“Decision to Leave” shortlisted for Oscar

Award-winning director Park Chan-wook’s romance thriller “Decision to Leave” has made it to the 2023 Oscars shortlist for international feature films, according to the event organizer Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. A total of 15 films were chosen to advance to the next round of voting for the 95th Academy Awards, which is slated to take place on March 12 at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Prior to the ceremony, the Academy typically announces a shortlist of 10 to 15 fi

Dec. 22, 2022

‘Decision to Leave’ and 3 other Korean films invited to Palm Springs International Film Festival

Next month’s annual Palm Springs International Film Festival will feature four Korean films including Park Chan-wook’s romance thriller “Decision to Leave,” nominated for the best international feature film award. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Broker,” July Jung’s “Next Sohee” and Kim Jung-eun’s “Gyeong-ah’s Daughter” are among the 134 films from 64 countries that will be shown during the 34th edition of the 10-day festiv

Dec. 21, 2022

Hwang Jung-min, Hyun Bin say overseas filming for 'The Point Men' challenging

Actors Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin said shooting for their upcoming movie “The Point Men” was challenging as the majority of scenes took place overseas in Jordan, where the scorching heat proved exhausting. Although the movie is set in Afghanistan, based on the true event when 23 South Korean missionaries were captured as hostages in 2007, director Lim Soon-rye suffered various setbacks and chose Jordan after visiting the country three times. “I focused on portraying the tens

Dec. 20, 2022

Korean period action film ‘Phantom’ combines action with vivid mise-en-scenes

There are a number of South Korean period action films set in 1933, when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. Although director Lee Hae-young’s upcoming period action film “Phantom” shares the same background, the film’s plot revolving around five protagonists is about action and mind games between characters hunting down a spy called Phantom. “I did not depend too much on the historical record. Instead, I based it on information regarding a group of independence

Dec. 19, 2022

Spielberg regrets 'Jaws' impact on shark population

      LONDON -- Film-maker Steven Spielberg has said he truly regrets the "decimation of the shark population" following the success of his 1975 film "Jaws".    Spielberg's Oscar-winning thriller told the story of a man-eating great white shark that attacked a US seaside town, prompting a rise in sports fishing across America.    "I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and

Dec. 18, 2022

[Newsmaker] “Avatar: The Way of Water” tops 2.4M admissions in five days

Long-awaited Hollywood sci-fi film “Avatar: The Way of Water” has topped 2.4 million admissions in five days after its release, box-office data showed Sunday, breaking the record set by the original “Avatar” in 2009. Despite the film’s agonizingly long three-hour runtime, “Avatar: The Way of Water” drew 359,225 people on the first day, bringing its combined total to 1 million people in just three days. On Saturday alone, the first weekend day since the m

Dec. 18, 2022

South Korean film industry revenue surpasses W1tr for first time since COVID-19

South Korea’s film industry saw its accumulative revenue this year surpass 1 trillion won ($767 million) for the first time after movie theaters struggled to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data by Korean Film Council, total revenue from January to November recorded 1.26 trillion won, mostly buoyed by a slew of movies that were released targeting moviegoers during the summer and Chuseok holiday season. Such figure was up by 100.5 percent or 502.5 billion won compared to a year

Dec. 18, 2022

[Video] Everything about the film "Asia" I Exclusive interview with the cast of film “Asia” (Part 2)

Have you been wondering what the film “Asia” is about? Check out our exclusive interview with the cast! This is the second episode of a three-part series, filmed on Nov.6 in Seoul. Check out the first episode if you haven’t already, and watch out for the final episode to be released on Dec. 22!

Dec. 16, 2022

[Video] Exclusive interview with the cast of film “Asia” (Part 1)

India's Anushka Sen, Thailand's Pakorn Chatborirak and Malaysia’s Daiyan Trisha and Sean Lee sat down with the Asia 101 team for an off-the-wall interview about their Korean debut film with director Lee Jung-sub. This is the first episode of a three-part series, filmed on Nov.6 in Seoul. Check back for the next episode – the final one will be released on Dec. 22!

