Lee Byung-hun´s Hollywood Debut

Korean actor Lee Byung-hun had just finished his filming scenes in his Hollywood debut, G.I. Joe, an adaptation of the popular action-hero comic book series. Lee plays Storm Shadow, a ninja with a dark past who joins the G.I. Joe team, an elite military unit of highly trained recruits, each with his own specialty skill. In the film they take on an evil and powerful criminal syndicate led by Cobra, a notorious arms dealer.

Director: Stephen Sommers (The Mummy)
Production company: Paramount Pictures
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Channing Tatum, Rachel Nichols, Dennis Quaid.
Release: summer of 2009.

Lee´s next projects:
* Director KIM Ji-woon’s (A Bittersweet Life) The Good, The Bad, The Weird.
* I Come With the Rain, by Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung, a France-US co-production.
* On TV: starring in the high budgeted spy thriller IRIS, produced by Lee Hyung-min, developed by Kang Je-kyu (Taegugki, Shiri), which is expected to air at the end of the year.

Jeonju International Film Festival

Jeonju International Film Festival

Twelve films from all over the world were selected for the international competition section of the the 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) slated from May 1st through 9th. The purpose of the Jeonju International Film Festival is to discover new, promising directors.

The panel of judges will be comprised of five reputed filmmakers from Korea and abroad, including Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host), actress Eom Ji-won (A Tale of Cinema), Iranian director Abolfazi Jalili, author and critic Chris Fujiwara, and Turkish culture writer Defne Gürsoy.

This year's program boasts a record total of 169 films with opening night going to Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere. And the curtain-closer will be the Korean omnibus film If You Were Me 4, produced by the National Human Rights Commission.

International Competition:

Captain Ahab (France), by Philippe Ramos

The Stolen Man (France), by Matias Pineiro

Tricks (Poland), by Andrzey Jakimowski (2007 Polish Film Festival, 'Golden Lion')

Continental, a Film Without Guns (Canada), by Stephane Lafleur (2007 Toronto International Film Festival, 'Canadian Best New Film Director')

Ballast (USA), by Lance Hammer (2008 Sundance Film Festival, 'Best Director Award')

Chop Shop (USA), by Ramin Bahrani

Cochochi (Mexico), by Guzman and Cardenas (2007 Toronto Film Festival, 'Discovery Award')

Sky, Earth, and Rain (Chile), by Jose Luis Torres Leiva (2008 Film Festival Rotterdam, 'FIPRESCI')

My Last Secret (China, Documentary), by Li Xiaofeng, Jia Kai

Years When I was Child Outside (Philippines), by John Torres

Strizh (Kazakhstan), by Abay Kulbayev (2007 International Film Festival Eurasia, 'Grand Prix')

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (Iran), by Hana Makhmalbaf

JIFF´s homepage: http://eng.jiff.or.kr
(sources: KBS World; korea.net)

Q Girls

Hong Kong actress Maggie Q (Mission Impossible 3) and Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (Blood Brothers) have joined the cast of Hollywood movie New York, I Love You (US, France, 2008), and will be starring two of the 12 short love stories. Amongst the 12 directors, Japanese director Shunji Iwai and Chinese Jiang Wen are included.


post by sam.

The Curse of the Golden Flower (China)

A Maldição da Flor Dourada/ Curse of the Golden Flower
(DVD Sony Pictures, China, 2007)Diretor: Zhang YimouAtores: Gong Li, Chow Yun Fat, Jay Chou.- No original mandarim se traduz algo como “O exército dourado chega à cidade”.

Com A Maldição da Flor Dourada o aclamado diretor Zhang Yimou fecha uma espécie de trilogia épica, juntamente com Herói e O Clã das Adagas Voadoras.

