I’ve been waiting ages for Go Soo’s official acting comeback after his army release, and not only are we getting a film (the dark thriller Into the White Night with Sohn Ye-jin), he has also decided on a drama return — his first in four years. It’ll come in the SBS series Will It Snow On Christmas? [크리스마스에 눈이 올까요], and co-stars Han Ye-seul.

I’m not thrilled about Han Ye-seul, because she’s had pretty uneven performances in her career and has been coasting on being a CF queen, but I’m going to go into this with an open mind. (To give credit where it’s due, I thought she was pitch-perfect in Fantasy Couple.) And this comes from the director of What Happened in Bali (dark) and the writer of Thank You (heartwarming) and I’m Sorry, I Love You (intense) — Choi Mun-seok and Lee Kyung-hee, respectively — so that is promising stuff.

In the drama, Go Soo plays a man who was brought up by his grandmother in difficult circumstances and shows an “intelligent, masculine appeal.” His character had shared a young love with the girl played by Han Ye-seul, but through “sad circumstances,” they were forced to separate. She is the daughter of a famed doctor of Oriental medicine in a small village, although she’s always being compared to and passed over for her smarter, brighter older brother. She and Go Soo eventually reunite in their fateful love as adults. (The setup sounds trite and unexciting, but given the writing-directing duo, I’m staying optimistic.)

No airdate planned yet, but I’ll be keeping an eye on Will It Snow on Christmas, for sure.

Via Star News

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Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 28 Comments →

With her scandal behind her and her management conflict resolved, singer-actress Ivy is setting the stage for her comeback, and has posted to her mini-homepage for the first time in a year and three months.

In an industry and society where big news is often announced via mini-homepage (romances, wedding plans, pregnancies), going dark for that long is tantamount to going into hiding. Now that she’s preparing for her new album and return to the public sphere, Ivy has posted the above photo, labeled as being at the UCLA library, with the title “Jumping up!” The post reads, “My body feels heavy so I can’t jump high, but on this cool day, I let go of my stress!”

Ivy traveled to the States in July while gathering materials for work on her new album, which is scheduled for an October release. Currently, she is in Korea recording and preparing for her comeback this fall.

Via Star News

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Filed under: Kpop News by javabeans - 6 Comments →

Earlier this summer, superstar singer-actor Rain alluded to the possibility of taking another movie or television project, and now he has announced his decision to make his acting return with a drama.

He’s currently engaged in singer-ly activities, kicking off his 2009 Asia Tour (“Legend of Rainism”) on August 29 at Japan’s Saitama Super Arena. It was at a press conference at that event that he spoke of his drama comeback plans. Rain didn’t get into the details, saying merely, “It will have an entirely different feel from the movie Ninja Assassin.”

Speaking of which, Ninja Assassin will be released in theaters in late November. As for the concert tour, Rain follows the Japan opener with performances in China, Seoul, and Southeast Asia. Ever the overachiever, he added, “If possible, I’ll try for Europe and America as well.”

I know he’s been busy working on his two Hollywood films (Ninja Assassin and Speed Racer), but it still feels to me like he’s been out of the acting spotlight for a really long time. I like him best in kdramas, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing him on television again. I get the sense that many people write him off from his uncomplicated spoiled-superstar character in Full House, but while it is his most well-known (and probably most-watched) role, it was also one of his earlier projects and he’s grown in the five years since that drama. (Take, for instance, his role with Im Soo-jung in Park Chan-wook’s eccentric psych-ward love story, I’m a Cyborg But It’s Okay.)

Via Joy News

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Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 21 Comments →

Singer Ivy is finally readying to make her comeback, and it looks as though she’ll be pulling double-duty with her first new album in three years, accompanied by a new acting project.

She has been out of the public eye for the past two years, having been forced out of the spotlight at the height of her popularity when scandal broke wherein an angry (and violent) ex-boyfriend blackmailed her and threatened to release an alleged sex tape (which never came to light, by the way). I say she was “forced” to take a hiatus but that’s not strictly the case; the embarrassment and smear job on her reputation caused the singer to withdraw from all public activities. Feeling attacked (netizens were particularly harsh, painting her as a slut and a cheater), she has been virtually silent since 2007.

I’ve always thought that if Ivy had brazened it out, the scandal would have eventually faded and she could have made her comeback sooner and with less fanfare. However, you can’t really blame her for disappearing, even if it’s sexist and unfair that she felt the need to. It’s also somewhat ironic that she was painted as slutty when she had theretofore been known for promoting a sexy image without showing skin (her performance outfits were often long-sleeved and high-necked).

In June 2008, she was featured in the four-part miniseries Tokyo Showers (which I believe was filmed before her scandal broke), but she didn’t participate in the promotion of the drama, which was a somewhat sweet but overall forgettable affair.

Now, it’s being reported that Ivy is entertaining multiple offers from drama productions, and she is seriously considering taking a role in one of them. According to her rep, she had received offers throughout her long hiatus.

Ivy has recently returned to Korea from the States, and is getting straight to work on recording her new album. I can’t say I enjoy her music (her ballads are much better than the pop-techno stuff), but I have respect for her vocal skills and strong live performances. Much luck to her.

Via Donga

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Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 12 Comments →

I first heard of Into the White Night (literally Baekyahaeng: Walk Into the White Darkness or 백야행 — 하얀 어둠속을 걷다) last year, when lead actress Sohn Ye-jin was cast, and filed it away as something to look forward to.

I like Sohn, but it was the plot that caught my attention: It’s based on a story that’s been remade a few times in Japan in film and television form (titled Byakuyako; the original novel was written by Higashino Keigo). The shared theme is that two young people kill a person in self-defense, cover it up, and decide to separate until the statute of limitations expires on their crime.

The first stills are out featuring Go Soo in the lead role, which is a welcome return for the actor; this is his film comeback following release from army duty a year ago.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 26 Comments →