Dramabeans » Hollywood

Hollywood dreams for Jung Ryeo-won

javabeans — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:59:57 +0000

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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Daniel Henney’s Three Rivers role due to Samsoon

javabeans — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:15:04 +0000

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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Read the rest of Daniel Henney’s Three Rivers role due to Samsoon (111 words)

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Post tags: Daniel Henney, Hollywood, My Name Is Kim Samsoon

Hollywood remaking another Park Chan-wook film

javabeans — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:34:43 +0000

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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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hollywood, Park Chan-wook, remakes, Song Kang-ho

Ninja Assassin director plays homage to B-list ninja movies

javabeans — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:28:40 +0000

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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Ninja Assassin poster and trailer

javabeans — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:26:38 +0000

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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Read the rest of Ninja Assassin poster and trailer (36 words)

Kwon Sang-woo looking to make Hollywood debut in Green Hornet

javabeans — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:02:03 +0000

WHAT????? OMGOMG.

Hallyu heartthrob Kwon Sang-woo is looking to make his Hollywood film debut… in a Michel Gondry film???

I’m trying not to get too excited about this because they’re still negotiating… but this is Really Big Stuff. I don’t mean that it’s big that Kwon Sang-woo is trying to make his Hollywood debut, like other Hallyu stars before him (Lee Byung-heon, Rain, Gianna Jun). No, it’s big because this is Michel Freaking Gondry, and he is a genius.

(Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was half the genius of Michel Gondry’s directing, and half the genius of Charlie Kaufman’s screenwriting. Thankfully there’s enough genius in that film to go around. Gondry also has a celebrated filmography in short films and music videos, like this one of Cibo Matto’s “Sugar Water,” and the Lego video for the White Stripes, and the Foo Fighters’ “Everlong,” among many others.)

Gondry is the director attached to the upcoming film version of The Green Hornet, which was originally created for a 1930s radio program, then also turned into a movie, a television series, and comic books. The new film stars Seth Rogen and is currently negotiating to attach Cameron Diaz. Last week, Kwon Sang-woo flew to Los Angeles, where he is currently staying, to meet with Gondry to discuss working on the film.

Originally, The Green Hornet was to be directed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer), who would also fill the role of the Green Hornet’s sidekick Kato (the role Bruce Lee played on the TV show). However, Chow dropped out due to “creative differences” with the studio, and now here we are with Kwon Sang-woo possibly filling in.

Again, this is not final, but if it happens, it would be Big! It would also be the first of all these Korean-stars-gone-Hollywood attempts that I would actually be really, really excited about.

Via Asia Economy, Star News, Newsen

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Lee Byung-heon stills from GI Joe

javabeans — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:46:20 +0000

I still think the GI Joe movie looks spectacularly cheesy, but you can’t deny that Lee Byung-heon is A Movie Star.

Lee shows off his ripped (in more ways than one) body as the character Storm Shadow in this new still; the rest of the shots, alas, feature him fully clothed. Interest is gaining momentum as the release date nears and fans wonder if Lee can pull off what it seems Jeon Ji-hyun / Gianna Jun hasn’t quite managed with her Blood movie. Unlike Jeon, he’s not the lead character, but the GI Joe franchise just may have more sway with the mainstream public. (Who else grew up watching GI Joe cartoons and playing with GI Joe ~~dolls~~ action figures?)

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra releases on August 6. A press conference will be held on July 29 at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel.

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Read the rest of Lee Byung-heon stills from GI Joe (54 words)