Embora muito mais grandioso e calcado em fatos históricos, o impacto do filme é bem menor, se comparado aos anteriores. Os cenários do palácio imperial são impressionantes, foram construídos primorosamente nos estúdios de cinema de Beijing. Os figurinos são outro destaque dessa produção cara para os padrões asiáticos, com trajes ricamente bordados, e armaduras em metal pesado que tornaram exaustivas as filmagens para os atores. Todo esse cuidado que serviria ao enriquecimento da estória acabou sendo um empecilho, já que se trata, no fundo, de um drama familiar, e não de um épico de batalhas imperiais.

O conflito interno do imperador da dinastia Tang (Yun Fat) com sua esposa (Li) e o reflexo trágico sobre os filhos do casal é seguido com interesse, graças às boas atuações, e ao clima intimista e shakespeareano do enredo. No entanto, os cortes bruscos para as cenas de lutas e batalhas (que o time de TH&C adora!) não combinam com o resto da trama, são como dois filmes paralelos.

Enfim, para quem é fã do cinema chinês e do diretor Zhang Yimou, sempre vale a pena conferir! E para as fãs do ator/cantor pop taiwanês Jay Chou (príncipe Jai) tem o bônus da música dos créditos finais cantada por ele.

Assista também: O Imperador e o Assassino, com Gong Li (DVD,Califórnia Filmes)

Daniel Henney to co-star in Wolverine

- The prequel to the X-men saga traces Wolverine's past as he discovers the world of mutants.

Korean-american actor Daniel Henney (My Father, My Name is Kim Sam Soon), 28, will costar in the new X-men spin-off film X-men Origins: Wolverine, starring as Agent Zero of the Mutant Weapon X program, a mutant who can control electricity and has specialized tracking abilities. In case you´re wondering, the “Mutant Weapon X Program” aims to control mutants and transform them into living weapons.

Wolverine (currently being filmed in New Zealand, will be released on May 1, 2009)
Director: Gavin Hood (Rendition).
Starring Hugh Jackman (Wolverine),Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Danny Huston (young William Stryker), Daniel Henney (Agent Zero), Dominic Monaghan, and the rapper Will.

Henney´s Awards:

Best newcomer for his acting in My Father: Korean Movie Critics Association; Blue Dragon Awards; Korea Film Festival.

Rain´s Ninja Assassin

RAIN to be the star in American film!

"This is such a huge opportunity for me. It seems like a dream" – Rain.

Korean singer-actor Rain, 26, is going to appear as the main role in the Wachowski brothers' next film, Ninja Assassin, after shooting the Speed Racer movie with the same directors.

Chosed as one of the "100 Most Influential People" by Time Magazine in 2006 and one of the "100 Most Beautiful People" a year later by People Magazine, Rain (K-drama Full House, I'm a Cyborg and That's Okay) recently concluded a contract with the important William Morris Agency (WMA), NY City.

Movie Credits:
Ninja Assassin (US)
Director: James McTeigue (V for Vendetta)
Producer: Joel Silver, Wachowski BrothersCast: Jeong Ji-hoon (RAIN)

Lee Byeong-Heon News!

The Good, the Bad and the Weird with the 'Big 3', Song Kang-ho, Lee Byeong-Heon and Jeong Woo-seong. This Korean spaghetti Western is set in the Manchuria Plain in tumultuous 1930s where the three men are chasing and being chased by each other.

Movie Credits:
The Good, the Bad and the Weird (S. Korea, 2008, CJ Entertainment)
Director: Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters; A Bittersweet Life)
Cast: Song Kang-ho (The Host), Lee Byeong-Heon (JSA), Jeong Woo-seong (Daisy).
In the meantime Lee Byeong-Heon is already shooting his Hollywood debut film, G.I. Joe (Paramount co.).

Gondono Nitsuyobi (This Sunday)

Gondono Nitsuyobi (Japan)

The pop singer Youn Ha will star as the heroine of Japanese movie Gondono Nitsuyobi (This Sunday), a drama directed by Genmochi Satoki.

