Not many would be aware that filmmaker Lee Jun-ik, best known for his 2005 period drama “The King and the Clown,” used to be a copywriter and made movie posters, before making his foray into filmmaking.From the 80s to the 90s, Lee created some 1,000 promotional posters for films. One of them was for director Jeong Ji-young’s 1990 drama “North Korean Partisan in South Korea.” Making posters used to be a lot more complicated than it is now; it required cutting and gluing using scissors and paper.

Film Nov. 15, 2012

Pvt. John Bartle, the narrator of Kevin Powers’ sorrowful war novel “The Yellow Birds,” is a man of reason caught between the uncontrolled emotions of two men.The first is his sergeant, a severe gunslinger and molder of warriors named Sterling. Sgt. Sterling’s discipline and his rage against the enemy are keeping his squad of men alive as they patrol an eerie, death-filled Iraqi landscape. Pvt. Bartle loves and hates him for this.“I hated the way he excelled in death and brutality and domination

Books Nov. 15, 2012

Theater director and artist Keith Batten knows what it means to work overseas, especially when it comes to staging some of the most popular musicals in the world. He has directed over 60 productions, including Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical “Aida,” and the Broadway production of “Spiderman,” in 12 countries around the world. His last visit to Seoul took place back in 2005, when he was in charge of directing the local production of “Aida.” The musical, which tells the story of Aida, Nubia’s pr

Performance Nov. 14, 2012

Korean director Yi Seung-jun’s documentary “Planet of Snail” won the top prize at the 6th International Disability Film Festival in Moscow on Monday. The everyday portrayal of a hearing and visually impaired poet and his wife also won the top prize last year at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival. Russian actor and filmmaker Vladimir Menshov, who serves as the head of the jury of the film fest, reportedly praised the film for its a

Film Nov. 14, 2012

A total of seven Korean musicals will be performed in Tokyo’s affluent Roppongi district, according to local entertainment company CJ E&M.The Korean company is collaborating with Amuse, a prominent Japanese entertainment agency, for a project to stage Korea’s homegrown musicals with all-Korean cast starting next April. The shows are: CJ E&M’s “Cafe-in,” “Poongwoljoo,” “Finding Mr. Destiny” and “While You Are Asleep,”; PMC Production’s “Music in My Heart” and “Brothers Were Brave”; and Aga Compan

Performance Nov. 13, 2012

What would it be like to watch a pansori performance that’s very much like a horror film?The National Changgeuk Theater of Korea is presenting “Janghwa Hongryeon” this month in an attempt to create a “changgeuk,” traditional Korean opera, that’s more accessible to today’s public. The piece combines Korea’s traditional vocal and percussion music, pansori, and the folktale’s engaging plot. The traditional tale of two sisters, who become vengeful ghosts after being killed by their evil stepmother a

Performance Nov. 12, 2012

Internationally acclaimed ballet company Mariinsky Ballet kicked off its much-anticipated Seoul run of Tchaikovsky classic “Swan Lake” on Sunday at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. The famous ballet tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. She tries to break the curse with her love interest Pince Siegfried, but fails when he is tricked by the cruel magician.The renowned Russian troupe was founded in the 18th century and is now considered one of

Performance Nov. 11, 2012

Pop singer Psy’s single “Gangnam Style,” which has more than 2 million digital single sales, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) of the U.S. on Saturday.The music video, a mock tribute to Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, broke a number of world records since the single’s local release in July.It last month broke the Guinness World Record for “Most Likes on YouTube” with 2,141,758, beating the previous record of LMFAO’s “Party Rock

Performance Nov. 11, 2012

Five soldiers dressed in camouflage and carrying machine guns took cover behind a stack of wooden pallets.One yelled “incoming” and a few seconds later a large explosion ignited behind them, setting off a ball of flame rising 30 feet high. The soldiers fell to the ground from the force of the blast, a concoction of black powder and gasoline.The scene was one of many pyrotechnic stunts performed last week at the Burbank Fire Department Training Center for a crowd of Southern California firefighte

Film Nov. 9, 2012

PhantomBy Jo Nesbo(Knopf) Jo Nesbo, whose crime thrillers have sold more than 10 million copies in Europe and the United States, has been anointed as the latest king of Scandinavian noir, the heir to the addictive-page-turning throne left vacant by the death of Stieg Larsson.But reading his books in Los Angeles brings to mind a different archetypal noir figure: Michael Connelly’s tortured LAPD detective Harry Bosch.Nesbo’s detective, who is featured in nine of his 16 books, including his latest,

Books Nov. 8, 2012

Two years ago the run-up to America’s Iraq invasion was driving Tony Kushner crazy, so he started writing a play in response. In early 2003, The Nation magazine published the first scene of this work in progress, “Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy.” In the scene, a frankly audacious and compelling polemic, First Lady Laura Bush reads “The Brothers Karamazov” to the ghosts of dead Iraqi children.In recent months this scene, along with part of a second one, has been presented at dozen

Books Nov. 8, 2012

Medical examiners were not sexy, crime-solving heroes when Patricia Cornwell wrote her first Kay Scarpetta mystery 22 years ago.Today, with the publication of the 20th book featuring the pasta-cooking, sharp-dressing forensic scientist, there is an entire industry of sexy medical examiners on television, and Cornwell accepts the responsibility.“I think you can blame Scarpetta. She opened the gate that made it accessible,” Cornwell said. The Scarpetta books, with their grisly autopsies and violen

Books Nov. 8, 2012

Korea National Ballet’s top dancers, Kim Ji-young and Lee Dong-hoon, have been invited by the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia as guest principals, the troupe announced on Tuesday.The two will play the lead roles in legendary choreographer Yury Grigorovich’s 1968 piece “Spartacus,” along with members of Bolshoi Ballet. The Russian troupe is one of the most renowned classical ballet companies in the world. According to Korea National Ballet, it is the first time for two Korean dancers to

Performance Nov. 8, 2012

Local director Kim Jin-man’s animated film “Noodle Fish” won the top prize at the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) on Tuesday.The film, which tells the story of a fish and its moving journey, won the Best Picture prize at the closing ceremony of ASIFF at Cinecube Gwanghwamun in central Seoul.Kim, who studied sculpture and visual design at Hongik University, majored in multimedia and film at ChungAng University’s graduate school. He currently works for an animation studio.Director

Film Nov. 7, 2012