Dec. 16, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Prey for the Devil (US) Opened Dec. 7 Mystery Directed by Daniel Stamm With a global rise in demonic possessions, the Roman Catholic Church decides to reopen schools to train priests to perform exorcisms. While nuns are not allowed to perform this ritual, Sister Ann’s gifts are noticed by a professor who decides to train her. Sister Ann soon finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl possessed by a demon. Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Japan) Opened Nov. 30 Romance D

Dec. 16, 2022

'Decision to Leave' nominated for Critics Choice Awards

Park Chan-wook's romance thriller "Decision to Leave" has been nominated for best foreign film for this year's Critics Choice Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Critics Choice Association on Wednesday (U.S. time), the Korean film starring Park Hae-il and Tang Wei was listed in the best foreign language film category, along with five other movies. "Decision to Leave" has also been named the best non-English language film at the Golden Globe Awards

Dec. 15, 2022

Korean cinema sees more blood, guts and gore

Crime action film “The Roundup” was the biggest box office hit of 2022 in South Korea, selling over 10 million tickets in just 25 days after its release in May. Starring Ma Dong-seok, the sequel to 2017 film “The Outlaws” was rated 15, which means it was deemed suitable for audiences aged 15 and older. Children under 15 are allowed to watch these movies in theaters as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. A few minutes into the film, however, the main vill

Dec. 14, 2022

[Herald Review] Musical ‘Hero’ moves to big screen with heart-touching drama, famous tracks

The short, but dramatic life of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) has been adopted into various novels and musicals, but the musical “Hero” has been the best-known adaptation with veteran actor Jung Sung-hwa playing Ahn on stage for 14 years since its premiere in 2009. When megahit film director Youn Je-kyoon watched Jung performing on stage in 2012, it became obvious for Youn to bring the award-winning musical to the big screen. “If I were to create a film

Dec. 13, 2022

Korean period thriller tops S. Korea box office for 3rd week

The South Korean period thriller "The Night Owl" has stayed atop the weekend box office for the third time in a row, data showed Monday. The movie topped the box office chart for last weekend beginning Friday, selling about 468,000 tickets, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The flick has been on top of the weekend chart as well as the daily chart since it opened in South Korean theaters on Nov. 23, amassing 2.52 million viewers. Set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910),

Dec. 12, 2022

TikTok creators front 58th Daejong Awards

Star TikTok creators brought a fresh new wave to the Daejong International Film Awards as honorary ambassadors of the traditional film fest. The 58th Daejong Awards, also known as the Grand Bell Awards, took place at the New Millennium Grand Theater at Konkuk University in Seoul on Friday night. The night kicked off with a red carpet ceremony where prominent actors and directors including Park Hae-il, Park So-dam and director Kim Han-min were in attendance. Alongside the cineastes were four TikT

Dec. 11, 2022

‘Decision To Leave’ snatches 3 awards at 58th Daejong Film Awards

In an attempt to bring it back to its former glory, the 58th Daejong Film Awards was held Friday in Seoul in a smaller scale with only a few actors in attendance. Film director Park Chan-wook’s Cannes-winning romance-thriller “Decision to Leave” won the most coveted best picture and scenario award at this year’s Daejong Film Awards, also known as the Grand Bell Awards. Park, who is currently working on his next project abroad, delivered his acceptance speech via a voice

Dec. 9, 2022

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Japan) Opened Nov. 30 Romance Directed by Takahiro Miki The movie, based on the novel by the same title by the Japanese author Misaki Ichijo, tells a story of high school students Toru Kamiya (Shunsuke Michieda) and Maori Hino (Riko Fukumoto) who go on a date despite Maori suffering from a condition in which she loses all memory of the previous day upon waking up the next morning. Overcoming such a hurdle, Toru promises Maori as many happy memories as possib

Dec. 9, 2022

Freedom of Expression Film Festival to screen once blacklisted films

The Korean Film Council will hold the Freedom of Expression Film Festival from Friday until Dec. 18, with local independent film theaters screening 20 films that were blacklisted during previous conservative administrations. The existence of the blacklist came to light in 2016. The 20 films include director Park Chan-wook’s “Joint Security Area” (2000), “The Handmaiden” (2016), director Chung Ji-young’s “National Security” (2012) and movies starrin

Dec. 8, 2022

Long-awaited ‘Avatar 2’ leads year-end movie releases

Following the dire, years-long pandemic-related difficulties, local theaters are hoping the box office records will get a year-end boost with a slew of new releases -- from the much-anticipated James Cameron blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” to South Korea’s first ever musical-to-screen movie “Hero.” Will those films bring back to theaters people who have been streaming Netflix in the comfort of their homes? Or will they stay home, begrudging the ticket price

Dec. 7, 2022

Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ confirmed for March 2024 release

Oscar-winning film director Bong Joon-ho’s next movie, “Mickey 17,” will hit theaters on March 29, 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed Tuesday. The movie is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 sci-fi novel “Mickey7,” which tells the story of Mickey7, an expendable employee who is sent on a dangerous mission to colonize an ice world called Niflheim. “Twilight” series’ Robert Pattinson plays the lead role. The cast also includes Hollywood stars Nao

Dec. 6, 2022