On October 8, the 14th Pusan International Film Festival, or PIFF, opened in Busan. (Yes, the city takes a different official spelling than the film festival. Blame inconsistent Romanization.)

As the largest film festival in Korea, it drew a large list of attendees, as you can see from the long list of red-carpet walkers. It was definitely a star-studded opening night, and even included one familiar Hollywood face (Josh Hartnett).

This year’s PIFF features its largest lineup to date, screening 355 films from 70 countries, and closes on the 16th.

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Read the rest of Opening red carpet at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival (241 words)

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Choi Jung-won, Eom Ji-won, film festivals, Go Eun-ah, Go Jun-hee, Ha Ji-won, Han Chae-young, Han Eun-jung, Han Hye-jin, Han Ji-hye, Han Ye-seul, Im Joo-hwan, Im Soo-jung, Jang Dong-gun, Jang Hyuk, Jeon Do-yeon, Jeon Hye-bin, Jo Jae-hyun, Jung Ryeo-won, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Haneul, Kim Kang-woo, Kim Nam-gil, Kim So-yeon, Kim Yunjin, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Park Hee-soon, Seo Woo, So Ji-sub, Su Ae, Sung Yuri, Sunwoo Sun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Wang Seok-hyun, Yeh Ji-won, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun, Yoon Kye-sang

Technically, 1 minute and 35 seconds.

Such is the box office draw of one of Korea’s favorite actors, Jang Dong-gun. The warm and humorous Good Morning President is his first film in several years, and Korean audiences are eager to see Jang back onscreen, as he has been out of the Hallyu spotlight to pursue Hollywood interests (The Warrior’s Way is still forthcoming). Thus they’ve leapt at the chance to get their first glimpse of his latest role when President opens October’s Pusan International Film Festival.

Sure, he only plays one of three presidents in the movie (with Lee Soon-jae, Go Du-shim) and stars opposite glamorous Han Chae-young, but really, the pull is all about Jang Dong-gun.

Tickets went on sale at 5pm on September 21, and according to a rep at PIFF, they sold out completely in the first minute and 35 seconds. This follows a similar response to last year’s PIFF opener, Gift to Stalin, which also sold out in under 2 minutes. Some previous fast sellers include The Coast Guard (which also starred Jang Dong-gun and sold out in 2 min 4 sec) in 2002, The Last Witness (2 min 28 sec) in 2001, and Traces of Love (2 min 45 sec) in 2006. President is therefore the fastest-selling Korean film at PIFF, which seems to me a strange statistic to keep track of, but oh well.

Via Joy News

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Post tags: film festivals, Go Du-shim, Han Chae-young, Jang Dong-gun, Lee Soon-jae

Ooh, now THAT’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Jang Dong-gun plays a president in the upcoming film Good Morning, President [굿모닝 프레지던트], as we can see in these (many!) behind-the-scenes shots taken at the film set. The production opened the Kyunggi province shooting location to a press conference on July 20 and gave the media a glimpse of the crew and its universally liked lead actor (really, Jang Dong-gun has among the fewest anti’s — if any — in the business, which is remarkable given how incredibly famous he is).

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Read the rest of From the office of President Jang Dong-gun (176 words)

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Post tags: Han Chae-young, Jang Dong-gun, Lee Soon-jae

Oh, I want Magazine Allo and Style to fight forever and ever, and keep the lulz flowing!

Their back-and-forth sniping is sorta going to meta levels, isn’t it? After all, would you really expect less of two summer dramas starring glamour queens and set in the backstabby world of fashion magazines?

The rivalry came into its second wind in the past week, when Allo’s producers defended their series, saying they did not plagiarize the other drama and accused Style’s director and production company president of creating the plagiarism rumors and interfering with Allo’s broadcast plans. They now want a public apology from the Style producers, and if one is not made, they have threatened to countersue for defamation and impeding business operations.

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Read the rest of Round two: Magazine Allo vs. Style (461 words)

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Post tags: Han Chae-young, Kim Hye-soo, lawsuits, Lee Jia, Magazine Allo, Style

It looks like KBS’s Magazine Allo (the fashion drama starring Han Chae-young, Kim Haneul) may not make it to air after all.

The drama is not canceled, merely postponed, but with plagiarism claims asserted by competing drama Style, KBS has decided to swap out Magazine Allo for a different drama, a law series called Partner. The show will follow current Wednesday-Thursday series Accidental Couple.

