Korean Cinema News (02/09-02/15, 2012)

Some good features this week and lots of news from the Berlin Film Festival as foreign rights to hot Korean films are getting snatched up.  Lots more news, trailers, interviews, and posters as well.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Finecut Unveils Another Film by Hong
South Korean sales company Finecut Co Ltd has released the first images from In Another Country, the new Hong Sang-soo film that it is representing.  The film is the South Korean debut of leading French actress Isabelle Huppert.  She plays three characters each with the same name who each visit the same seaside town and meet the same local residents.  The rest of the cast, including Yu Jun-san, are South Korean, but much of the dialogue is in English.  (Film Business Asia, February 15, 2012)

Posters That Were Turned Down Because They Were Too Scary or Erotic

The Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) denied the poster for the movie Gabi for the reason that Kim Min-hee's topless pose is too raunchy.  Therefore, this poster can't be used in theaters or promotional uses.  There have been other cases where posters like these have been denied.  One it has been refused, the production has to go through the process of editing the poster and getting it re-examined by the KMRB.  The posters are usually denied because they are too erotic. 2009 movie Thirst by Park Chan-wook was denied because it was too erotic and was only passed when the KMRB re-examined it after editing.  (hancinema.net, February 8, 2012)

Full Lineup for the 10th New York Korean Film Festival (NYKFF) @ BAM Rose Cinema
This year's New York Korean Film Festival will take place at BAM in Brooklyn and the whole lineup is now available, featuring great films released over the past year including The Servant and Sunny. (BAM, February 8, 2012)

Popular Korean Films Reflecting Social Issues
Korean movies that tackle social issues head on have recently become the center of attention in the country.  They not only portray reality, but also provoke discussions.  Arirang News correspondent Park Ji-won analyzes two films that are now screening here in Korea, which are now raising questions about Korea's political and legal conditions.  (arirang, February 8, 2012)

Korea’s Most Anticipated Films of 2012

With the start of the new year, the Korean film industry looks to its brightest prospects. Kang Byeong-jin of Korean Cinema Today profiles eight highly anticipated films of 2012, including Ghost Sweeper, The Thieves, Korea, Howling, The Tower, The Masquerade King, and Hoogoong: Jaewang-eui chub.  (Korean Cinema Today, February 7, 2012)

Sports in Korean Films

Tom Giammarco considers the history of sport in Korean film over on Seen in Jeonju.  (Seen in Jeonju, February 5, 2012)

From Korea With Love
Bangkok-based writer and critic Kong Rithdee looks at the influence of Korean moving images in Thailand and gauges the depth of the Korean Wave.  In late January, So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-ju walked down the red carpet at HuaHin International Film Festival, the inaugural edition of the cinefest held in Thailand’s popular resort town.  (Korean Cinema Today, February 6, 2012)

Finecut Launches Sales on Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta
Seoul-based sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to Pieta, the latest film from prolific Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk.  Scheduled to start shooting this month, the film tells the story of a cruel loan shark, who believes he doesn’t have any family or loved ones, so has no need to fear when committing brutal acts.  But one day a mysterious woman appears in his life claiming to be his mother.  (Screen Daily, February 10, 2012)

Finecut Adds Grand Heist, Ghost Sweepers to Berlin Slate
Seoul-based sales company Finecut has picked up two new Korean genre films – $10m period action adventure The Grand Heist, and $5m comic action horror Ghost Sweepers.  (Screen Daily, February 9, 2012)

Berlin 2012: Universal Pictures International Inks Multi-Territory Pact for My Way
Universal Pictures International Entertainment has taken multiple territories for the Korean war epic My Way, which has its world premiere Friday night at the Berlin international film festival.  UPIE snagged rights in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand for the film, a World War II epic directed by Kang Je-Kyu and featuring Asian stars Odagiri Joe, Jang Dong-gun and Fan Bingbing.  (The Hollywood Reporter, February 10, 2012)

