SBS’s drama A Star’s Lover was not a hit in Korea, but (as expected) it’s doing well in Japan, thanks in no small part to Choi Ji-woo’s immense popularity there.

A Star’s Lover was broadcast on Japanese satellite and cable channel WOWOW TV starting in May, and will follow that with a run on a major broadcast station beginning August 25, airing as a Monday-Tuesday series.

Such is the reaction among buyers and Japanese retail and DVD production outlets that A Star’s Lover is being called “a second Winter Sonata” — strong words, given how incredibly strong (and lasting) the impression was from that drama. In June, a concert was held featuring the series’ soundtrack and earned such huge response that additional promotional materials are in the pipeline, from novelizations of the drama, guidebooks, the soundtrack album, and even chocolates.

CEO Go Dae-hwa of the production company Olive Nine said, “Even we at the production company did not know that the drama would cause such a tremendous response in Japan.”

I admit I still haven’t finished the drama, and even with only two episodes left, I have no desire to see the ending (so… painfully… slow). However, I will agree that Choi Ji-woo and Yoo Ji-tae were gorgeous and had intense chemistry (amidst all the crying and wailing), the scenery was beautiful, and the first four episodes were touched with a little extra magic that I wished carried through to the end. But in any case, I’m happy to hear it’s doing so well; all underperforming dramas should get second chances elsewhere.

Via OSEN

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I know it’s super-late, but I said I wouldn’t quit, and I haven’t. As much as this drama frustrates me, there’s something about it that makes me want to stick around to see the ending, even if it is mixed in with so many exasperating plot runarounds that just lead in circles. At the end of the day, this is a drama that you watch to find out plot, even if you may not enjoy the watching thereof. Plus,

SONG OF THE DAY

M (Lee Min-woo) – “Sad Song” [ Download ]

A STAR’S LOVER Episodes 15-17 >>

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 46 Comments →

Choi Ji-woo’s romantic melodrama A Star’s Lover may not have performed well in Korea, but she’s heading to stronger ground to promote the drama in Japan.

She’ll appear at Tokyo’s Ebisu Garden Hall on the 12th for a preview event and talk show about the series, which will begin airing on the satellite channel WOWOW on May 1. (The channel also aired her 2007 action drama Air City, which is another drama for which she’d held a similar event, at the same venue, back in October 2007. No doubt she can expect a lot of questions about her newly revealed boyfriend, Air City co-star Lee Jin-wook.)

A Star’s Lover (which I fully intend to finish!… one of these days) ended with a bit of a whimper, buzz-wise, but this being a Choi Ji-woo drama, it was likely intended to recoup any domestic losses with overseas sales anyway, as they did well in advance in Japan months ago.

Via Sports Khan

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• Yonsama lookalike in A Star’s Lover
• Theatrical adaptation announced for A Star’s Lover
• Ji-woo-hime’s starpower brings in foreign coin

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 13 Comments →

If you’re watching A Star’s Lover, you’ll notice that “melodrama queen” Choi Ji-woo cries A LOT in it. At least once an episode, and sometimes more. So much, in fact, that viewers have picked up on a peculiar trait of the actress’s crying scenes: The tears always start with the left eye.

A representative from Choi’s management company confirmed this particular habit, saying that nine times out of ten, she cries from the left eye first, then the right.

But she’s not the only one on the Star’s Lover set with a crying quirk: Cha Ye-ryun, who plays Eun-young, has lately also been shedding lots of tears after her character was dumped. In Cha’s case, whenever she cries, she lets trickle two streams of tears from each eye, for a total of four rivulets.

Also, the actress playing Yoo Ji-tae’s sickly sister Yuri, Shin Min-hee, is said to be so immersed in her character’s emotions that she often cries real tears during script rehearsals. Shin requires some time to recover after her scenes, so if NGs occur (outtakes), she needs time to prepare for a second go. However, ever the pro, Choi Ji-woo is ready to go immediately, in contrast to some actresses who keep the crew waiting for hours while they muster up the emotions. They don’t call Choi the Queen of Tears for nuthin’.

At first, I thought this was a silly thing to notice — but looking through all my screencaps of the show, IT’S TOTALLY TRUE. I find this hilarious.

Via Newsen

RELATED POSTS

• A Star’s Lover: Episode 14
• Yonsama lookalike in A Star’s Lover
• Theatrical adaptation announced for A Star’s Lover
• Ji-woo-hime’s starpower brings in foreign coin
• A Star’s Lover: Episode 1

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 42 Comments →

How does a drama take such a sharp turn? Well, I bet some people can argue that this drama has been growing slower… and s..l..o..w..e..r… for weeks now. But I seem to recall thinking just two or three weeks ago that things were actually getting more interesting. And then… nothing happened. I mean, stuff happened, but nothing really happened, if ya know what I mean.

However, someone commented that Episode 15 is much more interesting than 14, so I’m still going to try to power through. I’m trusting in you, o faceless commenter. It’s a shame to quit so close to the end, right? (Famous last words?)

SONG OF THE DAY

A Star’s Lover OST – “하고 싶은 말” (Words I want to say) [ Download ]

A STAR’S LOVER Episode 14 >>

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