A representative from KBS’s drama department stated that legally they are clear and have not infringed on copyright, but they dislike being caught up in a fight over the matter. They’ll presumably give the matter more thought while Partner takes over the timeslot, although this may indicate that Magazine Allo is in danger of being dropped.

This is too bad, since I was looking forward to Allo much more than Style, even if the latter is based on a popular novel — I just can’t get past the casting (Lee Jia, Ryu Shi-won). Oh well, it’s not like I’m hurting for dramas to watch at the moment. Style will premiere on July 25 on SBS (it’s a weekend show).

Via Joy News, No Cut News

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• Cinderella Man fights back, sues Fashion King
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Post tags: Han Chae-young, Kim Haneul, lawsuits, Lee Jia, Magazine Allo, Ryu Shi-won, Style

Jeon Ji-hyun’s Hollywood debut has been buzzed about for practically two years, and although previews have finally come out for Blood: The Last Vampire, there has still been no official U.S. release announced (July has been mentioned as a tentative possibility). It seems that Korean fans and netizens are growing weary of the hype without an actual product, and have started to voice their suspicions, dissatisfied with the exaggeration of her role and accusing her of false advertising.

The movie has been touted all along as a “Hollywood film,” by Jeon herself as well as the promotional machine. Sidus HQ, Jeon’s management, explained: “When Jeon Ji-hyun spoke of it as her Hollywood debut film, she didn’t mean that it was made in Hollywood but that it would be released in America. The point is that it is the first step in the Hollywood system.”

The source article points out that even though the film wasn’t made by Hollywood, this wouldn’t be an issue if it had received investments from American film companies. However, the production budget was not furnished by Hollywood, financed instead by companies in four other countries, making it a co-production between Japan, Hong Kong, France, and Argentina. The film has a French director, Chris Nahon, and is based on a Japanese manga.

I think this is rather harsh on Jeon (and really, Blood kinda looks awesome, much better than the other so-called Hallyu-to-Hollywood debuts), but it has a very valid point, which is to take the press and management companies to task for being too eager to label any and everything a “Hollywood debut.” For instance, the media was quick to blare the trumpets for Han Chae-young’s “Hollywood debut” in the horror film Soul Mate, which was a Korea-New Zealand production that had no traction in Hollywood. Han Go-eun’s supposed Hollywood project was a Korea-Canada co-production.

On the other hand, there are projects that can be legitimately called Hollywood debuts, such as Daniel Henney’s recently released X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Lee Byung-heon’s upcoming G.I. Joe (which releases in August), Rain’s upcoming Ninja Assassin (November), and Jang Dong-gun’s The Warrior’s Way (which was previously called Laundry Warrior).

Via My Daily

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Post tags: Daniel Henney, Han Chae-young, Han Go-eun, Hollywood, Jang Dong-gun, Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Byung-heon, Rain

Just a few days ago, I was talking about the upcoming trend of fashion dramas. Another new style-related series, tentatively titled Magazine Allo [매거진 알로], has announced its two leading ladies and, given the milieu — a competitive fashion magazine — Han Chae-young (Boys Before Flowers, Delightful Girl Chun-hyang) and Kim Haneul (On Air) are perfectly cast. (Or should I say, almost-nearly-practically cast — final contract issues pending.)

The series is being described as similar to Devil Wears Prada, with its main character (Kim Haneul) starting out at a monthly literature publication, which is suddenly named fashion magazine “ALLO.” Pushed thusly into the world of fashion, she faces her new tribulations with an upbeat and determined attitude. Meanwhile, Han Chae-young is the editor in chief at ALLO, showcasing a mix of style and editing talent.

So, not the most innovative concept, and not likely to be wildly original. On the other hand, it might be a whole lotta fun. I don’t think Han or Kim are exceptionally skilled actors, but their casting seems spot-on (I like it much better than Lee Jia and Ryu Shi-won in the similarly premised drama Style). They’re going to look gorgeous and have faaaabulous wardrobes. And great hair. I could get behind that.

Magazine Allo will premiere on Wednesday, June 24, on KBS. It follows Accidental Couple — which pits it against MBC’s Triple and SBS’s Swallow the Sun. (I know which one I’m NOT excited about!) It will air 16 episodes.

Via OSEN

RELATED POSTS

• Get ready for a glut of fashion dramas
• Lee Jia’s got Style

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Post tags: Han Chae-young, Kim Haneul, Magazine Allo