of women fans who admire him, but he once had a different hairstyle and fewer admirers. The Chosun Ilbo has these tips for finding the right hairstyle for your face.
Clockwise from left: Park Jung-hoon, Joo Jih-hoon, Shin Jung-hwan, Kwon Sang-woo, Jo
In-sung, Ahn Jung-hwan, Kim Min-jun, Gam Woo-sung, Lee Jun-ki and Cho Jae-jin
The fringe
The fringe matters more for men than women. When it covers the forehead at a slight angle, like actor Joo Jih-hun's, it creates a softer impression. When it covers just half of your forehead, as with singer Shin Jung-hwan, it makes people look younger. When you straighten a long fringe with the help of hair styling products like actor Kwon Sang-woo in the soap opera "Stairway to Heaven," it creates a sophisticated look.
A hair designer at 3Story by Kang Seong-woo said this summer will see the so-called "Leon" hairstyle which requires short cuts to leave only 9 mm of hair at the fringe. The hairstyle can make one look rather old as it explicitly reveals the facial shape but is good at creating a masculine image. The actor Jo In-sung in the movie "A Dirty Carnival" is an example. However, the hairline hair needs to be in a natural M shape rather than a straight line, and dexterous cutting is needed not to spoil the peak.
High cheekbones?
"If you have high cheekbones, it makes you look better if your hair slightly covers your facial shape, with long hair on the sides, at the back or behind your ears, like football player Cho Jae-jin or singer Shin Jungn-hwan, rather than having short cuts or combing your hair backwards," a hair designer at Lee Chul Hair KerKer advises. Don't have your fringe cut in a straight line, because that rather emphasizes your facial shape. It needs to come in a round shape or asymmetric and natural shape. If you have hollow cheeks, grow a mustache.
Why the long face?
"The layered cut which Lee Jun-ki often wears makes long faces look even sharper," a hair stylist at Miseen Scene cautions. The voluminous layered cut which Bae Yong-joon sported in his mega hit soap "Winter Sonata" is fine for those long faces. Actor Kim Min-jun's long hairstyle with a layered cut on the sides, and football player Ahn Jung-hwan's curly long hairstyle distract attention from the face and suit those with sharp features well.
A round face
When those with round faces have their fringe cut in a straight line, it only emphasize their facial shape. One good solution is to make the crown of your head voluminous and part the fringe like actor Gam Woo-sung. Leaving the ears exposed creates a fresher look.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0606290005.html |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Movie "My Girl and I" to Be Exported to Japan
2006-06-30
The Korean movie My Girl and I starring Cha Tae-hyeon and Song Hye-kyo will be
exported to Japan next month.
The movie was produced based on the Japanese novel Crying out Love in the
Center of the World written by Japanese novelist Katayama Kyoichi. The novel
sold more than three million copies in Japan in 2003, and was dramatized and
cinematized there in 2004.
The Japanese version of the film starred actors Nagasawa Masami and Moriyama
Mirai and earned 8.5 billion yen.
The Japanese daily Sports Hochi reported Thursday that the Korean movie will be
released in Japan in August. Song is well known in the island country for her
drama Autumn Fairytale and Cha for his film My Sassy Girl.
The Korean actors held an interview with Sports Hochi. The two plan to visit Japan
to promote their movie.
The movie did not achieve great success in Korea since it was released at the
same time as mega-hit films such as King and the Clown and Typhoon last
December.
c: KBS Global |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006/07/01 09:33 KST
S. Korean movie workers to take to streets to rap free trade deal with U.S.
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean movie workers will suspend their work and take to the streets Saturday to denounce a proposed free trade deal with the United States that has already dealt a blow to the domestic movie industry, organizers said.
A movie policy took effect earlier in the day, edging out homegrown movies and giving more space for foreign movies in theater screens.
Korean theaters are now required to show local movies for at least 73 days a year, half of the previous quota. The U.S. has been demanding the reduction for years as a precondition to launching free trade talks.
"The Korean people are thoroughly excluded from the process to ink the free trade agreement with the U.S., which will have huge repercussions upon them. We are very concerned about what lies ahead in the Roh Moo-hyun administration," the Coalition for Cultural Diversity in Moving Images, a network of actors, directors and staff that organized the rally, said in a press release.