Korea’s M-Line Opens Doomsday Book
Korea’s M-Line Distribution is launching sales on the sci-fi drama Doomsday Book, co-directed by Kim Jee-woon and Yim Pil-sung, at the EFM.  The $5m film comprises three short stories – the first about a robot achieving enlightenment, the second about a zombie invasion and the third about a meteor wiping out mankind.  (Screen Daily, February 11, 2012)

Korean Movies Reflecting Social Issues Fly High at the Box Office
Dancing Queen, a comedy about a middle-aged married couple who each pursue their lost dreams, and Unbowed, a low-budget courtroom drama based on a true story, have both broken the 3-million mark of viewers in less than a month of their release.  According to data compiled by the Korean Film Council, Dancing Queen and Unbowed attracted 3.09 million and 3 million viewers, respectively, as of Saturday since their release on Jan. 18.  (The Korea Times, February 12, 2012)

Drama Producer Son Committed Suicide Jan. 21
Hit drama maker Son Moon-kwon committed suicide last month, a local daily recently reported.  Family members told the Sports Chosun that Son hung himself Jan. 21 from a staircase at his house in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.  He was 40 years old. Son was married to famed script writer Im Seong-han, 52.  (hancinema.net, February 13, 2012)

Shout! Factory Takes Korean Creature Feature Sector 7
Shout! Factory announced today a multi-year agreement with CJ E&M, the leading film distribution and production company in Korea, to be the exclusive North American home entertainment distributor for two widely popular Korean motion pictures, including the creature feature Sector 7.  (Shock Till You Drop, February 14, 2012)

INTERVIEWS

Director Kim Joong-hyeon
Ahead of its international premiere in the Berlinale Forum, director Kim Joong-hyeon talks about his debut feature film Choked with Kim Seong-hoon.  A low-budget film made at the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), Kim Joong-hyeon’s Choked deals with economic troubles and the dissolution of the family in contemporary Korean society.  The film made its world premiere in the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents competition and is due for an international premiere in the Berlinale Forum section.  (Korean Cinema Today, February 3, 2012)

Lee Na-young Faces Tough Challenge on New Movie
Actress Lee Na-young's latest film Howling, which will be released next Thursday, sees her take on the role of a rookie cop investigating a series of murders by a mysterious wolf-like creature.  In this action-thriller, Lee flexes her muscles as a hard-nosed police detective and even rides a motorcycle.  "This film had so many enticing factors. First of all, I wanted to play a part with many action scenes.  Veteran actor Song Kang-ho was already cast, so I had an even stronger interest in it when I read the script," said Lee.  (The Chosun Ilbo, February 11, 2012)

TRAILERS

Eighteen, Nineteen


Introduction to Architecture


Russian Coffee

POSTERS

Planet of Snail

Russian Coffee

Stateless Things

BOX OFFICE

Nameless Gangster Takes Another Victory Lap

(Modern Korean Cinema, February 12, 2012)

Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Cinema News (02/02-02/08, 2012)

The big news this week is the announcement of this year's Korean Blogathon which is being presented by cineAWESOME! and New Korean Cinema and will this year be hosted on Modern Korean Cinema and a number of other sites, visit the press release below for more information.

2012 KOREAN BLOGATHON

Join Us For ‘Korean Blogathon 2012′
Last year New Korean Cinema played host to the Korean Blogathon – a week which was used to try to shine the spotlight on Korean films and the people who are writing about them online.  The response blew us away – over the seven days many great articles emerged from some brilliant writers and this created some interesting discussions about many varied aspects of Korean film and filmmakers.  It was such a great event that we promised the Blogathon would return…. so here we go!  (New Korean Cinema, February 7, 2012)

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Seven Korean Films Invited to 2012 Berlinale
Seven Korean films have been invited to this year’s Berlinale, scheduled for Feb. 9-19.  Among the seven, director Kang Ju-gyu’s 28 billion won war blockbuster My Way and Jeon Kyu-hwan’s drama Varanasi have been invited to the festival’s non-competition “Panorama” section.  (The Korea Herald, February 1, 2012)

