Korean director frustrated with Hollywood system

It seems that his first foray into Hollywood wasn’t so easy for famed director Kim Jee-woon.“Hollywood may not be so great for (Korean) filmmakers,” said the director, after the press premiere of his Hollywood debut “The Last Stand” in Seoul on Wednesday.Kim, best known for his 2003 horror “A Tale of Two Sisters” and 2010 thriller “I Saw the Devil,” is back with a $30-million English-language film featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead.  Directing the action flick in the U.S. was “lonely” a

Feb. 14, 2013

Best Actress winners to present at Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Best Actress Oscar winners Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon will be among the presenters at next week’s 85th Academy Awards, organizers said Wednesday. The four are the latest addition to the presenting cast at the February 24 show, which already includes former honorees Meryl Streep and Catherine Zeta-Jones.Berry won the award for her performance in “Monster’s Ball” (2001), Bullock for 2009’s “The Blind Side,” Kidman for “The Hours” (2002) and

Feb. 14, 2013

‘The Berlin File’ hits 5 million mark

Celebrated writer-director Ryu Seung-wan’s latest blockbuster “The Berlin File” topped 5 million viewers in just 14 days, official data showed Tuesday.Starring Ha Jeong-woo, Gianna Jun (Jun Ji-hyun), and Ryu Seung-beom, the spy thriller tells the story of a North Korean agent (played by Ha) in Berlin who is betrayed by his home country when a clandestine arms deal goes awry and is exposed. He tries to escape the German city with his wife (played by Jun), who works as a German-Korean translator a

Feb. 13, 2013

Actress Park among celebs investigated in drug probe

Popular actress Park Si-yeon is being investigated for the illegal use of the drug propofol, a type of anesthetic, after three other actresses were investigated on the same charge last month. The drug is classified as a psychotropic medicine in Korea.According to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, Park has been using the drug for non-medical purposes at a number of dermatology and plastic surgery clinics in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul. Actresses Lee Seung-yeon, Jang Mi-in-ae, and Hyun Young w

Feb. 13, 2013

‘New World’ a well-made noir with superb acting

Noted screenwriter Park Hoon-jung’s second feature film was finally unveiled to the press last week, featuring three heavyweight actors ― Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jeong-min and Lee Jung-jae ― in the lead.What the film deals with is nothing new, at least in Korean cinema: a criminal organization, its gangsters and the cops who try to chase them down. However, Park, who is best known for his screenplays for Kim Ji-woon’s “I Saw the Devil” and Ryu Seung-wan’s “The Unjust,” managed to create a heartless

Feb. 11, 2013

Box Office

Silver Lining PlaybookTo open Feb. 14Comedy. Romance. Directed by David O. Russel. Life is not rosy for Pat Solitano, Jr. (Bradley Cooper). He has lost his house, job and his wife. Now he is living with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months in a mental health facility for bipolar disorder. Pat is determined to get his life back, to become positive and reconcile with his wife Nikki (Brea Bee). When Nikki sees how much he has changed, Pat meets Tiffany Ma

Feb. 7, 2013

Soderbergh keeps us guessing about a drug’s ‘Side Effects’

Steven Soderbergh, rightly considered one of Hollywood’s smartest movie makers, is at his cleverest in “Side Effects,” a canny, cunning big-idea thriller in a minor key, an engrossing zeitgeist whodunit about Wall Street, Big Pharma, prescription drugs and the power we give psychiatry and psychologists.Put simply, it’s about a death, perhaps caused by an under-tested depression drug.Channing Tatum plays a Wall Street type just getting out of prison for securities fraud. Rooney Mara (of the Holly

Feb. 7, 2013

‘Last’ Soderbergh film, French divas battle at Berlinale

BERLIN (AFP) ― Steven Soderbergh’s “last” movie, a battle of French screen icons and daring looks at homosexuality in the Catholic Church will vie for gold at the Berlin film festival starting Thursday.The 63rd Berlinale will open with martial arts epic “The Grandmaster” by Chinese arthouse favourite Wong Kar Wai (“In the Mood for Love”), who will also lead the jury handing out the Golden Bear top prize on Feb. 16.Nineteen productions including big-budget Hollywood movies, new work by European v