Youn Ha plays the role of a Korean student in Japan who, while juggling various part-time jobs, becomes involved with a mysterious man, starring Somegoro Ichikawa (Welcome Mr. McDonald, April Story) a renowned movie star. She will be delivering lines in both Korean and Japanese!

The film is currently going into production in Nagano, Japan. The cast and crew plan to move the shooting location to Korea at the end of the month.

The director was quoted as saying: “It's a story about two people communicating and sharing perspectives, overcoming national, generational and gender differences,'' The film depicts humanity through humorous situations, times of woe and warm friendships.''

(source: Korea Times)

Choi Min-soo in America!

South Korean actor Choi Min-soo (Sword of the Moon) is to co-star with american stars Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia (as mafia bosses) in a blockbuster titled Street of Dreams.

 

Street of Dreams is based on the true story about the first Japanese-American mobster Montana Joe, in the 1960s New York City. Choi Min-soo is to play the role of Montana Joe’s Korean friend, Eddie, and will be his first Hollywood movie.

The filming is to start this winter and the movie will be released worldwide in summer of 2009. The producers are searching a japanese actor for the leading role. My vote goes to Takashi Sorimachi!



Street of Dreams (US, Japan, S. Korea, 2009)
Director: Raymond De Felitta (Bronx Cheer)
Screenwriter: Roger Towne (Chinatown)
Productor: Fred Roos (The Godfather: Part II and III), a 40 million dollar co-production between U.S.-based FR Productions, Korea’s Hyun Jin Cinema, and Japan’s Wides Japan.
Cast: Choi Min-soo, Shu Qi, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia.
[Source: Yonhap News.]

Park Chan-wook´s Thirst

Thirst- new film from ”The Trilogy of Vengeance” director Park Chan-wook.

The filming of Park Chan-wook´s new production, Thirst, is expected to begin in early April. The cast includes young actor Shin Ha-gyun, and awarded Song Kang-ho (The Host), and the duo will join the director once again, after Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002).

Thirst is a tragic melodrama about how a man (Song) who turned into a vampire after an accident falls in love with a married woman (Kim Ok-bin). Shin plays the husband.
(source: KBS World)

South Korean actor Shin Ha-gyun

Movie Credits:
Bakjwi "Thirst" (a.k. Evil Live) (S. Korea, CJ Entertainment, 2009)
Director: Park Chan-wook (Oldboy)

Cast: Kim Ok-bin, Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-gyun.

Plot: Story finds actor Song Kang-ho (Sunshine), as a much-loved priest who becomes a vampire after a failed medical experiment; he becomes a tortured and depraved soul. Title refers to a craving for sex, blood and love. CJ is pitching the pic as a love story with horror and drama.Shooting will begin in March 2008.

A Bittersweet Life (Coréia do Sul)

A Bittersweet Life (O Gosto da Vingança)– um lançamento em dvd imperdível!

À primeira vista, mais um filhote da “trilogia da vingança” do aclamado diretor Park Chan-wook, O Gosto da Vingança tem sim personalidade própria. Não que as referências ao cultuado Oldboy estejam ausentes – elas divertem os fãs do cinema coreano na medida exata.

As diferenças e portanto qualidades do filme estão na direção delicada mas segura, mais jovial e menos modernosa que a do Sr. Park. Kim Jee-woon já comprovou seu talento excepcional como diretor e roteirista no belíssimo e assustador A Tale of Two Sisters, imperdível! Os norte-americanos já compraram os direitos desse filme, certamente para transformar uma obra-prima num pastiche horrível. Aliás, parece que os roteiros de cinema coreanos estão se tornando um dos maiores produtos de exportação desse país asiático. Bom para eles, péssimo para quem gasta seu precioso dinherinho para ver os pouco inspirados remakes ianques. Scorcese e seu Oscar de consolação que o diga!



