You know, I fully expected to dislike Tazza. I didn’t have many expectations, and I doubted that the drama version would be able to effectively capture what made the film version such a hit — I imagined it would be what you might expect if you had to cut down The Sopranos to air on network TV during the holidays. It would be a watered-down version at best.
And it is, for sure. Only one episode in (they only aired one last week), it’s a little too early to make predictions, particularly when much of the episode was spent in flashback. But although I started out the episode perilously near boredom, somewhere about halfway through, things started clicking for me dramatically, and I’ll admit I enjoyed it overall.
SONG OF THE DAY
Lee Ssang - “야바위” (Swindle). This song is actually from the OST of the film version of Tazza.
[ Download ]
Before she was a femme fatale, she was a schoolgirl.
Han Ye-seul dons pigtails and a schoolgirl uniform to portray her character’s younger self in the upcoming drama Tazza. (Despite the clean face and the clothes, she still seems more like a grown woman in a costume than a genuine flashback. But we can’t all be Song Seung-heon and command name actors even in our childhood roles, can we?)
Tazza actors and crew (Jang Hyuk, Han Ye-seul, Kim Min-joon, Kang Sung-yeon) came out on the afternoon of September 8 for the drama’s production press conference, all decked out in black to observe the death of Ahn Jae-hwan, which they’d received word of just earlier that day.
Apparently the actors put on a bright face for photos, but they became solemn at the mention of Ahn Jae-hwan. The drama’s new Madam Jung, Kang Sung-yeon, expressed her feelings upon hearing the sad news: “I couldn’t believe it. This was to be a good day for me [drama press day], but now I don’t know what I should say… Afterward, I’ll go to his funeral service. I’m so heartbroken I don’t know what to say.”
Regarding the drama itself, PD Kang Shin-ho explained: “Because there were previously a famous manhwa and a movie, there was some pressure, and I went through a process of trial and error. I put a lot of effort trying to use the gambling world to portray the ups and downs of the larger world. I hope people will like it.”
The Monday-Tuesday drama takes its place opposite MBC’s East of Eden and KBS’s Love & Marriage on September 16.
New stills are out for upcoming gambling drama Tazza, featuring its main cast: Han Ye-seul (above), Kim Min-joon (below left), and Jang Hyuk, getting into trouble as always (below center and right).
The stills were taken from a shoot for the title sequence at the drama’s gambling-den set, which is located in Kyunggi-do. A rep from production company Olive Nine stated that the lead actors showcased newly learned gambling skills in their aim to come off as genuine high-rollers: “In particular, Jang Hyuk and Kim Min-joon took on their intense action scenes themselves without using doubles, and even earned applause from the crew.”
Tazza is based on a manhwa by Heo Young-man, which also provided the basis for the 2006 film of the same name starring Kim Hye-soo, although producers point out that the drama will diverge from the movie version, adding several new characters into the mix.
The series will take SBS’s Monday-Tuesday slot currently occupied by Gourmet starting September 8. I can’t say I’m too thrilled about the drama, but I’ll admit it sure looks pretty.
For some reason I can’t quite fathom, the news is full of reports of renewed denials that Lee Soo Kyung and Shin Dong Wook, who played a couple in MBC’s Soulmate two years ago, are NOT dating. I wasn’t aware that it was much of a question these days, so I smell publicity maneuver, although it just seems so weirdly irrelevant. Anyway, both sides are denying that they’re anything more than friends. O-kay.
Of the two, I suppose Lee Soo Kyung is more in the public eye at the moment: Originally having agreed to appear in Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun’s upcoming drama When Night Comes, she has suddenly withdrawn from that project to headline her own, MBC’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Lawyers of Korea, set to follow Spotlight. Although the move has earned her some criticism, you can’t blame an actress for dropping a supporting role in favor of a leading one. Lawyers also stars Ryu Su Young (Bad Couple, 18 vs. 29) and starts in July.
In other casting news, Han Ye Seul will be starring in SBS’s drama Tazza, a television version based on the gambling film of the same name. She plays Madam Jung, the role originated by Kim Hye Soo in the film. (Umm, not so sure the casting fits for that one…)
And SBS’s upcoming “premium drama” My Sweet City has also cast Choi Kang Hee (Thank You, My Scary Girl) as an editor at a publishing firm. The drama co-stars Lee Seon Kyun (White Tower) and premieres on June 6.
I’m not necessarily drawn to any of the dramas in this batch, but since I’m not too drawn to a particular drama at the moment, at least the new spate of incoming series offers a change of pace. I’ll have to see if any of them sticks.
