Korean Weekly News - January 24
NEWS
While enjoying the tremendous success of his latest film 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown), Director Lee Joon-Ik is already hard at work for his next project, 라디오 스타 (Radio Star). Again working with Choi Seok-Hwan, who wrote both 'The King and The Clown' and Lee's previous Fusion Historical Drama 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield), the comedy stars Park Joong-Hoon and Ahn Sung-Gi, and is expected to start shooting this Spring. Thanks to the critical and commercial success of his latest film, Lee has been too busy to focus on this project, but he's about to add the finishing touches to the script with Choi, and finally enter pre-production. The film tells the story of a once famous DJ, who hit the peak of his popularity in the 70s and 80s, but doesn't realize yet his days in the limelight have ended long ago. Once again, Lee focuses on alienated people with little power, trying to find happiness in their everyday life, something which always related to him more than powerful or successful figures. After 'Radio Star', Lee plans to film another Historical Drama next year, set during King Seonjo's reign (1567-1608), when political strife between the 'Westerners' and 'Easterners' parties hit its peak, one of the most interesting periods in the Joseon Dynasty.
Japanese singer cum composer Hotei Tomoyasu will be the Music Director for the upcoming action drama 폭력써클 (Gangster High). Produced by Dada Pictures and directed by Park Ki-Hyung of 여고괴담 (Whispering Corridors), the film already cast young Jung Kyung-Ho, Jang Hee-Jin and Lee Tae-Sung in the leading roles. Set to debut in theaters after the World Cup, it tells the story of a group of high school students who form a soccer team called 'Tiger' in the early 90s and... well, fight all the time. Hotei is pretty much a legend in Japan, selling over 25 Million albums between his extremely successful solo career and his stint with rock band boØwy in the 80s.
His music appeared on a variety of films, including Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, the Japan/Korea co-production 게이티 (K.T.), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and サムライ フィクション (Samurai Fiction) in which Hotei starred himself. Director Park has been a longtime fan of Hotei, ever since he listened to his 'Love Junkie' song 6-7 years ago. Lee Seung-Il, who will work with Hotei on the film's music, went to Japan in November to meet Hotei, and even gave him the DVD of Park Ki-Hyung's latest film 아카시아 (Acacia) as a present. A PR rep of Hotei's label, IRc2Corporation commented: "Hotei received the script and really liked it. He already saw Park's film 'Whispering Corridors' before." Hotei produced new songs and even sent un-published works from his solo days, for a total of nine songs, five of which will be in the film. One of the most peculiar things about all this situation is that Hotei's own recording lab is called 'Dada', just like the producers of the film. 'Gangster High' started shooting in Kimhae last January 18.
Again 'The King and The Clown'-related news, as the new star of Chungmuro, Lee Joon-Gi, has been cast alongside Lee Moon-Shik in 플라이, 대디, 플라이 (Fly, Daddy, Fly). Lee is currently enjoying tremendous popularity, as 'The King and The Clown' passed the 6 Million tickets mark, and his latest TV Drama 마이걸 (My Girl) is cruising well above the 20% ratings. Does the title of the film ring a bell? Yes, it's adapted from Kaneshiro Kazuki's novel フライ、ダディ、フライ (Fly, Daddy, Fly), which was used in Narushima Izuru's 2005 film of the same title. Kaneshiro is one of the hottest novelists on the scene, as several of his works have been adapted into films, including Yukisada Isao's GO and 世界の中心で, 愛をさけぶ (Crying Out Love, In The Center of the World). The film is directed by Choi Jong-Tae, produced by Dain Films and distributed by CJ Entertainment, and is expected to start shooting at the end of the month, for a Summer release.
Jang Jin's production company Film It Suda is already working on their next project, which will see the debut of Kim Joong -- who was visual supervisor on 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol). Adapted from Jo Se-Hee's short novel 난장이가 쏘아올린 작은 공 (A Small Ball Shot Up by A Dwarf), Kim's 거인 (Giant) is the second to adapt Jo's masterpiece, after Lee Won-Se's 1981 film 난장이가 쏘아올린 작은 공 (A Small Ball Shot Up by A Dwarf). Jang's company signed a contract with Jo, and director Kim is expected to start writing the script soon. The major difference between Kim's film and the original will be the modern setting, and Jo will supervise the script writing process, to avoid any misrepresentation. Director Kim Joong studied film at USC and production design at AFI. The film, which will have a production budget of around 2-2.5 Billion Won, will start shooting in mid Summer, for a Spring 2007 release.