Feb. 5, 2013

Korean-foreign productions create buzz for 2013

Famed filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming Hollywood debut “Snowpiercer” is already creating much buzz in the film industry, and looks to be one of the most anticipated Korean-foreign joint productions of the year. The sci-fi film, jointly distributed by Korea’s CJ Entertainment and American film studio The Weinstein Company, features Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans and Jamie Bell, along with Korean heavyweight Song Kang-ho. But “Snowpiercer” isn’t the only film that moviegoers should be excited about.

Feb. 5, 2013

‘Architecture 101’ producer heads KFPA

Film producer Lee Eun, whose works include last year’s hit romance “Architecture 101” and 2011 animated film “Leafie, A Hen into the Wild,” has been appointed the new head of the Korean Film Producers Association, the organization said on Monday.Lee, along with his wife and film producer Shim Jae-myung, founded their film house Myung Films in 1995. Their box office hits include “The Contact” (1997), “Joint Security Area” (2000), and “Forever the Moment” (2008). Lee and Shim last year announced t

Feb. 5, 2013

Affleck’s ‘Argo’ wins Directors Guild top honor

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Ben Affleck has won the top film honor from the Directors Guild of America for his CIA thriller “Argo,’’ further sealing its status as best-picture front-runner at the Academy Awards.Saturday’s prize also normally would make Affleck a near shoo-in to win best-director at the Feb. 24 Oscars, since the Directors Guild recipient nearly always goes on to claim the same prize at Hollywood’s biggest night.But Affleck surprisingly missed out on an Oscar directing nomination, along wi

Feb. 4, 2013

Box Office

How to Use Guys with Secret TipsTo be released Feb. 14Comedy. Directed by Lee Won-suk. Assistant commercial director Choi Bo-na (Lee Si-young) is hard-working, but she sorely lacks social skills, self-confidence, fashion sense, and aesthetic polish. Thanks to her indecisive personality, she does all the hard work. Battered with her late night duties, Bo-na has developed dark circles and a stringy nasty oily mess for her hair. Always ignored by men, Choi Bo-na has not dated in a long time; in fac

Feb. 1, 2013

‘Bullet to the Head’ is director Walter Hill’s first film in a decade

The opening credit “A Walter Hill Film” has not graced movie screens in more than 10 years ― not since the 2002 prison boxing drama “Undisputed” flopped at the box office.That movie’s failure was the last in a series of commercial calamities that plagued the director of popular and cult hits such as “The Warriors,” “The Long Riders” and “Streets of Fire.” Over the ensuing decade, Hill continued to produce movies for other people, but seemed destined never to direct another one himself.Then Sylve

Feb. 1, 2013

Porn star Ron Jeremy suffers an aneurysm

Ron Jeremy‘s manager says the adult film icon is in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering an aneurysm near his heart.Mike Esterman, Jeremy’s manager, told TMZ the 59-year-old porn star drove himself to Cedars-Sinai hospital Tuesday afternoon after experiencing severe chest pain. Upon examining him, doctors determined he had suffered an aneurysm. They were expected to perform surgery Wednesday to treat it, TMZ reported. (UPI)　<관련 한글 기사>　유명 포르노 스타, 건강 위독해　성인영화배우 론 제레미(Ron Je

Jan. 31, 2013

Olleh smartphone film fest set for April 17-20

Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival is hosting its third edition, with celebrated local filmmaker Bong Joon-ho as this year’s jury chief.The festival, which was first established in 2011 by KT Corp., is an annual film competition where participants produce 10-minute shorts solely by using their smartphones. The first edition received a total of 470 smartphone-made films, many from amateur and teen filmmakers, and selected five for prizes. This year, there are a total of three competitio

Jan. 30, 2013