Add Jung Ryeo-won (Ja Myung Go) to the growing ranks of Hallyu stars aiming to make the leap to Hollywood.

Jung visited the U.S. last month for a meeting at the request of a film studio representative. Although she had received some calls of interest last year, this was her first step in actively pursuing a Hollywood crossover. One of Jung’s reps confirmed, “It’s true that she is planning to enter the U.S. market.” She’s currently considering offers for her next acting project, after wrapping her last drama, SBS’s disappointing fusion historical flop Ja Myung Go, and I’d say she’s still best known for her 2005 turn in My Name Is Kim Sam-soon. Hopefully her next project, Korean or otherwise, proves more successful.

Although some Hallyu attempted crossovers have fallen flat, I’ve always thought Jung Ryeo-won was a strong contender. Not only is she fluent in English thanks to growing up in Australia, she has a lovely naturalistic feel in her acting, and her personality also seems to have a strong Western vibe to it (so much so that I think she feels uncomfortable at times in the Korean entertainment machine). Plus, we know her good buddy Daniel Henney is currently working on his American drama series debut with CBS’s medical show Three Rivers; they can commiserate with each other of their respective crossover dilemmas, I’m sure.

Via Star News

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We kdrama fans know that it was 2005’s mega-hit drama My Name Is Kim Samsoon (aka My Lovely Samsoon) that catapulted American model-actor Daniel Henney to stardom in Korea, but it’s also apparently the reason for his U.S. television debut four years later.

Henney has landed a leading role playing “David Lee,” a Korean-American doctor, on the new CBS medical drama Three Rivers, which premieres this fall. The producers of the show searched widely for Asian actors in their casting process, and ended up watching Samsoon. They felt that the gentleness he displayed as Jung Ryeo-won’s doctor was similar to what they were looking for in the Lee character, and auditioned him. The producers reportedly agreed to cast him immediately after his audition “without argument.”

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With Hollywood remakes planned for Park Chan-wook’s Cannes prizewinner Oldboy (2003) and the follow-up film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005), I suppose it should be no surprise that the precursor to those two, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, is also getting the remake treatment.

Film producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura came to Seoul to promote the release of the action flick GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and said in a press conference on the 29th that they are currently in talks with CJ Entertainment over remake plans for Mr. Vengeance. As they are still in planning stages, they have not yet fixed on a director or actors. He went on to praise the visual aesthetics of Korean films, singling out Taegukgi as a particularly noteworthy achievement.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance was released in 2002 and stars Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun, and Bae Doo-na. It’s the first in what is called Park’s “Vengeance Trilogy” and had a short, limited U.S. theatrical run in 2005.

Given the high profile of the other two Park Chan-wook remake participants — Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Charlize Theron — one wonders what kinds of names may end up attached to this one.

Via My Daily

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Via Wired, here’s a short clip of Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue talking about the old movies that inspired his take on Ninja Assassin. No mention of star ninja Rain, but it does sort of confirm that the over-the-top, vaguely cheesy vibe of the preview video was an intentional style choice:

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It’s been a while since we’ve had info on Ninja Assassin, and now we get a look at the newly released teaser poster (above) and trailer video (below). This is the second promo poster; the first is below the cut, although you’ve probably already seen it floating around.

I don’t think the artwork looks like Rain at all, but I suppose he does look badass. A bit feral and way photoshopped, but that’s probably the point.

Ninja Assassin is directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) and co-stars Naomie Harris, Rick Yune, Ben Miles, and Sho Kosugi. The film is set for a North American premiere on November 24.

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