Jung Woo-sung, who played “The Good” part of The Good, The Bad, The Weird, is joining his Hallyu colleagues like Lee Byung-heon and Jang Dong-gun in attempting a leap to the global stage: his next project, Rain of Swords, is directed by John Woo (Mission Impossible 2) and co-stars Michelle Yeoh (Crouching TIger, Hidden Dragon).

Filming began this past week in Shanghai on the wuxia (martial arts in ancient China) project, described as “Face/Off meets Mr. & Mrs. Smith set in the Ming Dynasty.” According to the Korea Times, the film “follows a love affair between a retiring assassin (Yeoh) and a messenger (Jung) whose father was killed by the assassin’s former associates. The assassin is initially oblivious of her lover’s history and the fact that he is well-trained in martial arts. Meanwhile a character played by Wang Xue-qi sets out to steal a powerful artifact in her possession.”

Jung Woo-sung has been studying Chinese for the movie, which plans to release in later 2010.

Via Now News, Korea Times

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If you were charmed by the “Pig-Rabbit” stuffed animal that was featured prominently in this week’s episodes of You’re Beautiful, you’re not the only one: the production company has been flooded with inquiries about it. One source explains, “The phone won’t stop ringing with questions regarding the Pig-Rabbit. With the fans requesting merchandise of the A.N.JELL cut-outs [pogs] and the Pig-Rabbit, we have looked into it and plan to begin production soon.”

In case you’re behind on the drama, “Pig-Rabbit” arose out of a nickname that Jang Geun-seok’s character had for Park Shin-hye; the plush version was created when he cannibalized two stuffed animals in Episode 9 to produce a bunny with a pig snout. (As you can see, it sure made her happy.)

The stuffed animal was also featured in Episode 10 as he continued talking (and venting) to the doll. The cartoonized A.N.JELL figures (pogs and stickers), which were used as a plot point, also got fans talking.

Meanwhile, the drama finally broke 10% ratings with the last episode; its 10.0% (via TNS ratings; AGB’s give 10.8%) held up against IRIS’s 30.9%.

Via BNT News

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After only being selected this week to replace the lead actress of Hero, actress Yoon So-yi jumped into filming for the drama the very next day (the 5th), shooting her first action scene on the 6th.

In the scene shown in the stills below, Yoon’s character (Joo Jae-in) jumps in to save the nephews of Lee Junki’s reporter character when they are nearly kidnapped by private loan sharks — they’d borrowed money but their sister had failed to make the repayment. Yoon shows off a variety of action moves and kicks; bystanders who stopped to watch the filming gave her a round of applause.

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The movie 71 had first caught my interest for starring young actors Kim Bum and Yoo Seung-ho as student soldiers in wartime, but problems arose when the movie encountered budget issues and the like. The stars dropped out and the production halted for an extended period. Now, the project has changed production companies and been revived with a new title and new stars: TOP and Kwon Sang-woo will be meeting onscreen as the two leads of Into the Gunfire [포화 속으로].

The old title referred to a real incident during the Korean war when North Korean soldiers had invaded and 71 South Korean students had banded together to defend their home (in Pohang, Gyeongsang-do). Kim Bum’s former character had risen to lead the students in the pivotal battle.

With this new casting, Kwon Sang-woo plays a man who enlists in the military after being suspected in a murder and volunteers for the student forces; TOP plays another, more junior student soldier. Actors Cha Seung-won (City Hall) and Kim Seung-woo (IRIS) are in contention for other roles: Cha as a North Korean officer and Kim as a lieutenant leading the 71 young soldiers. Directing is Lee Jae-hwan of A Moment to Remember and writing is Lee Man-hee of A Turtle Runs.

(I’ve made the joke before, but this time I’m honestly perplexed: Does Kwon Sang-woo really not know what his image and/or generation is? I’m not saying that a man can’t take leading roles with younger actors, because Kwon can totally still do the sexy leading man thing. But the role in question is of a student and had previously been filled by Kim Bum — thirteen years younger is a big leap, even if the character has been tweaked. I’m puzzled.)

The film will begin shooting at the end of November or early December, and plans for a mid-2010 release.

Via Now News, Hankook Ilbo

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SONG OF THE DAY

Stars of Track and Field – “The Aviator” [ Download ]

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