More Images From Yim Pil-sung and Kim Ji-woon's The Doomsday Book
Just last week we heard the good news that the omnibus sci-fi project The Doomsday Book was back on its feet after a long hiatus.  The cast includes Kim Gyu-ri, Kim Kang-woo, Ryoo Seung-beom, Cho Youn-hee, Kim Seo-hyung, and Song Sae-byeok.  The film will hit Korean cinemas this Spring and will also screen at EFM in Berlin next week.  (Twitch, February 2, 2012)

'Jang Keun Suk effect!' You’re My Pet Earns 2.4 Million Dollars
Jang Keun Suk showed off his box office power on the Japanese silver screen.  You’re My Pet, which was released in Japan on January 21, earned 2,424,009 dollars by January 29.  The movie ranked ninth in box office receipts in the second week.  (korea.com, February 2, 2012)

Korean Film in 2012
The Korean film industry has a lot to offer for the year of 2012. Korean films have been gathering more attention around the world and in the domestic market, as Korean films gain attention and Korean actors and producers take part in more international collaborations.  According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the market share for Korean films was 51.9%, up from 46.5 in 2010 and marking the first time in modern history that Korean moviegoing audiences showed a marked preference for domestic movies.  As well, film exports increased by 14% in 2011.  (IT Times, February 3, 2012)

Oscar Hopeful Octavia Spencer Joins Sci-Fi Drama Snow Piercer

The cast of Korean director Bong Joon-ho's (The Host) first English-language movie, the post-apocalyptic drama Snow Piercer, was already impressive, but it just got even better.  Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans was the first to sign on, but he was soon joined by two-time Academy Award-nominated actor John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton).  Now, the cast has gained another Oscar contender as THR reports Octavia Spencer (The Help) has also joined the cast.  (reelz.com, February 5, 2012)

Finecut Acquires Hong Sang-soo's Another Country
The South Korean sales company will be screening a promo reel at the upcoming European Film Market.  South Korean company Finecut is handling international sales on Hong Sang-soo’s new film Another Country, starring the award-winning actress Isabelle Huppert. The film was shot in summer last year and is now in post-production.  (Screen Daily, February 6, 2012)

Leafie Launches 108 Media
Toronto-based 108 Media is launching at the Berlin market by acquiring English-language rights to Korean animated title Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild.  Company will focus on worldwide sales and Canadian distribution of films, TV, gaming and mobile content.  Funded by private equity, 108 Media is headed by Abhishek Rastogi, former managing director of Cinesavvy.  (Variety, February 6, 2012)

KOFIC to Support 33 Korean-Foreign Joint Productions in 2012
The Korean Film Council will be supporting 33 Korean-foreign joint production films this year, as well as small-sale production houses and distributors, its officials announced in a press meeting in Myeong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday.  The council kicked off the 2 billion won project for the 33 joint productions on Tuesday by announcing its official call for submissions.  (The Korea Herald, February 7, 2012)

Romantic Heaven Picks Up award at 30th Fajr International Film Festival
The 30th Fajr International Film Festival in Iran bequeathed its best screenplay award went to South Korean film Romantic Heaven by director/writer Jang Jin. (Tehran Times, February 7, 2012)

Film Unbowed Creates Nationwide Stir on Fair Trial
The Korean film Unbowed has now become the center of attention in Korea, drawing more than 2.5 million viewers since it opened in mid-January.  The film succeeded in reaching out to millions of viewers, as the film focuses on unfair and biased legal procedures.  Although this movie is based on a true story, it has created a stir nationwide on whether or not the plot has been exaggerated or even modified from the actual facts.  (Arirang TV, February 7, 2012)

INTERVIEWS

Lee Myeong-se – “Better and Sweeter”
Award winning films, Nowhere To Hide (1999), Duelist (2005) and M (2007) are amongst those directed by Lee Myeong-se.  In between directing (& writing) these action, fantasy & thriller-noir titles he’s given the world further tales made up of dramas, love stories and comedies.   However, it’s not only the genre-busting he seems to do well it’s also in his filming techniques.   Rarely does a scene pass without some brilliant imagery.   With all this in mind, it’s my reckoning that this down-to-earth and funny guy is more than capable of pulling off his forthcoming feature.   We cover that film and others in our interview together.  Well done, ‘Mister Lee’!  (Mini Mini Movie Review, February 2, 2012)