A grande estrela de A Bittersweet Life é seu protagonista, o ator Lee Byeong-heon. A câmera segue apaixonadamente seu belo e expressivo rosto, e nossos olhos também...um personagem que fala tão pouco mas que diz tanto com o olhar!
Apesar das excitantes cenas de ação, é o gosto “agridoce” desse belo drama que fica em nossa memória no final.

Recomendo ler sobre o filme apenas depois de assistí-lo, qualquer spoiler pode tirar o prazer de curtir a estória.
Review at: http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm05.html#bittersweet

O Gosto da Vingança (A Bittersweet Life/ “Dal-kom-han In-saeng”, CJ Entertainmet)
Coréia do Sul, 2005, 120 min; DVD4, Visual Filmes. Sem Extras. Idiomas: coreano e português.
Direção e roteiro: Kim Jee-woon.Elenco: Lee Byeong-heon, Kim Yeong-cheol, Hwang Jeong-mim.

A cada dia que passa surge uma distribuidora de filmes nova no Brasil. Infelizmente, isso não se traduz em maior qualidade nos lançamentos em DVD. Parece que o planejamento para a escolha dos títulos é nulo! Não se nota interesse em qualidade, histórico ou sequer prioridade. É um caos total!E será que custa tanto colocar extras (making of, entrevistas, cenas deletadas, etc.) interessantes (galeria de fotos e trailer?! por favor!)? Mas o que nos deixa mais chateados é quando é ignorado o idioma original (acontece principalmente nos filmes chineses - alô Alpha Filmes!) e só é oferecida uma hedionda dublagem em inglês ou português (essa normalmente bem superior, é verdade). Por isso, quando surgem bons títulos como o acima, é agradecer aos céus e correr para comprar o DVD.

THC recomenda:

* Zona de Risco (Joint Security Area), Coréia do Sul, 2000, 109 min; de Park Chan-wook; estrelando Lee Byeong-heon, Song Kang-ho. DVD4 (duplo), Europa Filmes.

* Medo (A Tale of Two Sisters), Coréia do Sul, 2003, 114 min.; de Kim Jee-woon ; estrelando Yeom Jeong-a, Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Kim Kad-su. DVD4 (duplo), Europa Filmes.

* Oldboy , Coréia do Sul, 2003, 120 min; de Park Chan-wook, com Choi Min-sik; vencedor do Grande Prêmio do Júri de Cannes, 2004. DVD4 (duplo), Europa Filmes.

5th Max Movie Awards

The 5th Max Movie Awards , february 14 2008, held at the at Lotte Cinema, KonKuk Station, S. Korea, and is a people´s choice award.

Jeong Jae-yeong won the Best Actor Award for the action/comedy movie "Going By The Book".
http://www.jungdoman.com



see the winners and photos at:
http://www.dailyseop.com/section/article_view.aspx?at_id=74810

Jeong Jae-yeong´s Divine Weapon

Shingijeon / The Divine Weapon (South Korea) - Korean actor Jeong Jae-yeong new project.

A promising South Korean blockbuster is Shingijeon, directed by Kim Yoo-jin.
This 10 billion won movie is a period piece.

It's set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910). "Shingijeon" is the name of a weapon that King Sejong, the creator of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, ordered his scientists to develop in the 15th century. The rocket-propelled weapon fires multiple arrows carrying small bombs over a great range. The production team made the now-defunct weapon using authentic designs from history books.

The movie is filled with epic battle sequences between secret agents assigned to protect the development of this weapon of mass destruction. The Chinese do not want the weapon to be developed. Possible parallels with the world today and the problem of the proliferation of nuclear weapons?

Ahn Seong-gi plays King Sejong, and Jeong Jae-yeong plays Seol-ju, who falls in love with the daughter of one of the key scientists working on the weapon. Seol-ju has to protect his love interest from a gang of Chinese agents determined to stop the Koreans and their arms industry.

