Not quite last week's haul but nonetheless a lot of great features and interview (and a comprehensive academic thesis!) this week on a variety of topics.
Enjoy!
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Director's Cut of War of the Arrows Hits Theaters
An extended version of Korean action film
War of the Arrows was released in Korea last thursday. The new cut features an additional six minutes of footage, primarily in the action sequences. (10 asia, October 20, 2011)
Filmmaker Im Kwon-taek: Master of Mirrors
At 75, the filmmaker continues to explore new ground. “I don’t lie in my movies... I simply try to capture what we feel in our everyday lives.” (
The Korea Times, October 20, 2011)
Punch Pushes Actor Into Next Phase of His Career
The new film Punch does not have an exciting story line, a swirling climax nor a vengeful villain at its center. But it does have the talents of an engaging young actor named Yoo Ah-in, who appears to have lost a bit of his boyish arrogance and is entering a new, more serious phase of his career. (Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)
A New Era for Asia’s Biggest Film Festival
When a small film festival opened at an outdoor market in Nampo-dong, Busan, during the mid-90s, few expected it to make a mark in the industry amid more prominent competition in Asia. Back then, the Asian festival circuit was based mostly on two strongholds – the Tokyo International Film Festival, located in the second-biggest film market on the globe, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival, located in the world’s fastest-growing film market. (
Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)
The Original Murder 2 Director in Town!
South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-Jin isn’t a big talker. Maybe because he doesn’t speak English, and it was his translator who was doing all the chatting. But uttering the key words ‘
Murder 2’, ‘inspired from’ and ‘your debut film
The Chaser (2008)’ immediately got us a response in the form of a visible nod. (Hindustan Times, October 20, 2011)
New Council to Address Monopoly in Domestic Film Industry
A new council has been launched to resolve the issue of monopoly by large companies in the domestic film industry. (KBS, October 21, 2011)
Korean Talent Agency Cuts IPO Size After Key Star’s Drug Scandal
Korean talent agency YG Entertainment, which manages the popular boy band Big Bang, has cut the size of its planned initial public offering, citing a drug scandal involving a key star as a risk factor. (
Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)
Real-life Poongsan Dogs Deliver Items to Separated Families
The protagonist of
Poongsan, a South Korean film released last summer and named after a breed of hunting dog from North Korea, is a person who goes between the two Koreas via China to transport things or people. (
The Dong-a Ilbo, October 21, 2011)
The Yellow Sea Playing at Philadelphia Film Festival
The Yellow Sea: South Korean director Hong-jin Na follows up his explosive debut,
The Chaser (2008), with a crime drama about a cabbie who is forced to become a hit man to pay off his wife's debts. An action film to match any of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters,
The Yellow Sea "is a true epic," says Lerman. "It has huge set pieces, huge car chases, and amazing plot twists." (philly.con, Ocotber 21, 2011)
Song Hye-kyo Returns with New Movie
After vanishing from the public's view for the last three years, actress Song Hye-kyo has returned to the silver screen with
A Reason to Live, a story about a woman who forgives a boy for killing her fiancé. (
The Chosun Ilbo, October 22, 2011)
Rooney Mara Says No to Oldboy
Variety's Justin Kroll tweeted yesterday that Mara has passed on the part, so producers will have to keep making their way down the wishlist to land someone opposite Josh Brolin. (Twitch, October 20, 2011)
Planet of Snail to Compete at Amsterdam Doc Fest
Korea-Japan-Finland documentary
Planet of Snail, directed by Yi Seung-Jun, will be in the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) Competition for Feature-Length Documentary. (KOBIZ, October 23, 2011)
Lee Man-hee classic A Day Off + Mark Morris talk at KCC
Lee Man-hee’s classic film
A Day Off (1969) will be screening as part of the London Korean Film Festival this year, with a talk by Dr Mark Morris.
A Day Off is part of the Lee Man-hee DVD box set which might be in your to-watch pile. This is your opportunity to see it. The screening and talk is on 11 November at the KCC at 7:30pm. Book your place via
[email protected]. (London Korea Links, October 22, 2011)
Lee Seung-gi And Ha Ji-won Receive National Merit Awards
The multi-faceted entertainer Lee Seung-gi along with top actress Ha Ji-won both received national merit recognition at the 48th Savings Day event. (KBS, October 25, 2011)
Political Ideology and Culture in Film
Movies are one of the most effective media for disseminating and propagating political ideologies to people. In communist countries where propaganda is imperative, the government controls the movie industry in order to produce and promote movies filled with propaganda. (
The Korea Herald, October 25, 2011)
Museum of Fine Arts Houston to Host Series of Korean Films
The Museum of Fine Art Houston will screen a series of Korean films from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6 at the museum, located at 1001 Bissonnet. The screenings are part of the museum's Spotlight on World Cinema program, which looks at films from different parts of the world. The focus of the upcoming program is South Korea and will include
The Housemaid,
The Day He Arrives,
Finding Mr. Destiny, and
Secret Sunshine (2007). (ultimatewestu.com, October 24, 2011)
Well Go Takes Korean Oscar Contender, The Front Line
North American rights to South Korea’s entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration,
The Front Line have been picked up by Well Go USA Entertainment. Directed by Jang Hun (
Secret Reunion), Well Go plans a January release in major markets. (indieWIRE, October 25, 2011)
Who's Afraid of Lady Vengeance?
This Halloween, take a break from your chainsaw massacres and nightmares on Elm Street and try some horror with an Asian flavour. Horror movies from East Asia have a lot going for them. Aside from offering a glimpse into unique cultural mythologies and traditions, you'll find a greater emphasis on supernatural forces in the real world, compared to western horror, and more fatalism where individual agency is concerned. (
The Vancouver Sun, October 25, 2011)
In this study, See He Han analyzes how recent Korean cinema has responded to the forces of globalization by appropriating these influences both on and off screen. (University of Texas, 2011)
INTERVIEWS
BIFF - Q&A With Director Kang Hyung-Chul & Cast of Sunny
Q&A for
Sunny took place after a screening of the movie at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival on October 7, 2011. Appearing as speakers are (listed in order of picture above) director Kang Hyung-Chul and actresses Kang So-Ra, Jin Hee-Kyung, Yoo Ho-Jeong, Park Jin-Joo, Min Hyo-Rin, Kim Min-Young. AsianMediaWiki editor Ki Mun was there and transcribed/translated the session. (Asian Media Wiki, October 7, 2011)
Actress Jeon Do-youn - Part 1
Jeon plays Cha Ha-yeon, a femme fatale con artist who sneers at the world with her beauty and brains until she gets taught her lesson, in movie
Countdown. However, Jeon herself does not live her life so moderately. Below is a record of her life, in no way moderate, where she pours the energy she will use to feel regret about her past or worry about her future, into what is most current. (asiae.co.kr, October 21, 2011)
Q&A for
Punch took place after a screening of the movie at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival on October 10, 2011. Appearing as speaker is the movie's director Lee Han. AsianMediaWiki editor Ki Mun was there and transcribed/translated the session. (Asian Media Wiki, October 10, 2011)
Heo Jong-ho, director of Countdown
He has a mere 10 days. Ruthless debt collector Tae Geon-ho (Jung Jae-young) can only survive if he can get a liver transplant from compulsive scam artist Cha Ha-yeon (Jeon Do-youn). This is the set-up of newcomer Heo Jong-ho’s crime thriller
Countdown, a film that made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (KOBIZ, October 24, 2011)
TRAILERS
POSTERS
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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