Back From Near Extinction, Dinosaurs Tromp Through New Film
Dinosaurs once roamed through Korean film, but none were very fierce.  All of the reptiles were shoddy creatures shot with miniature action figures, resulting in unnatural performances and awkward movements.  The lack of technology also allowed these gigantic characters just one facial expression: an angry face with a mouth wide open to reveal a set of threatening, peg-like teeth.  Then, in the late 90’s, dinosaur films did a disappearing act and it looked like they were on their way to extinction.  (Joong Ang Daily, February 3, 2012)

Interview With Director Lee Kwang-kuk
Formerly an assistant director to Hong Sang-soo, Lee Kwang-kuk has struck off on his own to make his feature debut with Romance Joe.  After a world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, Romance Joe made its international premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition at the recently wrapped International Film Festival Rotterdam.  Lee spoke with Jean Noh ahead of and at the festival about his work.  (KoBiZ, February 6, 2012)

TRAILERS

Doomsday Book


Miss Conspirator


Romance Joe

POSTERS

Eighteen and Nineteen

The Taste of Money

Train

BOX OFFICE

Nameless Gangster Leads the Charge as Local Films Clean Out the Competition

(Modern Korean Cinema, February 5, 2011)

Box Office Analysis, Jan. 18 - 31

Two Korean films emerged as major hits in 2012's Lunar New Year holiday season – Dancing Queen and Unbowed.  The success of Dancing Queen, which sold 2.26 million tickets in its first two weeks on release, was not entirely unexpected.  (KoBiZ, February 3, 2012)

Korean Movies Outshining Int’l Films at the Box Office

Korean movies are outshining their international counterparts at domestic box offices, according to statistics released recently by the Korean Film Commission, as the top-five most-watched movies at the moment are all homegrown.  (Joong Ang Daily, February 7, 2012)


Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Cinema News (01/26-02/01, 2012)

NY's Korean Film Festival is back and the KCCUK is holding 12 mini director's retrospectives through 2012 in London, so it's a good time to be a Korean film fan (at least if you live in a major metropolis).  Lots of interviews, including three for Lee Myeung-se, trailers, posters, and box office news this week.  

Don't miss MKC's own feature on How Korean Cinema Fared on 2011's Year-end Lists.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Popular New Film Gives Hope to Independent Filmmakers

“Should I put the word ‘arrowhead’ in a movie title?” joked a film producer during a recent meeting with the Hankyoreh.  The producer’s company certainly hit their target at the box office.  The follow-up to last year’s hit War of the Arrows, which drew 7.4 million viewers, Unbowed (the Korean title of which translates as Broken Arrow), passed the one million viewer mark just over a week after its debut early this year.  (The Hankyoreh, January 27, 2012)

Kwon Sang-woo Finishes Work on New Action Film with Jackie Chan

Hallyu star Kwon Sang-woo has finished work on the movie 12 Chinese Zodiac Heads with Jackie Chan.  The announcement was made yesterday by the actor’s agency, which also reported that Kwon had returned to Korea just before Lunar New Year.  “Currently, Kwon is taking a well-deserved break and is looking over some movie proposals from China, the United States and other countries,” said a representative from the agency.  (Joong Ang Daily, January 28, 2012)

NYC Happenings: NY Korean Film Festival 2012

Whether it's a full-on retrospective at Japan Society, a centennial celebration of studio giant Nikkatsu, or the annual wackiness of NYAFF, New York is a city never short on cinematic offerings from across East Asia, and that has always included a healthy helping of Korean cinema.  From February 24th - 26th, BAMcinématek and the Korean Society, along with Korean movie giant CJ Entertainment, will be presenting 7 contemporary features, big and small in the 10th edition of the New York Korean Film Festival.  (Twitch, January 30, 2012)

Unbowed Flying High at Box Office, Reviving Attention to Forgotten Case

Unbowed, a low-budget South Korean film based on the true story of the so-called “crossbow terror” incident of a college professor, is heating up the local box office, drawing renewed public debate over the 2006 incident.  The movie claimed the No. 2 spot by bringing in more than 1 million viewers at local cinemas as of Wednesday, a week after making a robust debut, the Korean Film Council, a government agency in charge of promoting domestic films, said on Thursday.  (The Korea Herald, January 26, 2012)

