The Korea Herald

Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Our Sunhi’ draws 50,000 viewers

Director Hong Sang-soo’s latest film “Our Sunhi” has drawn 50,000 viewers in 19 days, a record for the filmmaker. According to the state-run Korean Film Council, Hong’s film, which belongs to the local diversity film chart ― a chart for indie and art house films released in fewer than 100 theaters nationwide ― topped 52,359 viewers as of Tuesday. In the local film industry, the 10,000-viewer mark for indie films is generally considered equivalent to the 1 million mark for a commercial film. “Our

Oct. 1, 2013

Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Our Sunhi’ draws 50,000 viewers

Iran taps Asghar Farhadi film ‘Le Passe’ for Oscars entry

TEHRAN (AFP) ― Iran has submitted “Le Passe,” the latest film from “Une Separation” director Asghar Farhadi, for Oscars consideration in a move opposed by conservatives, who say the film is too French.“Le Passe” (The Past) tells the story of an Iranian (played by Ali Mosaffa) who returns to France after four years away to sign divorce papers with his French wife Marie (Berenice Bejo).During the journey, he uncovers a great secret weighing on Marie, her daughters and her new boyfriend.Farhadi won

Sept. 30, 2013

Hugh Jackman gets lifetime achievement award in Spain

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AFP) ― Australian actor Hugh Jackman, the star of “Wolverine” and “X-Men,” received a lifetime achievement award on Friday at the San Sebastian film festival in northern Spain.“I will take this as a charge to go on working for many more years to move you and entertain you,” he said after collecting the festival‘s Donostia award for his film career from the hands of Mexican actor Diego Luna at a ceremony held at beachside congress centre in the coastal city of San Sebastian.

Sept. 29, 2013

Hugh Jackman gets lifetime achievement award in Spain

Box Office: Runner Runner, The Face Reader, The Spy

Runner Runner Opened Sept. 26 Crime. Drama. Thriller. Directed by Brad Furman. Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a student at Princeton University who pays his tuition by online gambling. When he gets cheated out of his money, he learns the site is being run from a remote island and decides to confront the site’s owner. He meets the cunning online gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck), and instead of getting his money back, Richie is lured into becoming Ivan’s protege with the promise of go

Sept. 27, 2013

Box Office: Runner Runner, The Face Reader, The Spy

Porn addict meets Ms. Right in ‘Don Jon’

Don Jon’s a dog.He cares only about his car, his pad, his boys, his family, his gym, his church (Sundays only), girls and porn ― lots and lots of porn. That is, until he meets Ms. Right ― actually two Ms. Rights ― and his bro-licious world is turned upside down when he learns that women are people too.That’s the simple premise for “Don Jon,” the feature directorial/writing debut for actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but it’s handled with such a deft sense of humor and pathos that it transcends any rom

Sept. 27, 2013

Porn addict meets Ms. Right in ‘Don Jon’

The NY Film Festival in flux, to match the times

Change isn’t undertaken haphazardly in the halls of Lincoln Center. This year, for example, is the first time the New York Film Festival is being led by someone not named Richard. The 51st New York Film Festival, which opens Friday with the premiere of Paul Greengrass’ Somali pirate docudrama “Captain Phillips,” marks the start of new program director Kent Jones’ stewardship. Jones, a critic and sometimes filmmaker, is only the third program director of the festival, following Richard Roud and R

Sept. 27, 2013

‘Emotional, skirmishing scenes exhausted us’: ‘Accomplice’ actors

Actress Son Ye-jin and actor Kim Kap-soo said their latest film cost them a great deal of effort to deal with detailed portrayals of emotions.In the emotional thriller “The Accomplice,” Son played a daughter who becomes suspicious that her father might be a culprit in a kidnap-turned-murder case.The film took the motif from a true story that shocked the nation in 1988, about a man who killed two children in his neighborhood and threw their bodies into the sea. In “The Accomplice,” with only 15 d

Sept. 27, 2013

‘Emotional, skirmishing scenes exhausted us’: ‘Accomplice’ actors

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg to adult-themed animated film

NEW YORK (AP) ― Sony Pictures will make a raunchy, adult-themed animated film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg titled “Sausage Party.”The project was announced Tuesday by Sony, which is co-financing the film with Annapurna Pictures. Writing partners Rogen and Goldberg penned the script along with Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir.“Sausage Party” is described as “one sausage’s quest to discover the truth about his existence.” After falling out of a shopping cart, the sausage journeys through a

Sept. 25, 2013

China’s richest man aims to rival Hollywood

QINGDAO, China (AFP) ― An ambitious studio complex built by China’s richest man will be a major boost for the country’s film industry but experts say it needs more than sprawling grounds to rival Hollywood.Global A-listers Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Zeta-Jones showed up on Sunday for the lavish event to showcase plans for the Oriental Movie Metropolis, set to span 376 hectares, in the eastern port city of Qingdao.The 50 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) complex will house 20 studio

Sept. 24, 2013

Film on Korean shaman to open DMZ Docs

A film about a famed shaman and her life intertwined with the tumultuous modern history will open this year’s DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs), the organizers announced on Tuesday.Written and directed by famed media artist and filmmaker Park Chan-kyong, the documentary film “Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits” follows the tortuous life of Kim Guem-hwa, a well-known shaman in Korea. Born in 1931 in a rural town in Hwanghae Province, now in North Korea, Kim was often threat