About 10,000 movie workers will march through Seoul's downtown streets and call on their government to reconsider the trade deal with the U.S. The rally will include many star directors and actors, such as Bi, the singer known as Rain in English, who is acting in Park Chan-wook's new film "My Name Is Cyborg." Park will also feature in the rally, along with Jang Dong-gun, the actor of "Promise" and "Typhoon," and up-and-coming talent Bong Joon-ho, whose movie "The Host" premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Im Kwon-taek, the country's representative director who is making his 100th film, "A Thousand-year Crane," said he will suspend his production from Saturday through Monday to participate in the protest.
"Hollywood is no match for us in terms of financial and technological power. Once our movies are seized by the scruff of the neck, they will lose the foundation needed to rise up again. They could be completely swallowed by American movies," Im said in a previous interview.
He will be the final participant at a lone strike held at Gwanghwamun intersection on Monday to culminate the 146-day protest.
Film industry workers fear the lowered barrier will make way for an influx of big budget Hollywood movies rather than give access to more varied fare from Asia and Europe.
The quota scheme, established in 1966, has supported local movies by ensuring they are screened in domestic theaters for a certain number of days a year, regardless of ticket sales. The quota was first set at 90 days a year, but the number of days fluctuated until it was last drawn at 146 days in 1984.
Local movies occupied 60 percent of Seoul's theater screens during the first five months of this year, beating out U.S. movies that took 37 percent. The remaining 3 percent was shared by Chinese, Japanese and European movies.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20...01093423E6.html, empas.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Chain of violence in 'Dirty Carnival'
While brutality is a dangerous subject in reality, it makes an excellent theme for a movie. A cruel gangster movie, for example, gives one the strange satisfaction of watching someone being stabbed to death, but at the same time, puts one at ease from knowing that he or she is safely away from the violence onscreen.
By taking a "stab" at the tangle of voyeurism and fear, poet-turned-director Yu Ha opens up a bloodshed world of violence in his movie "Dirty Carnival" and claims it to be reality.
Actor Cho In-sung
Byeong-du, played by actor Cho In-sung, is an ambitious second boss in a gang, who has a "real" family of a sick mother and two younger siblings, and a "gang" family of five brothers depending on him. While he strives to somehow make a decent living for the two families, his merciless boss blocks him by taking away a gambling house which is Byeong-du's only means of living. Facing a dead end, Byeong-du chooses to abandon his loyalty by making a deal with a man called president Hwang - whose full name is unrevealed in the movie - and kills a senior prosecutor and his own boss. Through this deal, Byeong-du is guaranteed enough financial support to feed his families, but is forced to enter a brutal food chain in which only the strongest man survives.
President Hwang teaches Byeong-du to grow into a proper man by showing him the principles of the world. It is not only money that leads Byeong-du to stab his once beloved boss to death. The brutal process is the price he pays in order to join the vital system and become a "proper" man. But ironically, it is not the act of violence that destroys him.
Byeong-du makes the mistake of splitting his world into two. For him, the brutal world where he has to kill his own boss, bully weaker people and stage a bloody battle with rival gangs is completely separate from his world of trust and compassion.
In his second world, he has a sick mother to take care of, a little sister who loves him dearly, a beautiful first love he cannot forget and a best friend with whom he can share his deepest secrets.
By tilting himself more and more toward the second world, Byeong-du makes the crucial mistake of forgetting the rules of the game. By giving his full trust to his right-arm Jong-su and best friend Min-ho, Byeong-du takes the risk of becoming the "weaker" one in the food chain. Although he himself killed his boss for the price of success, Byeong-du seems unaware of the fact that his own throat could be slit open by someone who also wants to be admitted into the brutal system - and that someone could well be one of his closest people.
At this point, audiences come to a sickening realization - that this stupidly naive character actually mirrors us, the "ordinary" people.
Evidently, director Yu didn't choose gangster as his theme for mere entertainment. By showing the coexistence of the two seemingly different worlds, he continually forces the audience to see that we all are actual producers and consumers of violence.
The movie may end with Byeong-du as the last victim, but having the two worlds coexisting and the brutal side constantly threatening to take over, no one can be sure who will be the victim next time. Knowing that there is no end to this brutal chain, president Hwang, Min-ho and Jong-su - the temporary "survivors" - drink in celebration with their eyes still full of fear and insecurity.