Controversial Film on Gangjeong Village Finally Hits Theatres
An independent documentary film titled Jam Docu Gangjeong is finally showing in independent movie theaters 40 days after having been banned by the Korean Film Commission. Pressure from the film industry resulted in the film’s eventual release.  The film was reportedly delayed due to its controversial subject matter and the independent film industry is now calling for a policy reform to prevent the Korean Film Commission from banning films it finds politically objectionable.  (The Hankyoreh, January 26, 2012)

Korean Actors & K-Pop Stars Unite for Gaon’s Anti-Piracy ’2012 Good Downloader Campaign’

Korean movie and K-Pop stars united together for a new effort against piracy being led by Gaon Chartcalled the '2012 Good Downloader Campaign'.  Actors Ahn Sung Gi, Park Joong Hoon, Lee Min Jung, Jang Hyuk, and music stars Yoon Do Hyun (YB), Kim Yuna (Jaurim), Yunho (TVXQ), Nickhun (2PM), Sohee (Wonder Girls), as well as Sulli (f(x)) banded together for the campaign during a shoot yesterday, sending the message that pirating movies and music is illegal and wrong.  (allkpop, January 30, 2012)

Film of the Year Awards (Korea Film Reporters Association)
The Korea Film Reporters Association feted Korean cinema in its 3rd Film of the Year Awards last night.  Silenced picked up best film, with the director prize going to Kang Hyung-chul for Sunny.  Meanwhile Kim Yun-seok and Tang Wei were best actor and actress for their respective roles in Punch and Late Autumn.   (AsianMediaWiki, January 31, 2012)

2012: Year of the 12 Directors

Over on the Otherwhere blog, Alua has kindly transcribed the full 2012 programme for the Korean Film Nights at the KCCUK.  12 Korean directors will be featured with 4 films and a Q&A each month.  It's hard not to be incredibly jealous of anyone living in London right now.  (Otherwhere, January 27, 2012)

INTERVIEWS

An Asian Perspective on World War II

In one excruciating scene of Kang Je-kyu’s new movie My Way, Soviet soldiers order two war prisoners of different nationalities to fight to the death, but the Korean one refuses to kill his fellow Japanese captive, who he had known as a rival in sports.  Instead, an unlikely alliance begins to form.  The movie is the most expensive ever made in South Korea, a fictionalized account of the real-life story of how a Korean man ended up fighting for the Germans in World War II and being found by American soldiers at the invasion of Normandy.  (The Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2012)

So Yong Kim Discusses Her Collaboration With Paul Dano & Battling The Freezing Winter In For Ellen

Thanks to her previous films In Between Days and Treeless Mountain, and a none-more-indie cast featuringPaul Dano and Jena Malone, So Yong Kim's latest For Ellen had to be one of the most anticipated films of the Sundance Film Festival. Forming one half of a power couple of indie cinema (with Bradley Rust Gray, director of The Exploding Girl and the upcoming Jack and Diane), it marks her first time working with more established names and proves to be her most accessible project to date.  (indieWire, January 25, 2012)

Interview with Lee Myeong-se

To the present day, Lee Myung-se is probably best known for his 1999 film Nowhere To Hide which was the first ever Korean film to be released on DVD in the UK.  Born on August 20th, 1957, his first directorial feature film was Gagman in 1989, and in 1991 he won the Best New Director award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for My Love My Bride.  Since then, he has gone on to make a number of iconic films, including Duelist (2005) and M (2007) - as visually stunning as they are narratively interesting.  (Hangul Celluloid, January 26, 2012)

London-Korean Film Night, Jan 2012 – Duelist and Q+A with director Lee Myeong-se

For January’s edition the director in question was Lee Myeong-se in conjunction with his 2005 film Duelist.  Presiding over the event was Dr. Daniel Martin who introduced both the film and the director, giving the history and context to Lee Myeong-se’s illustrious career and auteuristic sensibilities.  (Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 27, 2012)

