More hype for Hype Nation
Oh, this just gets better and better! (If by better you mean “so bad it’s good, no actually, it’s still bad.”)
Remember how just yesterday I was saying how Sohn Dambi, recently cast in a dance movie as her Hollywood debut, was an odd choice because she doesn’t speak good English and has no acting experience? I should have clarified.
Because Dennis O is joining her in that film, and he both speaks English and has acting experience. And yet, I still feel compelled to burst out laughing. (I meant good acting experience?) I’m inclined to cut newbies a little slack when they’re first starting out because the learning curve can be steep, but Dennis has been in several drama series by now and he’s just as bland as ever. I don’t see him as quite wooden — he’s better than wooden, but just slightly — it’s rather that acting still seems like a foreign notion to him. He bumbles along, trying really hard, but lacking any sort of nuance. It’s like a 50-foot-giant trying to play with a dog, who ends up crushing it. (The funny thing is, I still really like the guy. He seems sweet. And yeah, he’s gorgeous. He’s just not a good actor.)
He won’t be dancing in the film, though, and takes on an “important role” as Sohn Dambi’s “oppa.” If they mean oppa literally and are casting him as her brother, I wonder if they’re just going to gloss over the obvious fact that Sohn is full Korean and Dennis is half. And will they explain why one sibling speaks poor English and perfect Korean, while the other speaks perfect English and poor Korean?
In any case, this should be interesting. (But will it be watchable?)
Via Hankook Ilbo
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Tags: Dennis O, Hollywood
first???
one hot oppa!
I’m looking forward to it. But then again, I never had good taste in movies, as I’ve been told before. LOL!
I just read the summary for Hype Nation and its one of those movies that makes you think, “Why are you wasting money? It’s a bad mixture of Romeo Must Die, You’ve Got Serve and Romeo and Juliet. What a waste. I won’t be watching this movie.
>>>It’s like a 50-foot-giant trying to play with a dog, who ends up crushing it.
LOL !!! aptly spot on - that so describes Dennis O in a nutshell.
>>> He won’t be dancing in the film, though ….
Thankfully perhaps? Visions of that crushed dog come to mind.
>>> ….. the obvious fact that Sohn is full Korean and Dennis is half. And will they explain why one sibling speaks poor English and perfect Korean, while the other speaks perfect English and poor Korean?
That same thought (the half/full Korean combi) just crossed my mind when I read ‘oppa’ … though yours went hilariously even further in conjecture!
But he was soooooo cute in Sweet Spy! Just those shirtless scenes alone made the drama. And that kiss…mmmmm….
OK, so he’s like a Korean-American Keanu. That’s fine by me. Keep him in action, minimize the dialogue, and give me those token shirtless scenes anytime.
Oh dear lord.
But you had me laughing with this metaphor/simile:
“It’s like a 50-foot-giant trying to play with a dog, who ends up crushing it.”
I hope by oppa, they don’t mean brother. Sweetheart would be better. Because if they were siblings, they’d have to come up with some shoddy cliches like, “they were separated by birth,” to explain why one speaks good English and poor Korean and other speaks good Korean but poor English.
I don’t know why Hollywood doesn’t utilize Asian-Americans who are a) Asian, and b) can speak English perfectly. (They certainly have no problem utilizing part-Asians who grew up in the United States.) For Asians-who-look-100%-Asian, the entertainment industries usually seem to look abroad in the native countries for talent prospects. I wonder why…
> I wonder if they’re just going to gloss over the obvious fact that Sohn is full Korean and Dennis is half.
kekeke
If people can overlook Keanu Reeves I think they’ll be fine 
The man is gorgeous. I’ll give him that.
But you know how it is in our motherland. Unlike America, Koreans are so over obsessed with physical appearances, that “it don’t matter about talent!”
Sigh. Korea, you have a long way to go before we can fully say we have a cast of A-list actors/actresses such as Hollywood not based on looks.
so i’m sitting in class and totally drooling over the picture instead of listening to my professor. god dennis o is gorgeous. hahahahaah! your thing about the giant and the dog, hilarious. when’s this movie coming out?
i’ve never actually watched a dennis o work but…gosh…he is so good to look at.
So, who is better, Daniel Henney or Dennis O?
“And will they explain why one sibling speaks poor English and perfect Korean, while the other speaks perfect English and poor Korean?”
Ah, good point. Maybe they were separated at birth, he raised in the USA, and she in Korea. Maybe he was with their mom and she with their dad and both siblings knew nothing about one another. Tearful reunion ensues. See, I’m SO creative!
Daniel Henney is a better actor (esp. in Spring Waltz), but Dennis O looks better in still photos. It must be the brooding expression. It reminds me of Zoolander’s “Magnum.”
>>Sigh. Korea, you have a long way to go before we can fully say we have a cast of A-list actors/actresses such as Hollywood not based on looks.
