Warner Bros. Korea ponders over ‘Tenet’ release date

Warner Bros. Korea is still figuring out a release date for Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated movie “Tenet” as Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich announced that the studio is pushing back the US release date of the movie indefinitely from August 12 on Monday (local time). “We are still in the middle of discussions. We will try to make our decision within the week,” said CEO Kim Tae-joo of ROSC, the company in charge of marketing “Tenet” in Korea.

July 21, 2020

‘Peninsula’ leads Asian box office upon release

“Peninsula” -- a loose sequel to smash-hit zombie flick “Train to Busan” -- topped box office charts in all four countries where it opened over the last five days. The film swept through box offices in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, according to the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World on Monday, bringing moviegoers back into local cinemas and reviving the COVID19-hit film scene. “Peninsula” has sold more than 1.8 million tickets in Ko

July 20, 2020

BIFAN features digital, physical events amid COVID-19

The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival announced the winners of its 24th edition during a closing ceremony Thursday evening, bringing down the curtains on its eight-day journey amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Around 80 people attended the ceremony at CGV’s Sopung branch in the city just west of Seoul. The winners in the feature-length film category were announced that day. In the Bucheon Choice section, devoted to international features, the coveted Best of Buche

July 17, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Vivarium (Ireland, Denmark, Belgium) Opened July 16 Drama, SF Directed by Lorcan Finnegan Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) and Gemma (Imogen Poots) are looking for the perfect home. When a real estate agent takes them to Yonder, a mysterious suburban neighborhood of identical houses, the couple can’t leave quickly enough. But when they try to exit the labyrinthesque housing development, they find themselves trapped as each road keeps on taking them back to where they started. Soon, they realize the

July 17, 2020

[Eye Interview] ‘I want to show authenticity’

The sound of rousing protest songs, impassioned speeches and slogans chanted in unison flooded my apartment complex, disturbing the tranquility of a warm, lazy morning on a Saturday morning in August. I strained to hear what was being said, but the words bounced off the building walls, becoming incomprehensible echoes by the time they reached my ears through the open window. When the shrill noise reverberated through the apartment buildings again the next Saturday, I left the book I was try

July 17, 2020

‘Peninsula’ scores biggest opening of the year, shakes up COVID-19-hit film scene

“Peninsula” on Wednesday opened the doors of the summer movie season with record-high ticket sales for this year’s box office. The sequel of to smash-hit zombie thriller “Train to Busan” attracted over 350,000 moviegoers to theaters on its release day, the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World said through a statement on Thursday. The Korean Film Council’s tally stood at 277,964 due to a computational error, the state-run agency explained. The

July 16, 2020

Jeonju film fest to kick off screening tour

The 21st edition of Jeonju International Film Festival will set off on a two-month domestic screening event to showcase selected films from this year’s festival. The organizers of the festival on Wednesday announced the event will kick off next Tuesday at the Jeonju Digital Independent Cinema -- also known as JIFF Theque -- located in Jeonju Cine Complex, at which the event will run for two months until Sept. 20. Films will also be screened in Seoul at CGV Cinelibrary in Myeong-dong and

July 16, 2020

‘Peninsula’ invited to Spain’s Sitges film fest

Director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller “Peninsula” has been invited to the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in Spain. According to the 2020 lineup announcement released by the festival organizers Tuesday, the film will compete at the 53rd edition of the festival slated to take place Oct. 8-18. Sitges is considered one of the top three fantasy genre film festival in the world, along with Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival of Belgium and

July 15, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Peninsula’ director says another sequel might follow

While director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie universe expands over two films and one animation flick, the director says he never imagined he would do a series about zombies. “When we were location hunting for ‘Train to Busan,’ we saw really shabby spots and jokingly talked about what a sequel might look like if we shot it there. I thought then that it would be fun if a little girl drove a huge dump truck and swept a zombie horde -- and that actually became the start to ‘

July 15, 2020

‘Peninsula’ of zombies, mad survivors opens hushed summer blockbuster season

“Peninsula,” a sequel of “Train to Busan,” touts itself as a zombie flick that everyone can watch. “I tried my best to deliver a universal message through a film which people of all ages could watch. I’m hoping ‘Peninsula’ becomes something for everyone to enjoy in theaters during this COVID-19 era,” director Yeon Sang-ho said during a press conference held Thursday in Seoul. Exactly four years after the release of “Train to Busan&rd