Taekwondo at the Apollo: Lee Myung-se and the Great Safety vs. Cinema Debate
The ‘Year of the 12 Directors’ idea is a wonderful one—what began as a series of film screenings in the Korean Cultural Centre has become, for 2012, a celebratory mini-series of director retrospectives which promises to roll on from now until December.  On Thursday night, we spent three engaging hours in the pleasant company of director Lee Myung-se, whose 1999 action/police procedural Nowhere to Hide officially opened the 12 Directors programme over three weeks ago.  (New Korean Cinema, January 30, 2012)

TRAILERS

2 Lines

Russian Coffee

Train

POSTERS

Doomsday Book

Howling

Introduction to Architecture

Papa

Romance Joe

Russian Coffee

BOX OFFICE

Unbowed Shoots to the Top During Big Weekend for Korean Film

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 30, 2012)

Local Revenues Boom for South Korean Films

South Korean films enjoyed a 22% growth in revenue last year, according to new data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).  Nationwide, admissions grew by 8% to 158 million, while box office revenues grew in local currency terms by 7% to ￦1.23 trillion ($1.10 billion).  (Film Business Asia, January 30, 2012)

Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Cinema News (01/19-01/25, 2012)

More casting news for Snow Piercer this week as Jamie Bell and John Hurt are added (though MKC originally reported the latter a few weeks ago).  A number of great features this week including one from VCinema (a site to which I contribute).  Another big piece of news is the status of Korean films at the local box office which broke the 50% mark last year, more on this in the box office section.  Finally a new section detailing Upcoming Releases of Korean films (which can be found in the above tabs) has been added to MKC and will be updated regularly.

The Celluloid Traveler: In Search of The Host on the Han River
The Han River splits the city of Seoul neatly in two. North of the river lies the city’s past: huge, stately palaces; winding neighborhoods full of handsome hanok (traditional Korean houses); and monolithic gates that mark where defensive walls once stood.  South of the Han is Seoul’s future: Yeoido, the financial center of Korea; endless high-rise apartment buildings marching through what just a few decades ago was sleepy farm land; and some of the most expensive real estate on the peninsula.  The Han River is where Seoul’s ten million plus inhabitants go to unwind on a weekend afternoon, taking advantage of the myriads of parks and recreational facilities that line its banks.  It’s also where Bong Joon-Ho set some of the key scenes in his 2006 film The Host.  (VCinema, January 24, 2012)

Bleak Blockbusters
Korea had a bad 20th century.  First Japan occupied the country, then Allied forces occupied it, then a war ripped it in half, then North Korea became a dictatorship, then South Korea experienced a coup followed by a decade of military rule, followed by another decade of martial law, followed by the assassination of the president, another coup, another military regime, and, finally, in 1987, a return to constitutional government.  (Slate, January 18, 2012)

Jamie Bell in Talks to Join Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer
Well, well. Bong Joon-ho's upcoming post apocalyptic feature Snow Piercer is shaping up to have quite a cast.  We've known for a long time that Bong regular Song Kang-ho would have a part and just days ago came word that Chris Evans was in talks to join the adaptation of French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.   And now here come two more, with Variety reporting that both Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell are in talks for the picture as well.  (Twitch, January 18, 2012)

Kelly Masterson Shining up the Snow Piercer
Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all you need to punch up and polish a script, and that's exactly what's happening when it comes to the latest film from the makers of The Host (2006), Snow Piercer.  According to Variety, the flick will now get a rewrite before it goes into production this spring.  Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) scribe Kelly Masterson is doing the rewrite of the film that stars Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Jamie Bell.  (Dread Central, January 18, 2012)

Jeonju Digital Project 2012 Trio Announced
The 13thJeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) has announced the three directors for this year’s Jeonju Digital Project short film omnibus. Raya Martin, one of the most prominent young filmmakers of the Pinoy cinema renaissance, Vimukthi Jayasundara, “a visionary poet” of contemporary Sri Lankan cinema, and Ying Liang, one of the most promising directors on the Chinese digital independent filmmaking scene.  (KoBiz, January 20, 2012)