Not sure I understood this correctly - are you saying Hollywood casting is largely (or even significantly) talent-based? Cause I’d disagree, at least for women. There are notable exceptions (as Im sure there are in Korea) but looks are a major factor in Hollywood.
But I digress. Never seen him act, but he’s gorgeous.
@Mama Sophia. I’ve just started watching Spring Waltz!
I haven’t watched many things with Dennis O so… hm, but I agree with you, DH acts better than DO.
If Daniel Henney’s acting is better than Dennis Oh’s…..
That’s saying A WHOLE LOT!
I’ve never seen Dennis act before, but I cringe a lot when I see Daniel acting.
I haven’t read the full synopsis of the movie yet, but I keep thinking that this movie is going to be a mix of Best of the Best and You Got SERVED. Which, in my mind, *sniggle sniggle* pretty much means its going to be AWESOME.
He’s great-looking, but Dennis’ scenes in East of Eden with SSH made the latter look like he was giving the acting performance of a lifetime….
the way they could explain the discrepancy is like …
dennis left Korea to america for his study or to explore more the world of breakdance, while his little sis Dambi stayed with her parents in Korea, since she is a girl. she learnt breakdancing in Korea to express herself…or something like that.
why she came to the US…for vacation or lied to her parents about coming to visit her oppa/brother but in fact is there to attend a breakdancing competition…
who knows , no matter what, i’m sure they are goin to come with something to explain the difference of accent…
lol this blog made me laugh, yeah what are those movie makers thinking, like what’s with the brother+sis relationship when the dude doesn’t even look asian and the girl is a total fob. lol. i’m still going to go see this movie tho…i think it’lll be amusing to watch two mediocre celebs on the screen together
“I don’t know why Hollywood doesn’t utilize Asian-Americans who are a) Asian, and b) can speak English perfectly. (They certainly have no problem utilizing part-Asians who grew up in the United States.) For Asians-who-look-100%-Asian, the entertainment industries usually seem to look abroad in the native countries for talent prospects.”
That’s exactly how I feel. There’s always talk about actors and singers crossing over, but I don’t understand why the Korean entertainment companies don’t utilize more of their competent English speakers - and why the American entertainment industry can’t give Asian performers their just due.
I’m 99% sure i wont waste my money on this one.. dennis o and sohn dambi??? dennis o sure is easy on the eyes but as an actor, its unbearable to see him struggling to get the lines right…poor good looking man… i think he should stick to modeling. and sohn dambi??? all the hype about she the female rain??? i wont be fooled twice y’all!!!
it’s like they’re trying to rope in every good-looking B-list korean person they can find and afford. Hopefully acting in an American film will make him more comfortable and natural in his acting. I wonder if they will make him dance. Dennis O is best playing the passive, prince charming. I can’t imagine him in a hardcore American movie about breakdancing and drugs.
“I wonder if they’re just going to gloss over the obvious fact that Sohn is full Korean and Dennis is half. And will they explain why one sibling speaks poor English and perfect Korean, while the other speaks perfect English and poor Korean?”—> i wonder about this too. maybe they will say they’re half siblings/stepsiblings/adopted siblings/separated for years- so as to explain why one sibling is a baddie and the other good. I hope they have some Korean guys playing “good guys”. I would be pissed if they made the korean girl a good person and all the korean guys bad- further emphasizing how asian guys get the short end of the stick iin entertainment industry.
“I don’t know why Hollywood doesn’t utilize Asian-Americans who are a) Asian, and b) can speak English perfectly. (They certainly have no problem utilizing part-Asians who grew up in the United States.) For Asians-who-look-100%-Asian, the entertainment industries usually seem to look abroad in the native countries for talent prospects. I wonder why…” —> I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS. Hollywood seems to forget that there are lots of Asian-looking people in the US- who can speak perfect English and can act. Whenever they import an actor/actress from Asia, I can’t help but think that an Asian-American actor could have perfectly fit the bill. Asian-Americans are trying to be heard not only over the non-Asians in the industry, but also over the Asians-from-Asia.
gaahh.. well. i know dennis oh looks mighty fine.
acting isnt just really his thing.
maybe modeling?
well if ur in the mood for eye candy..
then this would be it..
i agree with everyone who says DH is getting to be better at acting.
his korean is decent too, i think.
but im not really sure if native korean speakers think that.
“I don’t know why Hollywood doesn’t utilize Asian-Americans who are a) Asian, and b) can speak English perfectly. (They certainly have no problem utilizing part-Asians who grew up in the United States.) For Asians-who-look-100%-Asian, the entertainment industries usually seem to look abroad in the native countries for talent prospects. I wonder why…” _—–> great point and i agree. that’s why i like the asian awardsin someways because it gives some recognition (half asians, asian-americans)are recognized somehow.
Because Dennis O is joining her in that film, and he both speaks English and has acting experience. And yet, I still feel compelled to burst out laughing. (I meant good acting experience?)
this line literally had me bust out laughing…dennis oh is sucha horrible actor and honestly who the heck is pushing son dambi into the spotlight? that girl has good back…