News bites: August 23, 2015

by awcoconuts

Su Ae, Oh Yeon-seo, Kim Seul-gi, Jin Ji-hee

• The sequel to the 2009 movie about the national men’s ski jump team, Take Off 2 will be about the national women’s ice hockey team. It stars Su Ae and begins filming in October, and has made several great additions to the cast:
  • Oh Yeon-seo (Shine or Go Crazy) plays an incredibly competitive, rebellious and boyish athlete who makes it onto the ice hockey team after being thrown off the short track team.
  • Kim Seul-gi (Oh My Ghostess) is a girl who works for the ice hockey association and whose sole motivation for joining the team is to earn extra income.
  • Kim Ye-won is a teammate and former figure skater who’s obsessed with her looks.
  • Jin Ji-hee (Seonam Girls’ High Investigation Unit) is a middle school student and an inline hockey player who dreams of making the transition to the national ice hockey team.
  • Ha Jae-sook (Twinkle Twinkle My Heart) plays the unni of the team and the only housewife. A former field hockey player who failed to make the national team, she’ll show her strength at shooting and defense as she transitions to ice hockey.
  • Veteran actor Oh Dal-soo plays the head coach. As an athlete he was always warming the bench, but as a coach he’ll use his skills and experience (and a healthy heaping of bravado) to lead the women’s team. [Osen, Xports News]

Lee Sung-min, Lee Beom-soo

• Lee Sung-min (Misaeng) is in final contract negotiations to join Shin Ha-kyun in Baram Baram Baram, the comedy movie set on Jeju Island. About two families who move to the island to get away from it all, the heads of the households, Lee and Shin, will be united by a common denominator. Lee’s a retiree who now provides for his family by driving a taxi. He can’t stand his wife but he’s a devoted family man, and paradoxically the only thing that keeps him going is his desire to find someone to have an affair with. He’s sleazy but somehow still lovable, and thankfully he’ll become a better man after a life-changing incident. Filming begins in October. [E Daily]
• Some reports say he’s considering, others say he’s confirmed, but what’s for certain is that Lee Beom-soo (Last) is being courted to play a murderer and sexual predator in the movie Door Lock. The basis for the script is research on actual crimes and interviews with real convicts, and the film will take a deeper look at the inner workings of serial killers and psychopaths. The criminal thriller will be directed by Park Sun-wook (90 Minutes). [Osen, News 1]


Do Sang-woo, Lee Min-ho

• Baek Jin-hee is in demand in her new weekend drama, My Daughter, Geum Sa-weol. She plays the titular Sa-weol, and first we heard Yoon Hyun-min‘s character was smitten; now come reports that Do Sang-woo (Ex-Girlfriend Club) will have “some” with Sa-weol. Do will play a doctor who is ashamed of his father, the country’s biggest loan shark. He’ll give up medicine and his wealth to prove that a fulfilling life can be had even if penniless. He’s Sa-weol’s long-time friend, and in the beginning, he was at her side when she was in love with his buddy, he stayed close to her even after they broke up, and he even helped her out financially when her life became challenging (when he still had money, that is). Finally, he’ll come to the realization he thinks of her as more than a friend. My Daughter, Geum Sa-weol premieres on MBC September 5. [Hankook Economy]
• Lee Min-ho (’93, Prime Minister and I) has joined MBC’s Hwajeong as the second son of King Injo (played by Kim Jae-won), Grand Prince Bongnim, who becomes the future King Hyojong. His first appearance will be on Monday’s episode. [Star News]
• Writer Kim Soo-hyun (Thrice-Married Woman) is penning a new weekend drama after a 2-year hiatus. The plan and concept for the new show are finished (like her others, it will be a “home” drama), and she’s currently in the process of writing the script for each episode. The as-yet untitled weekender will air after I Have a Lover concludes on SBS next February. [Joongang]


Late Autumn

• The seminal Korean melodramatic film Late Autumn (the 1966 original movie spawned three remakes) has now been adapted for the stage. The play, based on the 2011 film starring Hyun Bin and Tang Wei, will run from October 10 to November 8 at the Artone Theater in downtown Seoul. The stage adaptation will feature five actors and a small-scale band will provide a live soundtrack. Like the movie, it will spotlight convicted murderer Anna, who unexpectedly meets Hoon when she is on a three-day furlough from prison to attend her mother’s funeral. [My Daily]
• Rapper L. Joe (of Teen Top) will make his big screen debut in Trumpet Above a Cliff, a joint Japanese-Korean film. He’s had cameos in Missing Noir M and Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit, and played the lead in web drama Enchanted Illness last year. The movie is about a woman who moves to Okinawa to recuperate from heart transplant surgery, and there she’ll witness a mysterious man blowing a trumpet from the top of a cliff. Filming has begun and the movie will premiere next spring. [Osen]

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