The "dirty carnival" does not belong only to gangsters. Everyday we too enter the chain of violence and strive to survive remembering the rule that "only the strong remain."
The only defect of this movie is perhaps the fact that no one will be able to simply enjoy a gangster movie after realizing the realities lying beneath the violence.
(hayney@heraldm.com)
By Shin Hae-in
2006.07.03
Source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/htm...00607030014.asp |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Korean movie My Sassy Girl to Be Dramatized in China
2006-07-03
The Korean film My Sassy Girl will be dramatized in China.
Korean production company K1 said Saturday that it will turn the Korean film into
a drama in China in cooperation with the Shanghai Film Academy.
The shooting will commence in September and the drama will air in 2007.
K1 added that Korea, Japan and China will participate in the dramatization of the
Korean film with 3.6 billion won invested. Also, Korean game developer GameJedi
will adapt the Korean film into an online game.
K1 and the Shanghai Film Academy chose 12 candidates for the female lead at an
audition Saturday.
Kim Yun-jin to Appear on David Letterman Show
2006-07-03
Actress Kim Yun-jin will become the first Korean star to appear on The Late Show
with David Letterman on CBS TV, the most popular night-time talk show aired
across the U.S.
Previously, in August last year, Korean-American golf prodigy Michelle Wie
appeared on the program.
Kim's manager, Park Jeong-hyeok, said Monday that the talk show production
team invited her to the show through her U.S. agency William Morris some three
weeks ago. "We adjusted her schedule to appear on the program to be broadcast
live on July 11 from a CBS studio," he added. "We couldn't believe it when we first
heard that she was asked to appear on the show. We are very happy since it
indicates that she has become recognized in the U.S. only two years after she
started working there."
Kim has become a world famous star by acting in the ABC hit drama Lost which is
gaining popularity in some 80 nations around the world.
Previously, Kim has appeared on the ABC shows The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live Show.
c: KBS Global
[ Last edited by adikkeluangman_ at 3-7-2006 04:54 PM ] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monday, July 3,2006
Cho In-sung arrives at a turning point
No one could have imagined that this young and willowy actor had it inside him. To begin with, Cho In-sung, 25, has such a "pretty" face that a gangster was the last role one could match him up with.
But watching him spitting out swear words with his eyes burning with anger in "Dirty Carnival," it becomes obvious that the role of Byeong-du was made just for Cho.
Debuting as a fashion model in 1998, Cho began to earn popularity as a smart and handsome college student in the MBC weekday sitcom "New Nonstop."
With a persistent passion for acting, Cho has carefully built up his career through various TV dramas including "Piano," "Shooting Star," "What happened in Bali" and "Spring Day," but he has not been so successful on the silver screen.
Although the movie "Classic" was a hit, the spotlight shone on actor Cho Seung-woo instead, and his other movies including "South Guy, North Girl (Namnam buknyeo)" and "Madeline" failed to draw big audiences.
But director Yu Ha of "Dirty Carnival" saw a potential Byeong-du in Cho.
"I liked him more because Cho did not have a masculine image. I saw the potential of Cho turning Byeong-du into a more convincing character by using his undeveloped images," Yu said. "Cho seemed to know that he could not draw a reaction from audiences unless he first makes the character into a convincing person."
During the over two hours of running-time, Cho manages to have audiences fully focused on the screen. With years of effort and training finally paying off, the young actor appears to have arrived at a turning point in his career through "Dirty Carnival."
(hayney@heraldm.com)
By Shin Hae-in
2006.07.03
Source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SIT ... 03/200607030015.asp |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Film Director Park Chan-wook to Judge at 63rd Venice Film Festival
2006-07-04
Film director Park Chan-wook has been named a juror for the 63rd Venice Film
Festival slated for August 30 through September 9.
Other jurors include Spanish film director Juan Jose Bigas Luna, Portuguese producer
Paolo Paulo Blanco, American film director/scriptwriter Cameron Crowe, Russian
actress Chulpan Khamatova and Italian film director/actor Michele Placido. Headed
by actress Catherine Deneuve, who was appointed last month, the jury will choose
the winners of the festival抯 awards.
South Korean filmmakers and actors have been named jurors of the top-three
international film festivals this year, including actress Lee Young-ae, who judged at
the 56th Berlin International Film Festival in February.
