There’s been some chatter about Moon Chae-won (The Princess’s Man) possibly being up for the lead role opposite Park Yoochun in his new drama Rooftop Prince, but she has now officially declined the role. Her agency reports that she received the offer but found after reading the script that it had a lot more historical material than expected, and she didn’t want to be pigeonholed with another sageuk. It’s too bad, since I thought she’d be good for the role. But now the bigger question is, who’d be better?
Rooftop Prince is the upcoming SBS drama about a Joseon-era prince who travels forward in time to the present day, zooming past 300 years to find a second chance with his first love. Though my mind is already having problems with this math — unless your first love left you and climbed into a wormhole, 300-years-later girl is just gonna be a doppelganger, no? — the premise still promises wacky fun, so I’m all over this. Time travel, a spoiled prince who suddenly becomes a lowly nobody, and cute romance? Sold. I’m already laughing at all the bidet jokes to come.
The pair’s Sungkyunkwan and Princess resumes had everyone excited for the coupling, though I’m assuming most of the story still takes place in the present, with a healthy dose of Joseon-era flashback, since he is a time-traveler after all. Unless they take a sharp left turn with the cast, I’m pretty much onboard. I kind of have a soft spot for wacky romantic comedies that invoke illogical uses of science fiction. Blame the 80s. If he takes a DeLorean to the 21st century, I’ll be in love with this drama from day one.
Rooftop Prince will be helmed by writer Lee Hee-myung of Bad Family (woot!) and PD Shin Yoon-sub of KAIST. It follows Take Care of Us, Captain on Wednesday-Thursday and premieres March 14 on SBS. I guess the search for a new lost princess begins, so put up your fantasy casting lists now.
Via Seoul NTN
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I was kinda thinking Kim Tae Hee, but I’m not sure how she’d do in a saeguky drama since I’ve only seen her in my princess.
What about Yoo In Na?
I like Yoo Inna but she can’t lead a mini series yet. She hasn’t even done a non mini series, so it’s pretty tough.
Mini series are the tops in TV industry, and most difficult even more than movies.
If an actor’s movie fails, by definition (not many have heard of it) it goes away silently and doesn’t hurt their image. But if Mini series fails, actors are criticized for two months straight and their image takes a huge hit.
Mini series focuses on the main leads more than other tv series such as weekend series, daily series, idol series (idol series are usually aired during academic vacation times ie) dream high for kids).
Mini series leads put their name on the line in every project. It is an intense environment with overnight filming and taking the brunt of the responsibilities. That’s why some movie actors don’t want to do mini series.
Consider this.
Han Hyo Joo – did one mini series as a lead and failed.
Shin Se Kyung – Hasn’t done a mini series yet.
Hwang Jung Eun – hasn’t done a mini series yet.
There aren’t many established mini series leads.
In Korea, they are the toughest to find because you need someone who can lead the project in all aspects.
er….huh? Failed how? to quote wiki:
“In 2009 her Cinderella drama Brilliant Legacy (co-starring Lee Seung Gi) became a massive hit, reaching a peak viewership rating of 47.1%. Since the drama’s conclusion, Han has experienced a sharp rise in endorsement deals and media requests for interviews.”
Even if you fault her acting….that’s hardly a failure!!!
oh…it and wasn’t just one good episode – the drama had the top stop for 10 consecutive weeks…2 1/2 months. That’s longer than a lot of dramas even run (16 ep = 2 months)
Ummmm Brilliant Legacy was a weekend drama and it was not a miniseries. Han Hyo Joo has yet to prove herself on a weeknight miniseries….she did one Spring Waltz which failed miserably.
I agree with what the above poster said and everyone who lives in Korea can attest to that….leads in miniseries take on a lot more responsibility than leads from weekend series and daily drama series. In korea, you have truly proven yourself, if you’ve had success as the lead in a miniseries.
Weekend dramas, daily dramas, sitcoms, costume/period dramas have a 90% guarantee that it will have good ratings. That’s why even unknown actresses or idols who do those type of dramas can have an overnight success….while mini series only have 30% chance of doing good and miniseries leads have a lot more to lose.
