Dramabeans » Bong Joon-ho

Mother wins Best Picture at Asian Film Awards

javabeans — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:44:07 +0000

Director Bong Joon-ho‘s thriller Mother, starring Kim Hye-ja as a mother determined to clear her son (Won Bin) of murder charges, picked up three awards at the recent Asian Film Awards, among them Best Picture and Best Actress. Director Bong also won the award for Best Screenplay with co-writer Park Eun-kyo. The other Korean film to pick up an award was Park Chan-wook’s vampire horror-thriller Thirst, which won for Best Visual Effects.

The ceremony was held on March 22 in Hong Kong and handed out a total of 14 trophies. Full list of winners below.

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Read the rest of Mother wins Best Picture at Asian Film Awards (256 words)

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Post tags: awards, Bong Joon-ho, Kim Hye-ja

Bong Joon-ho series at LACMA

javabeans — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:54:02 +0000

If you’re in Southern California and have some time this weekend, you may want to check out the “Everything is a Mystery: Four Films by Bong Joon-ho” series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) this weekend. Director Bong will even been in attendance for the Mother screening on Saturday. Arg, if I were in town I’d totally be there!

As you probably know, Bong is one of Korea’s top directors, and one of a very few who enjoy international recognition. His 2006 film The Host is the #1 top-grossing film of all time in Korea, and his latest film, Mother (starring Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin), screened at Cannes and is the South Korean entry for the upcoming Academy Awards. In addition to those two, LACMA will screen the “crazed romantic comedy” Barking Dogs Never Bite and taut thriller Memories of Murder

The schedule:

Fri., December 11	7:30 PM	The Host (2006, 괴물)
Fri., December 11	9:40 PM	Barking Dogs Never Bite, aka A Higher Animal (2000, 플란다스의 개)
Sat., December 12	4:30 PM	Memories of Murder (2003, 살인의 추억)
Sat., December 12	7:30 PM	Mother (2009, 마더)

Via Star News, LACMA.org

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Mother screens at AFI FEST in Los Angeles

javabeans — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:03:52 +0000

Good news for Los Angeles fans of Won Bin (Taegukgi), Kim Hye-ja (Mom’s Dead Upset), and/or director Bong Joon-ho (The Host): Their latest film, the thriller Mother, is getting a screening at this year’s AFI FEST 2009 in Hollywood.

The film has already been licensed for North American theater release, but that will not occur until early next year. AFI FEST runs from October 30 through November 7, and has just announced its first twelve official titles to screen at this year’s event, of which Mother is one. (Others include Lee Daniels’ Precious — which looks heartbreaking and awesome — and Warner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant.)

Mother also screens this week at Toronto International Film Festival and at New York Film Festival on October 9.

Usually, I write about these film festival screenings without firsthand experience, but I’ve been to AFI FEST many times when I lived in LA and it’s a really great film festival, with a broad, eclectic range of films selected from all around the world. If you’re in the area, I’d highly encourage you check it out. (Not sure if the cast will be there for the Q&A session afterward, but you never know.)

Via Sports Chosun

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, film festivals, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Mother will get a U.S. theatrical release

javabeans — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:13:17 +0000

Looks like director Bong Joon-ho‘s most recent film, Cannes entry Mother (starring Won Bin and Kim Hye-ja), will be getting a theatrical release in the U.S.

American film distributor Magnolia Pictures has bought the rights for a North American run, and announced on August 31 that the release will happen sometime in early 2010. Magnolia is the distributor that also imported director Bong’s previous film, The Host, for a U.S. run in 2007. Along with Mother, they have also licensed Bong’s debut feature film, 2000′s A Higher Animal (starring Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doo-na). A representative from Magnolia said, “In the future, we would like to continue to distribute the movies directed by Bong Joon-ho.”

Mother screens this month at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Mother is also South Korea’s entry for the upcoming Academy Awards in the foreign film category.

Via Sports Chosun

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Mother opens big with a box-office record

javabeans — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:30:51 +0000

Thriller film Mother has claimed the top spot for Korean movie openings this year, drawing in more than 220,000 attendees in its first day (May 28).

This breaks the April 30 opening of Park Chan-wook’s vampire-horror film Thirst, which recently won a jury prize at Cannes, which drew in 178,000 people on opening day. It also beat out Hollywood blockbuster Terminator 4, which came in second in its second week.