Her latest film 사랑해, 말순씨 (Bravo, My Life) didn't do too well, but Moon So-Ri is still one of the best actresses in the country. She will return to the big screen soon with 여교수의 은밀한 매력 (Bewitching Attraction), and has also been cast in the interesting 가족의 탄생 (The Birth of a Family). But her next immediate project will be in theater, in the play 슬픈 연극 (Sad Theater), bｙ Min Bok-Gi. It will play at Daehak-Ro (the Broadway of Korea) from February 10 to March 26th, and star Moon as Shim Sook-Jae, alongside talented actor Park Won-Sang. Moon 'grew up' with theater in the mid 90s, and later went on to become one of the most acclaimed actresses in the country, starring in films like 박하사탕 (Peppermint Candy), 오아시스 (Oasis) and 바람난 가족 (A Good Lawyer's Wife).
After recording ratings around the 30%, SBS' 프라하의 연인 (Lovers in Prague) is attracting the attention of foreign buyers. The Drama, starring Jeon Do-Yeon and Kim Ju-Hyeok, signed a contract with Touchdream Japan for a minimum guarantee of 1 Billion Won. Olive Nine, producers of the show, expect that after counting in other guarantees for OST and DVD distribution rights, they might reach the 3 Billion Won point. Kim Tae-Won of Olive Nine commented: "there's a growing interest in the Drama all over Asia. We're currently negotiating distribution rights with companies in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, and if everything goes well, we expect to reach 8 Billion Won in sales." Olive Nine recently signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with China's E&B Stars, to produce 4-5 Chinese Dramas to be distributed all over the continent.
Former S.E.S. member Eugene has chosen her next project, the upcoming MBC Daily Drama 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You), which will mark her return to the small screen after a year. The star was last seen on MBC's 원더풀 라이프 (Wonderful Life) alongside Kim Jae-Won, and she will play the leading role in the show, which will start airing from April 1st. Written by Bae Yoo-Mi of 12월의 열대야 (Tropical Nights in December) and produced by Kim Jin-Man of 아일랜드 (Ireland), the Drama tells the story of Yeo Bong-Soon, a country girl who starts working as an assistant cook at the Blue House, and has a quirky love story with the President's bodyguard, called Nam Bong-Gi. Sounds like a mix of 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum) and 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon), but we'll see in the coming weeks how this unfolds.
One of the most anticipated TV Dramas of the year is 태왕사신기 (The Four Gods). With an incredible budget of 38.7 Billion Won (25.7 in production and 13 for the set alone!), bringing back the golden couple of TV Dramas -- writer Song Ji-Na and producer Kim Jong-Hak, who worked on 'little' Dramas like 모래시계 (The Sandglass) and 여명의 눈동자 (Eyes of Dawn) -- and with a huge cast, led by Bae Yong-Joon and even Jung Jin-Young of super-hit 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown). After months of preparation, the Drama will finally start shooting at the end of February, in one of the locations where SBS' 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong) is currently shooting. The 13 Billion set, which will be used later, was built in Jeju Island, and construction is expected to be complete by April. Until then, the Drama will shoot at several open sets, including ones used by 'The Ballad of Seo Dong', 해신 (Emperor of the Sea) and MBC's upcoming Historical Drama 주몽 (Jumong - The Three Kingdoms). The production company is also thinking about shooting overseas, especially in Kirghizistan. The rest of the cast will be confirmed in the next few weeks, with writer Song and producer Kim leading the negotiations. The Drama, about King Gwanggaeto The Great, will air around the end of the year on MBC.
After the monster success of 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon), Hyun Bin will work once again with Kim Do-Woo, who wrote the 2005 MBC Drama. The show recorded ratings of over 50%, and made its stars Kim Seon-Ah and Hyun Bin even more popular than they already were. Although the name of the show hasn't been decided yet, writer Kim is preparing a MBC Drama to be aired around September or October, produced by Kwon Seok-Jang of 앞집 여자 (The Woman Next Door). a MBC rep commented that, although last year was bad for MBC, the new year is already showing some progress. Both 궁 (Princess Hours) and 늑대 (Wolf) are doing OK in the ratings, and with Dramas planned for the Summer, along with this one with Hyun Bin, they have confidence about the station's 2006. The writer has shown her talent in 'Sam-Soon', Kwon Seok-Jang is a capable producer, and I liked most of his Dramas in the past, so this promises well. Hyun Bin is certainly improving, and if he doesn't end up being typecast, then there's potential to improve even further.
The world of Korean TV Dramas and Films always had a strong connection, from actors to funding partners, but now that connection is extending to writers. Of course there were similar cases in the past, like Lee Seon-Mi of 달콤한 스파이 (Sweet Spy) writing the script for the 1996 comedy 체인지 (Change), or In Jung-Ok of 네 멋대로 해라 (Ruler of Your Own World) being part of the writing team for the first two installments of the 여고괴담 (Whispering Corridors) series. But the synergy between Movies and Dramas is increasing significantly. The new MBC Drama 늑대 (Wolf) was written by Kim Kyung-Se, responsible for the script of the 2003 comedy 동해물과 백두산이 (North Korean Guys); Lee Eun-Ah, who wrote the script for Jang Yoon-Hyun's 1999 thriller 텔미 썸딩 (Tell Me Something) and the 2003 romantic comedy 좋은 사람 있으면 소개시켜줘 (A Perfect Match), is the writer of MBC's new Drama 궁 (Princess Hours).
