아놀드 슈왈제네거가 김지운 감독의 열정과 재능을 극찬했다.

김지운 감독의 할리우드 진출작 “라스트 스탠드”의 주연배우로 한국을 찾은 아놀드 슈왈제네거의 내한 기자회견이 20일 오전 서울 여의도의 한 호텔에서 열렸다. 이날 행사에는 김지운 감독이 동석했다.

슈왈제네거는 “김지운은 열정적으로 원하는 연기를 주문하는 스타일” 이라고 칭찬하며 “스턴트 동작과 계단에서 구르는 장면을 직접 보여주는 등 감독으로서 몸을 사리지 않았다. 덕분에 그가 원하는 것을 쉽게 이해할 수 있었고 다른 언어를 사용함에도 소통에 전혀 문제가 없었다” 고 말했다.

그는 또 “영화 연출이란 심리학자나 정신과 의사가 하는 일과 비슷하다고 생각한다. 배우에 대해서 완벽히 연구하고 이해해야만 그의 내면 깊숙한 곳까지 파고들 수 있고, 또 그래야지만 원하는 연기를 이끌어 낼 수 있다. 김지운 감독은 그런 작업들을 훌륭하게 해냈고, 함께 일한 배우로서 매우 감사하고 있다” 고 말했다.

‘라스트 스탠드’에서 슈왈제네거는 한때 L.A. 마약전담반 특전사였으나 지금은 인구 1,500 명의 작은 고향마을에서 보안관으로 살아가는 ‘레이 오웬스’ 역을 맡았다. ‘터미네이터’ 등 전작에서 보여주었던 완벽한 영웅 이미지에서 탈피, 인생의 절정기를 떠나보낸 중년 남자의 인간적인 싸움을 보여준다.

2003년 부터 2011년까지 캘리포니아 주지사로 재직했던 그가 영화에서 주연을 맡은 것은 근 10년 만이다.

스스로를 운동광이라고 밝힌 그는 “개인적으로는 내가 나이들었다는 생각이 들지 않는다”고 밝히며 “아직은 건강하고 영화에서 필요한 스턴트나 동작을 모두 할 수 있기 때문에 그런 것 같다”고 말했다.

슈왈제네거의 이번 한국 방문은 2010년 캘리포니아 주지사 자격으로 내한한 이후 3년 만이다.

작은 국경마을의 보안관과 악명높은 마약왕의 혈투를 다룬 ‘라스트 스탠드’는 오는 2월 21일 개봉한다.

(코리아헤럴드 이다영 기자)



<관련 영문 기사>

Arnold is back

By Claire Lee

After taking a nearly decade-long break from cinema, Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a comeback to the local silver screen by starring in an action flick directed by Korean director Kim Jee-woon.

"You always as an actor try to choose a project that you think could be popular not only in America but in all over the world,” said the famed Austrian-American actor during a press conference promoting his film “The Last Stand” in Seoul, Wednesday.

“You want a story that is understood by everybody. I think ‘The Last Stand’ had that. I thought it had the best script. It was a really great story of the return of an action hero.”

The action hero flick is director Kim’s Hollywood debut; the filmmaker shared his frustration over Hollywood’s filmmaking system during a press meeting in Seoul earlier this month. Schwarzenegger, however, seemed to be only pleased with his experience working with the director who does not speak the same language he does.

“When it comes to communicating, I had no problem whatsoever,” said Schwarzenegger. “First of all, we had translators there. They were really terrific. But second of all, most of the time, I didn’t really need translations because director Kim Jee-woon has a very passionate way of explaining things (by) actually acting out the scenes.

“Many times he got himself into trouble, when he tried to do stunts for you and explain to you how he wants you to fall down the stairs. He is a very active, passionate director so it’s easy for me to understand exactly what he wants.”

In the movie, Schwarzenegger plays an aging sheriff working in his small, sleepy hometown who chases a notorious kingpin who escaped from an FBI prisoner convoy. He used to be a top hero in Los Angeles, being a former member of the U.S. SWAT team. He left the job after getting wounded a number of times, losing much of his energy and physical strength. In the film, he is an aging man fighting his last battle to save his hometown, rather than the perfect action hero.

“I think the experience I had as the governor of California and the kind of things I’ve seen and witnessed all contributed in making me a better performer,” the actor said.

“But in the end, it’s always the director who is responsible for (an actor’s performance). I think the director is the one who can really pull out the things (from an actor) that no one has even been able to pour out. Whatever you’ve seen in this movie ‘The Last Stand’ -- the acting of vulnerability and everything else -- I think this director here, Kim Jee-woon, had a lot to do with that.”

Aside from Kim, two other famed Korean directors -- Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho -- are also making their Hollywood debuts this year.

“Hollywood always looks for new directors, new talents, new visions, new styles of filming and so on,” Schwarzenegger said. “...There are other directors from this that have been discovered. And I think that’s terrific because the movie industry is a global industry.”

This is Schwarzenegger’s second official visit to Seoul; he was here as the governor of California in 2010. “The Last Stand” opens in theaters on Feb. 21.

(dyc@heraldcorp.com)