Three heavyweight actors are co-starring in one of the most anticipated films of the first half of the year.Choi Min-sik (“Oldboy,” “I Saw the Devil”), Lee Jung-jae (“The Thieves,” “The Housemaid”), and Hwang Jeong-min (“The Unjust,” “You Are My Sunshine”) are returning to the big screen next month in a crime thriller directed by Park Hun-jeong.The thriller tells the story of police detective Ja-seong (Lee Jung-jae), who is assigned by his boss Park (Choi Min-sik) to do an undercover investigati

Jan. 17, 2013

The capabilities of the latest generations of smartphones far surpass simply making calls and texting friends and loved ones. Rather, these phones have opened up the world to a new way to not only see movies, but to produce and direct them as well. Famed Korean film director and screenwriter Bong Joon-ho has been selected as the chairman of the film screening committee for this year’s upcoming 3rd Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival. Director Bong is most famous for his 2006 movie, “The

Jan. 16, 2013

LOS ANGELES ― For this awards season, Hollywood came through with a bumper crop of movies that were critical and fan favorites. But in many cases, the big studios themselves can’t take much of the credit.Among the films basking in Oscar nominations ― and bragging rights for the studios that released them ― are “Lincoln,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”In a growing trend, the distributors of those three movies didn’t pay to make them. Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures and F

Jan. 16, 2013

A Hollywood actress revealed her attraction to Ryan Gosling, the star of “Gangster Squad,” by making a sexual joke on Twitter.Anna Kendrick, 22, wrote on her page, “Ugh, never going to a Ryan Gosling movie in a theater again. Apparently masturbating in the back row is still considered inappropriate.” The message has gotten 21,000 retweets in a couple of days. Kelsea Stahler, a staff reporter from Hollywood.com, one of the retweeters, said, “Can we stop pretending it’s shocking that a woman migh

Jan. 16, 2013

“Les Miserables,” a Hollywood musical film based on Victor Hugo‘s timeless story of injustice, heroism and love in 19th-century Paris, is hitting South Korea’s box-office and attracting an audience of nearly 5 million.According to the official box-office tally by the Korean Film Council, the movie that opened at local theaters on Dec. 19 has sold 4.939 million tickets as of Tuesday. The attendance thus is expected to exceed the 5 million mark on Wednesday. The milestone is rare for a musical wit

Jan. 16, 2013

Heath Ledger‘s parents say they have a wonderful relationship with the late Australian actor’s 7-year-old daughter, who lives in New York.Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose five years ago at the age of 28, leaving behind little Matilda, his only child with his ex-girlfriend, actress Michelle Williams.“Matilda has the same walk as Heath and is such a respectful little kid -- she calls us ‘Papa’ and ‘Grandma Sal.’ Our family has the most wonderful relationship with both Matilda and Michel

Jan. 16, 2013

“Die Hard” director John McTiernan will serve a one-year federal prison sentence for making false statements to the FBI, The Hollywood Reporter said. “The Hunt for Red October” filmmaker was sentenced in late 2010 to one year in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 after pleading guilty to making false statements to federal investigators working on an illegal wiretapping case involving private detective Anthony Pellicano.McTiernan has since unsuccessfully filed for an appeal, attempted t

Jan. 16, 2013

Hollywood icon Natalie Wood may have suffered non-accidental injuries before her 1981 drowning death and ended up in the sea in a “non-volitional” manner, a new coroner‘s report said Monday.The report, compiled by the LA County Coroner’s Office after the case was re-opened in 2011, raises fresh questions about her death and the role of her actor husband Robert Wagner and a fellow actor on the fateful night.The “West Side Story” and “Rebel Without a Cause” star drowned on the night of November 29

Jan. 15, 2013

Three Korean films have been invited to the upcoming Berlinale’s Panorama section. The section features new independent and art house films that deal with “controversial subjects or unconventional aesthetic styles.”One of the three films is director E J-yong’s “Behind the Camera,” which tells the story of an eccentric filmmaker and 14 actors and actresses who work with him on a film project. The movie premiered at last year’s Busan International Film Festival and received positive reviews from t

Jan. 14, 2013

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage drama “Argo” and musical “Les Miserables” were the big winners Sunday at the Golden Globes, while Steven Spielberg’s presidential drama “Lincoln” won only one major award.Affleck won the top prizes of best dramatic film and director for his movie about a CIA mission to rescue diplomats caught in Tehran in 1979, while “Les Miserables” won best film, actor and supporting actress in the musical/comedy category.Daniel Day-Lewis won best drama actor for his portrayal of A

Jan. 14, 2013

Cloud Atlas (U.S., Germany)Opened Jan. 9Science Fiction. Directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. The film consists of six stories, set across centuries and continents. In the 1840s, on a voyage through the Pacific Islands, Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) befriends a scheming doctor (Tom Hanks) and falls into trouble. In the 1930s, young composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) is hired to assist the legendary musician Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent) while he seduces Ayrs’ wife while also writin

Jan. 11, 2013

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) ― The Civil War saga “Lincoln’’ leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for British-born Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.Also among the nine nominees for best picture Thursday: was the French-language film “Amour’’; the Iran hostage thriller “Argo’’; the independent hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild’’; the slave-revenge narrative “Django Unchained’’; the musical “Les Mise

Jan. 11, 2013

British actress Emma Watson expressed embarrassment on Twitter over an officer’s mistake at JFK airport in New York last month. The 22-year-old was stopped by airport officials when they mistook her for an unaccompanied minor, even though Watson is a world-famous star who played a major role in the "Harry Potter" film series.Watson described the situation she underwent on Twitter on Dec. 23, 2012. Passport control asked “Unaccompanied minor?” and Watson responded “Sorry?” To the following questi

Jan. 10, 2013

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise made his sixth visit to Korea on Wednesday, this time to promote his upcoming thriller “Jack Reacher” and receive honorary citizenship from Busan. An adaptation of English author Lee Child’s 2005 novel “One Shot,” the film features Cruise as the eponymous ex-military man with no fixed address. Throughout the film, he steps into crime scenes out of nowhere and discovers new leads.“Jack Reacher is not an executor -- he is more of a character who gets into the story and d

Jan. 10, 2013

The elder daughter of the late German film icon Klaus Kinski accused him Wednesday of sexually abusing her for several years from the time she was a small child.Pola Kinski said the diminutive fair-haired actor who died in 1991 had molested her repeatedly from the age of five until she turned 19, in an interview with weekly magazine Stern ahead of the release of a tell-all book she has written.The notoriously volatile but prolific star of "Fitzcarraldo" and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and a freq

Jan. 10, 2013