Also, Kim Eun-Sook, who wrote the first two 'Lovers' Dramas -- 파리의 연인 (Lovers in Paris) and 프라하의 연인 (Lovers in Prague) -- wrote the upcoming romantic comedy 백만장자의 첫사랑 (The Millionaire's First Love). Want more? Shin Jung-Goo, part of the writing team for the cult sitcom 안녕, 프란체스카 (Hello, Francesca) wrote 작업의 정석 (The Art of Seduction), and Jo Myung-Joo of 접속 (The Contact) wrote 가을 소나기 (Autumn Shower) (Man, talk about 'from riches to rags'!). I could spend all day with examples, but something is happening here. In the past, the film and drama world always had a different concept of marketability, but now that TV Dramas have often larger budgets than films, or sign more lucrative foreign distribution rights, the two worlds are starting to grow close. We can only hope that extends to PDs as well, so Lee Jae-Gyu of 다모 (Damo) and 패션 70s (Fashion Seventies) can make his film debut. But then I guess we'd have to worry about Yoon Seok-Ho of the 'Season Series' making films, too. Scary.
TV DRAMA WRAPUP
Although a few jumps in ratings for a couple of Dramas -- particularly 황금사과 (Golden Apple), which shot to its first 20+% rating using the President's address to the nation as a launchpad, then returned to its mid 10s ratings the day after -- attracted the attention of the Media, the biggest story of the week was certainly that of Moon Jung-Hyuk and Han Ji-Min's big accident on the set of MBC's 늑대 (Wolf). Here's a recap of the events:
Last January 22 the Drama was shooting its 3rd Episode, and the scene in question featured Moon protecting Han from an incoming car. The car lost control in trying to stop, and dangerously started pointing towards the couple, which alerted Moon soon enough to avoid disaster. Moon covered Han to protect her, but they were hit anyway, hitting the concrete after being thrown in the air by the impact. After getting up, the two complained of pain in their pelvis, back, head, and legs. Rushed to a nearby hospital, x-rays were taken, showing Moon had injured his right ankle, and Han was suffering the shock of the impact, complaining of headaches and difficulty in moving her neck and arms. a MRI was planned for December 23, but as Moon wanted to continue the shoot as soon as possible, it was re-scheduled for later that evening. Production for the 3rd Episode only needed 6 scenes to complete, but more than 40% of the 4th Episode was left to shoot. Since the Drama airs on consecutive nights (Monday and Tuesday Nights on MBC), this alerted the station, who had to make a quick decision about the show's broadcast schedule. This likely accelerated the MRI test re-schedule.
Several reporters arrived to the scene trying to find some infos about the accident, and reading the tone of some of those reports on Sunday, it sounded as if Moon had a very serious, almost life-threatening injury. Of course it turned out to be wildly exaggerated, and actually Han Ji-Min is the one who's having the most serious problems for what concerns the shoot of the show. After the families and friends of the two visited, stunt choreographer Jung Doo-Hong (the most famous and respected in Korea. A regular of Ryu Seung-Wan films) came as well, apologizing on behalf of the stuntman who caused the accident. The result of the MRI showed Moon injured his waist and ankle joints, as well as other problems with his vertebrae. The situation wasn't serious enough to require immediate surgery, but Moon will have to undergo treatment and therapy for the next month. Han, on the other hand, doesn't have major problems, but since she hit her head and neck, the shock is causing her a lot of pain, enough to make any movement of her head or neck very painful. Still, no surgery is needed, and she'll just need further tests to see if there's any other problem, and of course a lot of rest.
MBC decided to go ahead with the broadcast of this 3rd Episode, which they completed in a rush, but postponed the 4th Episode's broadcast to February 6. Tonight MBC will air one of those one-episode Dramas from the 베스트 극장 (Best Theater) collection, while next week they'll air the 2005 film 주먹이 운다 (Crying Fist) on Monday January 30, and a documentary on Tuesday January 31. They also shortened the show from the previously planned 16 Episodes to 14. This re-scheduling will change things for the next few Dramas planned for airing as well, as the Pyo Min-Soo Drama 공주님 (Princess) will now air its first episode on March 13, and after that the long awaited Historical Drama 주몽 (Jumong - The Three Kingdoms), starring Song Il-Guk and Han Hye-Jin, will start in early May. This will allow the show to compete neck to neck with SBS' 연개소문 (Yeongae Somun), the first battle of Historical Dramas on TV in quite a while.