Park won the Cinema of the Future Award, the Young Lion Award and the Best
Innovation Award at last year抯 Venice festival for his movie 揝ympathy for Lady
Vengeance. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006.07.04
Bong Joon-ho creates a sympathetic monster in 'The Host'
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- Audiences at a preview of Bong Joon-ho's eagerly anticipated movie "The Host" laughed, screamed and applauded on Tuesday, responding exactly as the director had hoped to his uniquely imagined 'Korean-style' monster.
Bong Joon-ho says he hoped to create a new breed of monster movie.
Bong said of the movie that was highly praised by critics as Cannnes Film Festival in May that he wanted to create a new breed of monster, one that fitted in his gender-bending narrative and broke the straight-jacket of stereotypical horror conventions.
"My first conception was that this would be a monster movie but in a new form. Characters in there should also be different from those in other monster movies, in which soldiers, biologists or smart journalists are out there to fight the monster," he said at a press conference at a cinema in southern Seoul.
"I'd say the monster's like Jack Black or Steve Buscemi rather than Gary Oldman in terms of Hollywood style," he said, referring to the comedy actors who are more likely to trip up onstage than show off their action skills.
The 119-minute movie adds a new dimension to Bong's filmography after "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000) and "Memories of Murder" (2003) as a well-constructed gender-bending work that blends a monster fantasy with human elements and non-stop laughs.
Starring Song Gang-ho, Byeon Heui-bong, Park Hae-il and Bae Doo-na, all of whom had appeared in Bong's previous movies, "The Host" revolves over the five-member family who runs a kiosk alongside Seoul's Han River and loses Park Gang-du (played by Song)'s only daughter to a monster that suddenly appears to destroy the tranquil riverside.
The monster originated from gallons of formaldehyde that was poured into the river years ago under the order of an American boss in the U.S. Army headquarters in Yongsan.
The case was a reflection of Albert McFarland, a U.S. Forces Korea employee who ordered the dumping of 227 liters of formaldehyde into the Han River through a sewage drain in 2000, but insisted that the chemicals become harmless when diluted by water, Bong said. He was released after being sentenced to serve six months in jail with a two-year suspension in 2004.
Desperate to rescue their daughter, the family vainly appeals to police and medical authorities ignore their entreaties and try to keep them quiet.
Bogged down by the authorities and amid spreading public panic over possible virus from the monster, the family sneaks into the Han River to confront the monster.
The director said he felt pressure from the high expectations at home and abroad, with the film's release set for July 27 at home and September in Japan. Even though he took years to get the film out -- he said he first conceived the story some 20 years ago as a high school student living in an apartment that oversees the Han River and prepared for the production for five years --, the director is still working on the film for perfection.
"Directors always think of making their work better until nothing can be done. During this preview I thought, maybe that part can get better. It's like a job illness," he said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20...04224020E1.html |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 5, 2006 - movie feedback
'Host' Captures
Unique Monster Movie Deals With Family and Current Issues
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Director Bong Jun-ho's new film "The Host" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
The most anticipated film of the year, it received highly positive reviews from news media and critics, who described it as Bong's most successful film yet.
"I've been under pressure due to the high expectations about the film. But of course, happy pressure," Bong said Tuesday during a news conference after the preview screening at Megabox multiplex theater in Samsong-dong, southern Seoul. "I'd been thinking about how to change some parts to make the film better before I got here."
The film, which opens here on July 27, is a story about an ordinary family that fights a mutant rising out of the Han River.
Bong recalled it was first conceived 19 years ago when he saw a mysterious creature crawling on the Chamsil Bridge when he was a high school student and decided to make a film about it. He began to prepare for the film five years ago, and started to write a script three years ago. Now the 14 billion won project has finally been made into a film.
Bong emphasized that his foremost dream was to make a different kind of sci-fi film.
"My goal was to make a film featuring a monster, but a kind of sci-fi film which no one has ever seen before. I thought ordinary people should fight the monster, rather than heroic soldiers, biologists, or smart journalists," Bong said.
The outcome is quite satisfying and lives up to the high expectations people had of it. The positive reviews on the film are attributed to the film's superb computer graphics blended into the original story.
Most local sci-fi films have been commercial flops as they lacked the technology to realistically render a futuristic world or monster, or were simply poor imitations of Hollywood blockbuster films with flimsy stories.