Rotterdam Lab to Welcome Four Korean Producers
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced the final 78 young film producers who will take part in the 12th edition of the Rotterdam Lab at CineMart to include four Korean producers.  These are Dahci Ma of Real Black Chicken Film, Lee Young-mi of Film Front, Dave Kim of Rainbow Factory and Han  Sunhee of BOL Pictures.  Started in 2000, the Jeonju Digital Project is an annual production by the festival which gives KW50 million (about US $44,000) each to three directors to make short films.  (KoBiZ, January 19, 2012)

Udine Plans 70s Korean Film Showcase
The 14th Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy has announced a retrospective of South Korean cinema entitled “The Darkest Decade: Korean Filmmakers in the 1970s”.  Curated by Korean cinema expert Darcy Paquet (who is also a frequent writer on the KoBiz site and Contributing Editor to Korean Cinema Today), the retrospective will feature ten films that have yet to be screened in the West.   (KoBiz, January 19, 2012)

Four Korean nominations at the Asian Film Awards
The 6th Asian Film Awards has announced nominations in 14 categories including one for Park Hae-il, the star of period action thriller War of the Arrows, and three nominations for South Korea’s Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film submission The Front Line.   (KoBiZ, January 18, 2012)

Smartphones Help Directors Look at Films from New Angles
It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it’s accessible.  Welcome to smartphone-filmmaking, which has become the new trend for both amateur and professional filmmakers in the past year.  The trend – which started about a year ago upon the domestic release of Apple’s iPhone 4 and its local carrier KT’s aggressive-creative promotion of the products – is becoming even bigger as more capital and talents are getting involved.  (The Korea Herald, January 20, 2012)

Goo Hye Sun's Short Length Film You to Premiere in Russia
The actress Goo Hye Sun’s short length film You will premiere in Russia.  The film was given an invitation to show at the Moscow “Korean Short Film Special Showing Event” that will be held from January 19-22.  The group that runs the event “Cool Connections Art Group” is planning to introduce Korean films to Russia. Out of the event if a film is chosen, it will also be shown in 5 different Russian cities.  (soompi.com, January 18, 2012)

John Hurt Joins Snow Piercer
Bong Joon-ho's train-set thriller Snow Piercer continues to gain momentum with news that legendary English actor John Hurt has joined the cast that already includes Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans and internationally heralded chameleon Tilda Swinton.  (Cinema Blend, January 23, 2012)

Movie Sheds Light on Distrust in Judiciary
The release of a new movie that is based on a “crossbow terror” case in 2007, in which a judge was attacked by a professor, is causing controversy among the general public and the judiciary here.  (The Korea Times, January 20, 2012)

INTERVIEW

Spotlighting South Korean Cinema
Kyung Hyun Kim spent his childhood in Indonesia and the Middle East due to the career demands of his father, a petroleum engineer for a South Korean oil company. He turned to movies at an early age to escape the stress of frequent moves and new schools.  “I think because of their unfamiliarity with American culture, my parents let me watch a lot of movies that weren’t made for children,” says Kim, a UC Irvine associate professor of East Asian languages & literatures and film & media studies.  (uci.edu, January 2012)

2012 Sundance Filmmakers: Kangmin Kim
Hyphen continues its interviews with the Asian American filmmakers attending this year's Sundance film festival. Kangmin Kim, like Andrew Ahn, is also a CalArts grad.  While Ahn's interest is in social realist cinema, Kangmin's interest occupies the completely opposite end of the cinematic spectrum -- stop motion animation.  (Hyphen Magazine, January 20, 2012)

TRAILER

Choked (eng sub)


Tarbosaurus 3D (eng subs)

POSTER

2 Lines

Eighteen and Nineteen

Russian Coffee

BOX OFFICE

Dancing Queen Waltzes to First Place During Busy Lunar New Year Weekend

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 22, 2012)

South Korean Films Surge in 2011

Local-made films grabbed more than half of the South Korean box office last year, the first time in six years.  According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, South Korean films enjoyed a market share of 51.9% in 2011, up from 46.5% the previous year.  (Film Business Asia, January 23 2012)

Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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