The president of Chorok Media also took time to talk about the situation. He doesn't blame the stuntman for what happened, as it's always a risk actors and producers have to consider in this line of work, but the problem is with the country's production mentality and rules, which always push production companies to do everything in a rush to match deadlines. Unlike most other countries, TV Dramas in Korea are shot often a couple of days before broadcast, although there's been an increasingly important trend forming in the last few years, with subcontracted or 'independent' production companies shooting a good chunk of the show before broadcast -- like 궁 (Princess Hours), which completed a good 40% of the show before the first episode aired.
With the exception of Historical Dramas and big budgeted shows with overseas shoots, the reality of TV Drama productions is '빨리 빨리 (Quick, quick!)'. There have been shows shooting an episode until late afternoon before its broadcast later in the evening, and actors have to go through intense shoots sometimes even when they shouldn't (Kim Ah-Joong and Kim Ok-Bin have been literally going from the hospital to the set the last two weeks, as they fainted from exhaustion a few times). This caused even super-professional actors like Kim Jung-Eun to go crazy, saying on her personal blog that shooting 루루공주 (Princess Lulu) had become like going to war: she didn't understand what she was trying to act, didn't have time to immerse herself into the character, and doing everything in a hurry caused many headaches.
I hope this situation teaches a little lesson to the stations and production companies: we enjoy your shows, but not if it means putting the actors' health at risk. Of course you can continue shooting Daily Dramas and Weekend Dramas with that kind of tight schedule, as the format doesn't allow anything different, and most of those shows are confined to small sets. But big budget Dramas, weekly miniseries and similar shows should always have a good 7-8 Episodes in the can before broadcast. I don't really care if writers change the ending based on opinion polls or the show is shortened because of low ratings -- I want quality and not quantity, and good writers never compromise with that kind of things. But seeing actors risk their health like that can only make the viewers angry, towards the stations and the system. Now 'Wolf' and its cast and crew will have a couple of weeks to regroup, think about the rest of the show, and plan even possible changes. Its 3rd Episode recorded pretty low ratings, around 12-13%, but it's likely there'll be a surge in viewership when it returns in February, because of the accident. Hopefully all this bad luck MBC is having to deal with will make them learn valuable lessons, about trusting a little more the intelligence of its viewers, and having more confidence in the Dramas they choose. May this be a chance to turn the page, as most of the MBC Dramas announced for mid-to-late 2006 sound really interesting.
And of course, I wish a speedy recovery to Han Ji-Min and Moon Jung-Hyuk, and hope to see them back in great shape (well... better than now, at least) after their well deserved rest. 화이팅!
TV DRAMA RATINGS
01/17~01/23
01. 36.1% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Jung Joon, Kim Ah-Joong, Go Ju-Won]
02. 27.6% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Yoon Jung-Hee, Lee Tae-Gon, Jo Yeon-Woo]
03. 24.3% 마이걸 (My Girl)
Wed/Thu Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Da-Hae, Lee Dong-Wook, Park Shi-Yeon]
04. 23.0% 황금 사과 (Golden Apple)
Wed/Thu Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Park Sol-Mi, Park Ji-Bin, Jung Chan]
05. 22.9% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong)
Historical Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Bo-Young, Jo Hyun-Jae, Ryu Jin]
06. 20.6% 그여자 (That Woman)
Friday Drama - SBS [Cast: Shim Hye-Jin, Jang Dong-Jik, Oh Yoon-Ah]
07. 19.8% 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life)
Weekend Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Yoo Ho-Jung, Park Ye-Jin, Oh Ji-Ho]
08. 18.0% 들꽃 (Wild Flower)
Daily Morning Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Ah-Hyun, Seonwoo Jae-Deok, Kim Jung-Hak]
09. 17.7% 서울 1945 (Seoul 1945)
Historical Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Han Eun-Jung, Ryu Soo-Young, Park Sang-Myun]
10. 16.9% 고향역 (A Place Called Home)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Song Ok-Sook, Park Hyung-Jae, Kim Cheol-Gi]
TOP RATED DRAMAS OF 2006
01/01~01/23
01. 36.1% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch) - KBS
02. 31.9% 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness) - KBS
03. 29.9% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven) - SBS
04. 24.3% 마이걸 (My Girl) - SBS
05. 23.8% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong) - SBS
06. 23.0% 황금사과 (Golden Apple) - KBS
07. 22.3% 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life) - KBS
08. 20.6% 그여자 (That Woman) - SBS
09. 18.0% 들꽃 (Wild Flower) - SBS
10. 17.7% 서울 1945 (Seoul 1945) - KBS
Sources
Star News: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Yahoo Korea: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Yonhap News: 1, 2, 3
nKino: 1
Cine21: 1