Sept. 24, 2013

Indonesian films get festival treatment

A total of nine Indonesian films will get the festival treatment in Korea this week, including a biopic of Indonesia’s third president, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.The first Indonesia Film Festival kicks off in Korea on Thursday, co-presented by Korea’s major multiplex chain CJ CGV, Korean entertainment company CJ E&M, Indonesian chain of movie theaters Blitz Megaplex and Indonesian film distribution company Jive Entertainment. The film festival will be held in Seoul and Ansan, Gyeonggi Province,

Sept. 23, 2013

Hollywood stars turn out for China’s new ‘cinema city’

QINGDAO, China (AFP) ― Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta on Sunday added their star power to the glitzy inauguration of the ambitious “Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis,” billed as China’s answer to Hollywood.China’s richest man Wang Jianlin and his conglomerate Wanda Group have poured 50 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) into the sprawling complex in the city of Qingdao. Construction has already started but the complex will only be operational from 2016.Wang told a lavish and star-st

Sept. 23, 2013

Golden Globes to honor Woody Allen’s career

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― The organizers of the Golden Globe Awards say they will honor Woody Allen for his contributions to filmmaking.The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Friday that Allen will receive the 2014 Cecil B. DeMille Award. A tribute to the 77-year-old actor, writer and director will be included in the 71st annual Golden Globe ceremony set for Jan. 12. Morgan Freeman and Martin Scorsese are among the previous recipients.Allen’s much-honored films include “Annie Hall,” “Hannah and H

Sept. 15, 2013

Box Office: The Face Reader, The Spy, Elysium

The Face ReaderOpened Sept. 11Drama. Directed by Han Jae-rim. Nae-gyeong (Song Kang-ho) is the son of a disgraced noble family living in the Joseon era with a talent for physiognomy. With one glance of a person’s face, he is able to assess their personality, mental state, and habits. He is approached by officials in the royal court to use his skills to help solve a murder case. Nae-gyeong’s talents become recognized by the royal court and he is asked to not only solve crimes but also assist the

Sept. 13, 2013

Box Office: The Face Reader, The Spy, Elysium

‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ shuns scares for laughs

More silly than its sinister predecessor, “Insidious: Chapter 2” is entertaining for the contortions the script makes to incorporate both a brief prequel and highlights from the first film into a new 105-minute package.This is a Mobius strip of a movie, looping in on itself with ghosts from “The Further” and parallel existences interwoven into the lives of the lost Lamberts of sunny Somewhere, Calif.Those “Saw” / “Insidious” guys James Wan (director) and Leigh Whannell (co-writer, co-star) throw

Sept. 13, 2013

‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ shuns scares for laughs

J.K. Rowling to pen new magic movie for Warner Bros

LONDON (AP) ― J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry is coming back to the big screen ―but without Harry Potter.Film studio Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Rowling will write the screenplay for a movie based on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” her textbook to the magical universe she created in the boy wizard’s stories.The story will focus on the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is anticipated to be the first in a series.Rowling said in a statement the movie “is neither a p

Sept. 13, 2013

J.K. Rowling to pen new magic movie for Warner Bros

‘Project Cheonan Ship’ sold out at Incheon theater

The controversial documentary film “Project Cheonan Ship,” whose screening was suspended by a major multiplex chain, recorded a first-day sellout at a theater in Incheon on Thursday. The film challenges the government’s claim that North Korea sunk the Cheonan warship near Baengnyeongdo Island, killing 46 South Korean sailors.Cinema chain Megabox removed the movie from its lineup only two days after the film hit theaters on Sept. 5. over security concerns for moviegoers, claiming it received thre

Sept. 13, 2013

‘Face Reader’ opens strong, outsmarting rival movies

South Korean film “Face Reader” pulled off a smooth box-office start on Wednesday, selling a record 370,000 tickets on its opening day, the Korean Film Council data showed. Given that last year’s hit period flick “Masquerade” sold about 160,000 tickets on its opening day, “Face Reader” is sparking far greater responses from local moviegoers. “Spy,” released on Sept. 5, was knocked out of the box-office No. 1 slot as it sold about 50,000 tickets on Wednesday. The film illustrates a professional f

Sept. 12, 2013

Toronto film festival focuses on family

TORONTO (AFP) ― Director John Wells created an incredibly believable family in his new film “August: Osage County” ― and it felt like one off-screen too, the all-star cast said Tuesday.Based on playwright Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the production brought together Meryl Streep as a mother of three daughters portrayed by Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis.It also stars Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch and features

Sept. 11, 2013

Woody Allen cast as a pimp in new Turturro comedy

TORONTO (AFP) ― Woody Allen is a pimp, John Turturro is his gigolo-employee and Sharon Stone buys his escort services.It is an absurd premise, but working from his own screenplay, Turturro’s exploration of what it would be to be a middle-aged man for hire tickled audiences at the Toronto film festival, where his comedy “Fading Gigolo” premiered this week.In the film, Turturro (“The Big Lebowski,” “Transformers” and “O Brother Where Art Thou”) plays a New York florist, Fioravante, and friend to M

Sept. 10, 2013