To produce a realistic monster, Bong worked with the staff from the "Harry Potter" series and "The Lord of Rings'' trilogy to create one with Korean touches.
The monster in "The Host" is a mutant as big as an elephant, resembling a fish yet with legs. The monster is amphibian with a long tail that can grasp people. Its dreadful, multi-layered mouth can swallow and spit out a grown man.
"It took a year to produce the current monster used in the film. I asked computer graphics staff to create a monster well matched with Korean actors and their environment. About 1,500 different monsters were created, and we only chose one," Bong said.
The monster is realistically portrayed, but it doesn't overshadow the story, and the film is more focused on the people fighting it as the director intended.
The film focuses on a family that struggles to save their daughter taken by the mutant. But it also tackles current-day controversial issues.
"While the family fights the monster, they face challenges without receiving any help, and it naturally deals with social and political problems and shows satirical aspects of the United States |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Spring Waltz" to be Aired in Japan
2006-07-06
The Korean Drama Spring Waltz will be exported to Japan. The drama's producer
Yoon's Color said Thursday that the drama starring Han Hyo-joo and Seo Do
-young will be aired across Japan on NHK in October.
Since it is the final part of producer Yoon Seok-ho's series of seasonal drama's
including Winter Sonatawhich sparked the Korean Wave, or Korean pop-culture
craze in Japan, attention is being drawn to whether it can gain as much popularity
as Winter Sonata.
Yoon's Color had produced the drama targeting overseas markets as it signed an
export contract with Japan even before starting the production. According to the
contract, the company recently agreed to broadcast it in Japan in October.
In addition, the musical version of Winter Sonata is scheduled to be staged around
the same time as the drama's airing, raising expectations that the Korean Wave
will hit the country once again via TV and in theaters.
Spring Waltz was aired in 20 episodes in Korea from March through May to a
mediocre response from viewers, although it succeeded in introducing two new
faces.
Shinhwa to Begin Asian Tour in Shanghai
2006-07-06
The male band Shinhwa will soon launch an Asian tour beginning on July 8th in
Shanghai, China.
The group will leave for Shanghai on July 6th to give the concert entitled State-of
-the-Art in Shanghai. The band will visit the Chinese city for the first time in four
years as the first leg of its Asian tour outside Korea.
Some 10,000 tickets to Shinhwa's concert were sold out just a month after their
release in late May, with each ticket costing up to 1880 yuan, or 240,000 won.
Attesting to the group's popularity, some 100 journalistic teams from Chinese
media outlets will attend Shinhwa's news conference slated for July 7 in China.
Shinhwa's Shanghai concert will feature the solo performances of two members-
-Lee Min-woo (known as M as a solo artist) whose solo album has been licensed in
China, and Shin Hye-sung. Unlike its domestic concerts where its repertoire
focused on the group's new songs and each member's individual performances, in
China the group's repertoire will include many of its past hit songs, including
Perfect Man, Hero and Only One.
When singing Brand New the title song of the band's seventh album, Shinhwa will
perform on a gorgeously decorated stage adorned with the color red and use red
accessories to create a bold and passionate atmosphere.
The band members said they are both excited and nervous about the upcoming
concert, and pledged to do their best for their Chinese fans.
Shinhwa will return to Korea on July 9th.
Actor Kim Jeong-hoon Named Most Prince-like Korean Actor in China
2006-07-07
Actor Kim Jeong-hoon was named the most prince-like Korean actor in China.
The Chinese portal site Sohu.com said Thursday that Kim won 30.41 percent, or
6,217 votes, on a recent poll asking "Who is the most prince-like actor among
Korean stars?" and took the top spot on the poll.
The portal site said that the poll result is attributable to Kim's soft and elegant
image reminiscent of a prince in a fairytale.
The Korean drama Palace starring Kim was recently carried on Hong Kong's Star
TV and on the Internet.
Actor Lee Jun-ki of the movie King and the Clown won 30.25 percent and came in
a close second, followed by Bae Yong-jun with 29.88 percent and Ju Ji-hun,
another male lead of the drama Palace with 7.72 percent.
Meanwhile, fans of Lee were disappointed at the poll result, since Lee had held the
lead until Wednesday, one day before the end of the poll.