The movie will arrive in theaters in April.
source: Hancinema.net

Director Park Chan-wook´s Vampire Movie

Acclaimed director Park Chan-wook has chosen Kim Ok-bin as the star of his next film Evil Live.
The spotlight had been on just who the female star would be. The part involves many adult scenes alongside male hearthrob Song Kang-ho, who claimed the main role in the international hit film The Host.

"Evil Live" or "Bakjwi" in Korean is a melo-horror film of a human-turned-vampire's affair with a married woman.

(we hope to see Song Kang-ho playing a sexy vampire!)

Director Park, known for his award-winning film Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, says he chose Kim for her unique talents that allow her to assume a vast range of characters.
Shooting will begin in March.
source: http://bit.ly/97Srtu, from Arirang News.

p.s.: Song Kang-ho worked in Park Chan-wook´s Mr. Vengeance and in JSA.
read his profile at: http://bit.ly/dzVw96

Tea House and Cinema Best Movies of 2007

Best Comics Adaptation: Ghost Rider

Best Romantic Comedy: Music And Lyrics

Best Sci-fi Movie: Sunshine

Best French Movie: Fauteuils d' Orchestre

Old film "back to the teathers": Days of Beying Wild

Biggest disapointment: 1408

“I´m too old for this sh*#!” award: Rush Hour 3

Best OST: Marie-Antoinette

Worst American Remake: No Reservations

Fauteuils d' Orchestre (France, 2006, 105 min.)
Director: Danièle Thompson
Cast: Cécile De France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel, Laura Morante, Claude Brasseur, Christopher Thompson, Annelise Hesme, Sydney Pollack.

Dragon Ball Z, the Movie

HK director/actor Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustler) is producing, with 20th Century Fox, the film version of the japanese mangá by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z.

The story follows Goku (Chatwin), a warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls.

James Wong is the director and screenwriter.

"Dragonball" is shooting in Mexico City and Los Angeles, and the cast includes actress Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), and actors Justin Chatwin (as Goku) and James Marsters (as Piccolo).

Park Joon-hyung (G.O.D) will play bad boy Yamcha, a thief turned Z fighter. American actress Emmy Rossum plays Bulma, a scientist and inventor whose father’s Dragon Ball is stolen by the villain, Piccolo. And Eriko Tamura (Yaeko in TV series “Heroes”) will play the character of Mai.

Finally, chinese star Chow Yun-Fat will play Master Roshi, Goku's mentor, that helps him achieve the highest state of fighting and spiritual powers.

20th Century Fox will launch the movie at august 15, 2008.

Merry Xmas!

Jeong Jae-yeong (korean actor)

Jeong Jae-yeong (정재영)


South Korean actor (b. November 21, 1970), started his career working on stage and in minor roles in films. His debut was in the 1996 comedy film The Adventures of Mrs. Park, followed by Green Fish, The Quiet Family, and Die Bad.

"When I made my debut, people said I had too plain a face (to be a successful actor)", Jeong said in a recent interview with local newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "But now they say that I can play various roles because of my normal appearance".

The work with director/playright Jang Jin (The Happenings and The Spy), was very important to his acting formation. In Jang Jin's third film Guns and Talks, Jeong played one member of the film's central quartet of assassins. Shortly after that he turned in a memorable performance in Ryoo Seung-wan's No Blood No Tears. Around this time he began to be associated in audience's minds with tough, intense, masculine characters who would start a fight at the slightest provocation. His role as a death row convict turned soldier in the record-breaking Silmido marked the height of this stage of his career. This is the only Jeong´s film that I watched by now, and I love it. He and Seol Kyong-gu make a great duet!

“Behind the perfect portrayals of all the different characters, he takes a long time to prepare to show what is hidden behind his plain appearance. In the "dark period", as he recalls, when he was eager to act but no one seemed to need him, he set up a video camera in front of him and played various roles, which helped him develop a diversity of emotions for different characters.”