Why do you think people like Han Hyo Joo is taking the easy route by doing weekend dramas, daily dramas and period drama? Its because she is scared to do another miniseries and that it would fail like Spring Waltz. She knows how much responsibilty it would be and if she fails on a miniseries, it would be really bad for her career.
“Weekend dramas, daily dramas, sitcoms, costume/period dramas have a 90% guarantee that it will have good ratings. That’s why even unknown actresses or idols who do those type of dramas can have an overnight success”
If you put it that way READfirst it means that Moon Chae Woon also hasn’t proven herself yet since TPM is a costume/period dramas while “It’s Okay Daddy’s Girl” fail in rating. No wonder she’s backed out.
Re: curiousme
Um, MCW backed out because the script wasn’t for her. I think she has proven herself with TPM, she’s one of the big reasons it succeeded. And even for a sageuk, most people didn’t expect TPM to be as popular as it became.
@curiousme, I dont think the reason you said was the reason why Moon Chae Won backed out…but yes, she has only had success as a lead in a costume and weekend drama but failed as a lead in a weekday miniseries (It’s Alright Daddy’s Girl).
That’s how hard it is to make it as a lead of a miniseries…those who usually have had success in weekend and daily dramas fail on weeknight series.
When people say miniseries drama leads in korea they talk of Kim Ha Neul, Ha Ji Won, Yoon Eun Hye, Lee Da Hae, Song Hye Gyo and Jang Nara (status wise), cause they have already proven that they can carry a difficult weeknight slot miniseries Mon-Tuesday, Wed-Thu. That’s what give them an edge compared to Han Hyo Joo, Moon Chae Won and other popular actresses.
Many supporting actors in a weeknight miniseries..are considered equal status of weekend and daily drama leads
Re: READfirst before you jump the gun
Okay, I get what you’re saying. Thought, I think that HHJ and MCW are going to be the new crop of leading ladies heavily sought after for the prime-time spot. Among their generation, other than MGY, they’re both very popular and very loved by the industry. It won’t be long before they rock a prime-time series.
Please take note of this.
The actresses selected above were simply based on popular leading actress who hasn’t done a successful mini series yet.
In no way do I mean to put them down. They are highly successful actresses who are popular or famous.
I simply used them to point out how difficult the industry is on min series. It takes huge amount of luck, effort, under immense pressure to do a mini series. That’s all I wanted to point out.
I apologize for any hurtful interpretation of it.
You shouldn’t need to apologize, fans are too easily offended. To Han Hyo Joo fans, don’t take it too personally, ㅗ–ㅗ is not saying HHJ is not popular.
Could you kindly explain to me all that “series” you’re talking about…I’m kind of confuse because here in our country we only have dramas that we watch every night (prime time, usually after news-from 7pm ’till midnight) or during noontime (that was not that good “time” because almost all of the viewers are in school/work). Gag shows, showbiz news, documentaries, or the like are usually air during weekends…
So, I can’t understand what you’re talking about so many kind of “series”…he he he..could you please enlighten me a little.
thanks thanks..
@ ㅗ–ㅗ and READfirst before you jump the gun – thank you for your explanations. Very enlightening.
Not bashing any of the actress at all.
Shining inheritance was not a mini series.
Wasn’t a weekend drama?
If that’s a mini series then you’re the first person who told me that.
Mini series here I mean is 16 episodes~20 episode dramas 99% aired on the difficult time weeknight time slots. It usually consists of trendy dramas, romcoms, or melodramas but the aim of these dramas are different. High ratings in mini dreams are a huge icing on the cake but the marketing efforts of mini dramas and all other dreams are different.
Oh by the way. I’m a fan of Yoo Inna. My Name (ㅗ–ㅗ) wasn’t meant for you. I just use that in all posts. Hope you didn’t think I gave you the fingers, hehe^^
My picks
Kim Byeol
Kim so run
Park Bo young
I hope that this time they are going to look after Yoochun beter… like giving him enough to eat and letting him sleep. I don´t want him to be sick again, as it happened after Miss Ripley.
He should rebel if that happens! He knows how to do it, doesn’t he?
Oh no I would’ve loved seeing these two act together.
Yes Park Bo Young please!! That girl hasn’t been in a drama for yonkers!
