…in case you were wondering, which you probably weren’t.

MBC’s weekend miniseries Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설] has not had the buzzed-about broadcast run it was hoping for when it adapted one of the biggest box-office hits in Korean film history and cast name stars like Hyun Bin and Kim Min-joon in the leads. I wouldn’t call it an abject failure… but nobody could say it hasn’t been disappointing.

In fact, the drama has most recently had to fight rumors that it is cutting its broadcast run and ending early. The production has come out and issued strong denials, stating that the drama has always been planned for 20 installments and has already completed those episodes.

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Read the rest of Friend will not be ending early (296 words)

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Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon

Are you excited for the new drama Friend, Our Legend?

If you’re not, that’s okay. I’m not, either, despite (or perhaps because of) all the hype. But there are a lot of dramas that I didn’t expect to like initially that I did in the end, so I won’t make a call until it’s aired. And that’ll be soon — with the weekend drama Strike Love meeting an ignominious end, Friend, Our Legend will be airing a little sooner than originally planned; it premieres on Saturday, June 27, on MBC.

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Read the rest of Newest posters for Friend, Our Legend (59 words)

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Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, Lee Shi-un, Seo Do-young, Wang Ji-hye

MBC’s much-awaited drama adaptation of the 2001 movie Friend, titled Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설], is set to premiere in a couple weeks, and the cast and crew held their drama production press conference on June 17 in Seoul.

The cast has some rather large shoes to fill, and none more so than Hyun Bin (The World They Live In), who takes the role originally played by Jang Dong-gun in the film that broke box office records at the time. Kim Min-joon (Tazza), Seo Do-young (Unstoppable Wedding), and Lee Shi-un fill out the quartet of friends.

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Read the rest of Press conference day for Friend, Our Legend (334 words)

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Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, Lee Shi-un, press conferences, Seo Do-young, Wang Ji-hye

(Cute.)

With baseball drama Strike Love winding down on MBC, its replacement series is getting ready to air: Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설], which is the television remake of the immensely successful 2001 film Friend.

The series stars Hyun Bin (The World They Live In) and Kim Min-joon (Tazza) as Dong-soo and Jun-seok, respectively. The roles were originated in the film by Jang Dong-gun and Yoo Oh-sung, who played the two leads in a group of four childhood friends.

This also marks the second time Hyun Bin and Kim Min-joon are acting together; their first experience was back in the 2004 drama Ireland, which went a long way to establishing their acting careers back before they were well-known.

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Read the rest of Hyun Bin and Kim Min-joon are friends again (196 words)

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Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, remakes

(Hyun Bin, is that really you?)

One of the buzzworthy dramas this year is the remake of the 2001 film Friend [친구], which is being adapted for television in MBC’s Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설]. Aside from the casting, the drama has a few things going for it that’s drumming up early interest: It’s being written and directed by the film’s director, Kwak Kyung-taek, and it’s just announced that it’ll get all 20 episodes in the can before premiere time.

The production company, ZinInSa Films (which also produced the film), stated on May 10 that filming is currently about 80% completed: “Filming and editing are being done together, so the entire production will be completed prior to broadcast.”

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Read the rest of Shoots nearing completion for Friend (293 words)

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Post tags: drama production, Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, remakes

Okay, I’m trying something new here, so please let me know what you think.

SBS’s Tazza ended its run today on episode 21, and to send it off, I’m kicking off an open thread. I can’t possibly cover all the dramas out there, but I know you all are watching a bunch of stuff and may have a few things to say about them, so run wild. If response is good, I’ll keep it up for future dramas.

I’ll start: You know, I had a generally positive reaction to episode 1, so I’m not quite sure why the drama fell off the radar for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll go back and give it another try. While Tazza wasn’t as successful (ratings-wise) a movie-to-drama adaptation as, say, Gourmet was, it performed well, particularly given how strong East of Eden has been. By all accounts, the acting was decent (despite initial criticism for Han Ye-seul, but that’s par for the course these days in dramas starring pretty starlets) and the story kept viewers compelled.

Taking over the Monday-Tuesday timeslot for SBS is Han Hye-jin’s wine-themed Terroir.

SONG OF THE DAY

Tazza OST SBS – “인생은 한방” (Life gives you one shot) [ Download ]

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Post tags: Han Ye-seul, Jang Hyuk, Kang Sung-yeon, Kim Min-joon, Tazza

It was announced a while ago that 2001’s successful film Friend, starring Jang Dong-gun and Yoo Oh-sung, is getting the television drama treatment by MBC (is this the golden age of the remake miniseries or what?). Now auditions are kicking off to fill out its lead foursome.

The two main roles are already cast — Hyun Bin and Kim Min-joon take on Jang and Yoo’s lead roles — but the other two characters are still plum opportunities for new faces or rising stars. The drama, titled Friend: The Unending Story, will be helmed by the same director behind the film, Kwak Kyung-taek, and written by Han Seung-woon (of last year’s film Love).

As director Kwak is reportedly looking for a combination of strong acting skill and a perfect Saturi accent, the drama production team is holding multiple auditions between Seoul and Busan to choose from the widest pool of possible actors, from rookies to well-known names. Kwak has narrowed down his choice for the lead female role to two well-known actresses, although the candidates’ names have not been divulged.

The drama will start filming in January 2009 and is currently planning to air next May.

Via Hankook Ilbo

RELATED POSTS

• “Friend” gets the drama treatment

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Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, remakes