After this, Jeong was acclaimed for his performance in the romantic comedy Someone Special (another Jang Jin film), showing his impressive versatility. And again the sucessfull partnership with director Jang Jin was saw in the  hit Welcome to Dongmakgol, based on one of Jang Jin's plays which Jeong had also performed in, as a war-weary North Korean officer who befriends his counterparts from the South. Next,in Wedding Campaign he plays a shy rural farmer who travels to Uzbekistan in the hopes of finding a wife.

In 2006 he collaborated with Jang Jin again on the gangster drama Righteous Ties, and was part of director Song Chang-soo's comedy My Captain Mr. Underground.

Jeong´s latest film is   Going by the Book (2007), by first time director Ra Hee-chan. Jeong and Ra both have a history with influential director Jang Jin. They worked together on director Jang Jin's 2005 film Murder, Take One, Ra as an assistant director. Jeong plays a righteous and punctual policeman that follows rules to the extremes and it causes his downfall from detective to traffic agent. When he is given the role of a bank robber in a bank robbery simulation, he again fails to grasp the situation and goes too far, causing such mayhem that the media rush to the scene to cover the 'bank robbery'.

News: “Director Jang Jin has made it big once again. His latest comedy Going by the Book topped the box office in its first week and attracted 1.2 million viewers in ten days. It was number one in advance tickets on all reservation sites in the fourth week of October and has topped the box office for the second week. Jang's witty script about a mock bank robbery drill, coupled with new face Ra Hee-chan's directing and Jeong Jae-yeong's seasoned acting, has grabbed audience attention. The film received a record score for a comedy in a preview screening. And since being released, word-of-mouth praise continues to spread.”

Complete Filmography:
Going by the Book (2007)
A Day with My Son (2007)
Righteous Ties (2006)
My Captain Mr. Underground (2006)
Wedding Campaign (2005)
Murder, Take One (a.k.a. The Big Scene)(2005)
Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
So Cute (2004)
Someone Special (2004)
Taegukgi (2004)
Silmido (2003)
No Comment (2002)
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (cameo) (2002)
No Blood No Tears (2002)
Guns and Talks (2001)
Ghost Taxi (2000)
Die Bad (cameo) (2000)
The Spy (1999)
The Quiet Family (1998)
The Happenings (1997)
Green Fish (1997)
The Adventures of Mrs. Park (1996)

Dragon Ball Z, The Movie

HK director/actor Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustler) is producing the film version of the japanese mangá by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z. James Wong is the director and screenwriter.

The cast includes actress Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), and actors Justin Chatwin (as Goku) and James Marsters (as Piccolo), Erico Tamura (May), Joon Park (Yamcha), Emmy Rossum (actress from movie Poseidon).

Fox will launch the movie at august 15, 2008.

Lust, Caution

Ang Lee´s Lust, Caution shines at the International Film Festivals
Directed by Ang Lee, Lust, Caution was shot in China and partly produced by foreign entities, but was financed and distributed by U.S. companies.

After winning 7 prizes at the 44th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, including best film, director and actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), and winning the Golden Lion at the 64th Venice Film Festival, Lust, Caution goes to Hollywood.

The IFC Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Los Angeles in February:
Ang Lee's latest production Lust, Caution is a multi-nominee; the film's stars Tony Leung and Tang Wei are up for Best Actor and Actress honors, while Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is also under consideration.

And the Golden Globes...

... Lust, Caution was nominated for Best Foreign Language film by the 65th Golden Globes in Los Angeles. The award ceremony is slated for Jan. 13, 2008.
Along with Lust, Caution, four other films were also nominated as Best Foreign Language films. They are 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France), The Kite Runner (U.S.), and Persepolis (France).
Source: http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/12/14/1221@304605.htm

We´re still waiting to see Lust, Caution in South America.

THC asks: Did you watch Lust, Caution? Do you prefer Ang Lee´s American films or the Taiwan/China productions?