Girlfriday, you’re so right about DeLorean! I would prefer one over any actress or actor (maybe except for Kim Rae Won – he’s just as good;))
How about making a drama where the female lead is never shown but only is being looked for? Or shown from afar/backwards? Only to turn out to be anyone else but a beautiful princess type? You know, youthful love can be really surprising for the people around.
However, if I really could choose, I would opt for Kim Byeol or Jung So Min. I think they could bring in the energy and a certain quirky charm.
let us just pray to the drama gods that the lead actress would execute her role amazingly( whoever she is)
I have no doubts with yoochun’s acting let us just wait and see and have faith with the PD’s and writers
My Vote is PARK SHIN HYE she is good with fantasy roles..><
I like Kim So Eun too. But is she popular? I mean I heard this drama will be competing with Ha Ji Won and Cha Seung Won’s drama. (not sure of it) I kind of worried since both stars are well accomplished and treated as A-list. Our Chunnie is still considered as a rookie actor. (Although he does not looks like a newbie because of his excellent acting skills ^^) He needs a well rounded and well experienced leading lady.
Anyway I just Yoochun’s drama will be a hit.
She’s not popular yet to compare with other actresses. But she’s once a child actress. She has done saeguk in Empress Chun Chu as young Chae Si ra, Song Kang Ho’s daughter in The Show Must Go On movie, main lead in Happiness in The Wind, and Best New Actress Award 2009. Is it enough?
Jung So Min… She would be good too. She needs a comeback soon.
Moonie’s done some interviews where she said she didn’t want to get typecast. She’s become a superstar at this point but finding the right script after Princess’ Man might be difficult. That was her career role.
Moonie:
http://www.soompi.com/forums/topic/274219-moon-chae-won-%EB%AC%B8%EC%B1%84%EC%9B%90/page__st__880
So, according to some reports, this drama is supposed to be a retelling of A Thousand Years of Love, and if that’s true then it does have a heavy sageuk element to it – the first 4 episodes or so of Thousand Years is pretty much them in the past, and [spoiler] the end too. So, her declining it makes sense because it seems they are already trying to type-cast her in sageuks or sageuk-related projects.
I still really want Park Ha-sun or Lee Yoon-ji! I think they’d be perfect. They each have some sageuk experience as well.
He needs a female lead who can bring out his natural naughtiness or put him at ease when they’re acting. To make this happen, they need to have chemistry.
On the other hand, they both need to be chameleons. But the weight of the change lies on the girl. Can you imagine any young actress who can be both an innocent Joseon princess and be a sophisticated yuppie/career girl?
Idk, you tell me…
The two people that came to mind when I read the premise where Moon Geun Young and Jung So Min.
I don’t think I need to explain why I think MGY can totally rock this, so I’ll just go with the latter.
JSM only has two projects under her belt, but they are enough to prove that she’s got what it takes. She did a perfect transition from the borderline bitchy Hong Mo Nae to the sweet enduring Oh Ha Ni. Take into account that shooting for Bad Guy and Playful Kiss crashed for a bit, but she was still able to portray two very different characters at the same time. That’s what I’d call a chameleon. The con is, I don’t know if she is popular enough to get the role.
Well, since she was able to put KHJ at ease when acting (couldn’t stand him in BOF, but he was decent in PK), I’m pretty sure she’d have really good chemistry with Micky Yoochun.
I wanna see Shin Mi Na in ANYTHING (almost) so badly. But really, the best choice would be Jung So Min
Kim So Eun…. please, she is talented. I enjoyed every her drama’s and love her acting
whoever will be the leading lady im all for this drama
Why do I feel that just because I want Jung So Min in this drama, she won’t be in it? T.T Drama gods, why are you so cruel!
UPDATE:
Articles now released that it will be Han Ji Min.
She was in Lee San & various projects. Currently in Padam Padam.
I like her but wonder if she won’t look like Yoochun’s aunt.
Hopefully not.
HA JI MIN!?
While she looks beautiful for her age, she is going to look way older next to Yoochun. He has a baby face, while she doesn’t. It works better when the actress is the one with the baby face, not the guy.
She is 29! How are they going to pull that off? A younger actress would be way more refreshing. Seriously, sometimes I just wonder what the PD is thinking.