Kim's fans posted messages online endorsing the poll result and debating with
Lee's fans.
Chunsangjihee to Release Single in Korea and Japan
2006-07-07
The female band Chunsangjihee will release its single album Juicy Love
concurrently in Korea and Japan on July 12.
The package of the album will include a CD and a DVD featuring the music video
for Juicy Love and a making-of documentary.
The album's title song, Juicy Love was written in a reggae style appropriate for the
summer season. The song was featured by famous Japanese reggae rapper Cord
Head and produced by Shunya Mori, who also produced albums for top Japanese
artists Ketsumeishi and Pushim.
Another song from the album, Sayonara no mukoni is a ballad song performed by
the heart-moving voice of band member Heeyul Dana, who wrote the song's lyrics
in Japanese.
The group's agency, SM Entertainment, said the music video for Juicy Love
contained in the album package shows Chunsangjihee dancing passionately
against the backdrop of a tropical island and offers several glimpses of how the
music video was filmed.
The group's fans who buy the new single album will also receive postcards with the
jacket photo of the group's CD to be sold only in Japan. Ten lucky buyers will also
receive T-shirts made by EXR.
c: KBS Global
[ Last edited by adikkeluangman_ at 8-7-2006 12:46 AM ] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 July 2006
Son of First President Sues TV Drama 慡eoul 1945抂/b]
By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
Rhee In-soo, an adopted son of South Korea's first president Syngman Rhee, and Jang Byung-hye, a daughter of former prime minister Jang Taek-sang Thursday filed a lawsuit against producers of "Seoul 1945," a popular KBS weekly historical soap opera.
They claim that the drama distorts history and belittles the achievements of their late fathers.
"The drama seriously defames both the former president and Jang as it portrays them as collaborators with the Japanese and the United States, hence abandoning a unified Korea. Also the drama says that the two tacitly approved the assassination of the center-left leader Yeo Un-hyong," claimed Rhee.
The drama, which started being aired in January, is set around 1945 right after the Japanese colonial period ended and the nation was engulfed by ideological turmoil.
It is the second time "Seoul 1945" has become embroiled in controversy over distortion of history, following a press conference held by a right-wing group in June, asking for a halt to the broadcast and threatening a campaign asking people to boycott the television subscription fee,
Kim Hyun-joon, an official from the KBS Drama Team, said that such an accusation is hard to accept as dramas can always reflect the writer's imagination. "Regarding the parts related to real people, we have tried to reflect the historical truth as much as possible. We only use fictional elements for people who did not exist," he said. "Since we find such an accusation incomprehensible, we are going to take legal counter measures."
Conservative groups have complained from the start that the drama does not do justice to right-wing figures whose historical evaluation, they argue, is not yet complete, while the leftists are generally portrayed as considerate and concerned for the future of the nation.
However, others say that the drama makes the viewers reconsider history and sheds light on leftists after the country's liberation as their contributions to the nation have been much neglected under the banner of anti-communism in South Korea.
michelle@koreatimes.co.kr
07-07-2006 18:06
Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200...18061511960.htm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 7, 2006
Hyun Young Swaps TV Studio for Courtroom
TV personality Hyun Young stood trial on Friday for breaking her contract with a cosmetics company. The firm, France Laure, sued the TV star and her agent for loss of earnings saying Hyun broke a promise to act as a promotional model after signing a contract and receiving an initial payment. It is seeking W350 million (US$1=W948) in damages.
Hyun attended court dressed demurely in a black suit. Accused of missing a promotional event, she argued her agent and manager arranged her schedule and she was late for another event.
The actress said she was unable to resolve the dispute by simply accepting shoots for France Laure now since she changed her agent, and the decision was therefore not hers to make. However, she expressed willingness to settle the dispute.
Judges seemed tickled to have a star in their courtroom. The presiding judge said the two sides would settle the dispute without making it more serious and expressed hope of getting an autograph "for his daughters."
Hyun Young is enjoying huge popularity on TV due to her unique voice and witty tongue. She has also appeared in the movies "The Art of Seduction" and "Princess Aurora" and voices one of the characters in the ground-breaking animation "Aachi & Ssipak."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0607070028.html |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JULY 06, 2006
The Host
For starters, 揟he Host, |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Post time 29-6-2006 04:15 PM
Author