Mother has generally received praise from audiences, particularly for director Bong Joon-ho, who’s made a name for himself with films like The Host and Memories of Murder. Kim Hye-ja plays the determined mother out to rescue Won Bin, the mentally slow son accused of murder.

Via IS Plus

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals

javabeans — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:00:40 +0000

With Cannes over and the thriller movie Mother releasing this week, there’s been a lot of stuff in the news involving the film’s three main players: Won Bin, Kim Hye-ja, and director Bong Joon-ho.

Aside from Won Bin’s status as one of the hotties of the first wave of Hallyu (initiated by his 2000 tearjerker drama series Autumn Fairy Tale with Song Hye-gyo, Song Seung-heon), this role has been highly anticipated because he’s had such a long break from acting. In stark contrast to most heartthrobs who try to capitalize on fame as much as possible (cramming schedules with movies, dramas, CFs, and magazine shoots), then hurry to burst back on the scene after army duty by trying to hit the ground running, Won Bin has had a relatively sparse career, stayed out of the limelight, and resurfaced only sporadically in recent years as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Here’s an interview with the actor, who strikes me as very humble and also very aware of (perhaps even overly disparaging of) his acting limitations.

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Read the rest of Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals (864 words)

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Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, interviews, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Won Bin in Bazaar and at Cannes

javabeans — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:01:16 +0000

Won Bin is currently in France for the Cannes Film Festival, along with the cast and director of his latest film, the Bong Joon-ho-directed thriller Mother (see pics below); this coincides with his latest France-set photo shoot (with the Eiffel Tower in the background, natch) for the June issue of Harper’s Bazaar.

Inside the magazine, the “original pretty boy” talks about acting and films, as well as his five-year hiatus, his days starting out as an actor, his family, hometown, and other diverse topics.

Mother releases on May 28 and will be his first film in five years.

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Read the rest of Won Bin in Bazaar and at Cannes (277 words)

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Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, film festivals, Jin Gu, Kim Hye-ja, photo shoots, Won Bin

“Mother”‘s mother-son pair at film press conference

javabeans — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:24:01 +0000

Aww, how sweet.

The majority of photos coming out of the April 27 press conference for the film Mother [마도] are focused on Won Bin — but you can’t really blame the press, because it has been so freaking long since he has been in the spotlight, and fans have been waiting for years for him to make his onscreen comeback.

Add to that his well-loved co-star, veteran actress Kim Hye-ja, and the return of film director Bong Joon-ho after making a huge splash with 2006′s The Host, and you’ve got the year’s most-anticipated film. (Well, most-anticipated next to Park Chan-wook’s Thirst, which is probably the only other film to challenge Mother for that distinction. Both Mother and Thirst have been accepted to screen at Cannes Film Festival this year, incidentally.)

(Also, not only has it been a long while since Won Bin has been in the spotlight, it’s also been ages that he’s looked so smiling and happy. It’s kind of a relief, actually.)

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Read the rest of “Mother”‘s mother-son pair at film press conference (250 words)

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Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, comebacks, Kim Hye-ja, press conferences, Won Bin

Won Bin makes his comeback next month

javabeans — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:22:32 +0000

Are you eager to see Won Bin‘s return project (finally!), Mother [마더]? The film, directed by The Host‘s Bong Joon-ho, has announced its official release date: May 28.

The film co-stars the wonderful Kim Hye-ja (Mom’s Dead Upset) in the role of the titular mother, who fights to save her 28-year-old mentally challenged son when he is wrongly accused of murder. Director Bong has reportedly been preparing this project for the past four years, even before filming The Host, ever since finishing on the 2003 film Memories of Murder.

See the official trailer:

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Read the rest of Won Bin makes his comeback next month (89 words)

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Post tags: Bong Joon-ho, comebacks, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

First look at Won Bin’s “Mother”

javabeans — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:33:22 +0000

Here’s our first peek into Won Bin‘s upcoming movie, Mother. The image isn’t that great and I have a great annoyance with news agencies that splash their logos across people’s faces, but as it’s the first official still released by the production, we’ll have to make do with what we get.

In the film, directed by The Host‘s Bong Joon-ho, Won Bin is falsely charged with murder; his mother (Kim Hye-ja) steps in to try to clear his name. Based on the director’s name and Won Bin’s participation, the film has already been sold for Japanese and French distribution.

Via DongA.com

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