*HAN
I agree Tooty.
I watched Han Ji Min’s dramas and she’s one of my favorites. Pretty good actress with lots of charm. But I wonder if she’d look too old for him. Their age difference is only 4 years, but Yoochun looks very young.
I’m hoping it won’t be like Ripley, where you had very pretty Lee Dahae, but she looked more like Yoochun’s older sister instead of being his love interest.
I really like her, like you said, she has a lot of charm and is a very good actress.
But from Jung Woo Sung to Yoochun? How am I supposed to buy that?
Now that you mention it, she looks so freaking good with Jung Woo Sung!
I just read that article too.
While I love her in Capital Scandal and Yi San, like you, I’m also having doubts about their on-screen chemistry. But looking back during Yoochun’s SKKS, he actually looks more mature when he’s puts his sageuk game face on. I can even remember reading comments from here before, that Yoochun looks older compared to the rest of the Jalgeum quartet..
yah..i agree with you…he looks older than his age in SKKS..i love his acting in SKKS, seriously
yes…that what i observe…she looks older than yoochun
She’s pretty good actress and very pretty. This can work out great as long as they don’t come off like siblings, haha
Ha Ji Min was the lead in Yi San. She’s good! Hmm, this pairing might work.
SBS confirmed today that Yoochun and Han jimin have signed on for this drama.
So here’s how story goes.
Original script was sent to Han Jimin, and she turned it down due to Padam Padam.
So the production then sent the script to Moon Chaewon, Moon Geunyoung, and Park Boyoung.
But it seems Han Jimin changed her mind and signed last night.
This is what I found so far.
Okay, this news surprised me, I wasn’t expecting Han Ji-min’s name to come up. She did do a sageuk recently, that movie with Kim Myung-min, which I found just okay, even with KMM in it. I will have to wait for the teaser because I can’t picture this pairing right now.
Thanks for the updates
I really like her so I’m quite happy
Really, how do know? So Moon Chae Won was not originally the first choice. I was happy to know that since she turned down such a project with Yoochunnie. ^^ (But I don’t hate her, honestly)
Yeah, this is the first I’m reading that Han Ji Min was the first choice, I don’t know how legit that piece of info is.
I think the other actresses mentioned are better talent-wise. The more I think about it though, Han Ji Min is probably better suited for the role because she’s more of a love interest than leading lady (despite a number of lead roles under her belt, she tends to get overshadowed by her male co-stars), and the story sounds like it’ll center more around the male lead.
Yeah,
Strange but if Han Jimin was originally sent the script first, and if this is indeed true maybe the production had older woman-younger man in mind?
Seems interesting.
I was thinking more of a younger actress for the story but I guess I was far off.
I don’t think she would’ve been pigeon holed though. She’s done work in other genres and done it well. She was the best part of Shining Inheritance for me.
Han Jimin in Shining Inheritance? what was her role there? can’t remember watching her in that series
I, for one, am glad she turned it down. I want to see her play lead in a contemporary drama now!
I’m sort of glad MCW turned down the role. Since watching Ultimate Arrow and Princess Man, I’d do more than wince if she lost her momentum by toppling into a mediocre role.
If she read the script and didn’t feel she could roll out a performance that would wow the audience, I see this as an indication of a wise actress. I also salute her for having the guts to do this, considering she hasn’t got that many productions under her belt. (The pull to get involved in ‘anything’ may still linger, considering the alleged performance drought she had prior to Ulitmate Arrow).
writer Lee Hee-myung of Bad Family (woot!)
After I read that, I was sold.
I seriously would like LEE CHUNG AH to have this role. I never saw her doing a saeguk .. and she has just regained her status from the recent FBRS..
i mean, “i agree with you”…lee da hae looks like an aunt of yoochun in miss ripley than a lover
I actually find it didficult to imagine moon-chae won for rooftop prince. (I am saying this after watching some of rooftop prince. ) the lead role is a strong figure, someone who does her best to keep smiling, a leader. whether it’s “shining inheritance,” the princess’ man” or even “daddy’s girl” drama…. she’s never acted like that. granted- she has acted in a saeguk drama…. but the role didnt seem like her thing.
She had done a similar role in My Fair Lady