July 10, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Better Days (China) Opened July 9 Drama, Crime Directed by Kwok Cheung Tsang Nian (Dongyu Zhou) finds her life at a standstill when faced by relentless bullying from her peers as she prepares for her college entrance exam. Fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei (Jackson Yee), but before they can retreat into a world of their own, both are dragged into the middle of a murder investigation that will change their lives forever.  Fanfare (Korea) Opened July 9 Thriller, Crime

July 10, 2020

Japanese film starring Choi Hee-seo to hit Seoul early 2021

Korean actress Choi Hee-seo will star in Japanese director Yuya Ishii’s upcoming film tentatively titled “Asian Angels.” The film, which has recently finished shooting in Korea, is set to premiere in Seoul in the first half of next year, according to an announcement released Thursday. “Asian Angels” is a human drama revolving around two families, one from Japan and the other from Korea, who have been hurt by others and have come to Seoul in search of shelter. Al

July 9, 2020

Korean film directors venture for sci-fi anthology with ‘SF8’

Everything about the upcoming series “SF8” -- a sci-fi anthology series which will be streamed via streaming platform Wavve and TV channel MBC -- is new. Under the collaboration of major TV channel network MBC and the Directors Guild of Korea, eight filmmakers from the association teamed up with production company Soo Film to helm each episode of the eight-part sci-fi anthology. After a year and half long haul of production, “SF8” will be released through local over-th

July 8, 2020

Bifan to open as online-offline hybrid festival

The 24th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival will kick off Thursday, downsized with parts of the festival going online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the usual opening ceremony, the premiere of Korean horror movie “Whispering Corridors 6: Humming” from director Lee Mi-young will mark the start to the nation’s biggest genre film festival at 7 p.m. in CGV Sopung in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. With most events taking place at the theater just west of Seoul, the

July 8, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Singer (Korea) Opened July 1 Drama, Musical Directed by Cho Jung-lae In 1734 , a talented pansori singer -- sorikkun -- Shim Hak-gyu (Lee Bong-geun) sets on a journey to find his wife Gan-nan (Lee Yu-ri) who was kidnapped by a notorious group of human traffickers. Hak-gyu and his daughter Cheong is joined by drummer Dae-bong (Park Chul-min), an impoverished aristocrat (Kim Dong-wan) and a few more supporters, and the band travels around the country, moving from village to village as Hak-gy

July 3, 2020

Summit takes place on submarine in ‘Steel Rain 2’

The lead actors of 2017 film “Steel Rain,” Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won, flip their roles in the upcoming “complementary sequel” to the first movie, as put by the director of both films Yang Woo-seok. Jung, who previously played a North Korean special agent, takes up the role of the South Korean president, and Kwak, a presidential secretary of the South in the first film, becomes the North Korean regime’s chief of security. With Yoo Yeon-seok playing the North

July 2, 2020

Gwangju Uprising: 40th anniversary, missing 4 hours

At around 1 p.m. on May 21, 1980, some 200 protestors stood in front of the South Jeolla Provincial Office building in Gwangju, confronting armed soldiers. With the sound of the national anthem as the signal, the military, from both the ground and air, opened fire on the civilians. Only a picture of a wounded protestor being pulled away on the street remains from that afternoon, during which 54 civilians were killed. No one -- not even journalists, local or foreign, who reported about the Gwan

July 1, 2020

'Parasite' director Bong's interpreter Choi receives prestigious diplomacy award

Choi Sung-jae, known for her eloquent interpretation for director Bong Joon-ho of the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," received an annual diplomacy award in Seoul on Wednesday for her role in enhancing South Korea's national image, foreign ministry officials said. Choi, better known as Sharon Choi, won this year's YoungSan Diplomat Award that the nonprofit Seoul Forum for International Affairs gives to a public official and a civilian each year for their contribution to improving Kore

July 1, 2020

'Parasite' cast, crew invited to join academy

The cast and lead crew of director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" were invited to join the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to the Hollywood film trade organization on Tuesday (local time). The academy announced on its website that it extended invitations to 819 artists and executives "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin, Jo Yeo-jeong, Lee Jung-eun and Park S

July 1, 2020

Zombie thriller ‘Peninsula’ to screen in 185 countries

With “Train to Busan” having scored as a major global success in 2016, the film’s sequel “Peninsula” has already been sold to 185 countries ahead of its official release in Seoul set for July 15. Film distributor Next Entertainment World on Tuesday announced it has secured distribution deals for zombie flick “Peninsula” in 185 countries, including North and South American territories, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Russia. In Taiwan and Ho

June 30, 2020