The movie 71 had first caught my interest for starring young actors Kim Bum and Yoo Seung-ho as student soldiers in wartime, but problems arose when the movie encountered budget issues and the like. The stars dropped out and the production halted for an extended period. Now, the project has changed production companies and been revived with a new title and new stars: TOP and Kwon Sang-woo will be meeting onscreen as the two leads of Into the Gunfire [포화 속으로].

The old title referred to a real incident during the Korean war when North Korean soldiers had invaded and 71 South Korean students had banded together to defend their home (in Pohang, Gyeongsang-do). Kim Bum’s former character had risen to lead the students in the pivotal battle.

With this new casting, Kwon Sang-woo plays a man who enlists in the military after being suspected in a murder and volunteers for the student forces; TOP plays another, more junior student soldier. Actors Cha Seung-won (City Hall) and Kim Seung-woo (IRIS) are in contention for other roles: Cha as a North Korean officer and Kim as a lieutenant leading the 71 young soldiers. Directing is Lee Jae-hwan of A Moment to Remember and writing is Lee Man-hee of A Turtle Runs.

(I’ve made the joke before, but this time I’m honestly perplexed: Does Kwon Sang-woo really not know what his image and/or generation is? I’m not saying that a man can’t take leading roles with younger actors, because Kwon can totally still do the sexy leading man thing. But the role in question is of a student and had previously been filled by Kim Bum — thirteen years younger is a big leap, even if the character has been tweaked. I’m puzzled.)

The film will begin shooting at the end of November or early December, and plans for a mid-2010 release.

Via Now News, Hankook Ilbo

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The fighting is over for drama series Cinderella Man, which had been accused of plagiarism in May by the production company of another proposed drama. On July 24, nearly two months after the drama limped to its June 4 finale, Cinderella Man and its production company, Core Contents Media, got an official apology and retraction.

Back in May, production company LK had said in an interview that Cinderella Man had ripped off a drama it had been developing called Fashion King. Core Contents immediately countered the claims and jumped to defend Cinderella Man’s producers and writer, going so far as to sue both LK and the media source for defamation.

On July 24, the paper issued a correction, while Fashion King writer and representative Kim Ki-ho publicly stated, “After examining Cinderella Man, there is too weak of a basis for the claim, so it is not plagiarism.” And thus concludes this chapter in fashion-drama sniping.

Via Star News, No Cut News

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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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And wouldn’t we all?

Oh, Kwon Sang-woo. I understand that you’re in something of a career slump after being one of the hottiest hotties of the early 2000s, and yeah, both your best buds Song Seung-heon and So Ji-sub came off pretty strong series in the past two months… but is bargaining for more viewers really the way to go about it?

Ratings for his new trendy drama Cinderella Man have been low, and Kwon offered that if they rose above 20% (ha!), he’d personally ask co-star Yoon-ah’s girl pop group Girls Generation (SoShi) to make a cameo.

[Read more →]

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A highly anticipated drama project that fizzled last year may get a second chance at broadcast life: producers are hoping to give Daemul (aka Big Fish, or 대물) a second go.

The 10 billion won drama production had been a big-buzz project, first of all because it was based off a popular comic, and second of all when it cast A-list stars in the roles of the female president and high-class gigolo: Go Hyun-jung (HIT) and Kwon Sang-woo (Bad Love) in what was to be his big comeback project.

However, Daemul encountered numerous problems with its budget, PDs, and filming locations; SBS then dropped it from its schedule; and eventually it fizzled.

Now, Lee Kim Productions is hoping to get the drama back into production and on the air sometime this year. Interestingly, they say they want to continue with the same actors, but that might be tough, as both are now headlining their own series (Kwon in the current Cinderella Man and Go in the upcoming Queen Seon-deok). LKP is currently working on adapting scripts from the manhwa, which was created by Park In-kwon. Park also created the manhwa War of Money, which was turned into a hit drama in 2007 by the same production company.

I’ve always been more interested in the premise with Daemul than its producers or cast, so I’d actually like to see this one make it to air. Probably won’t be with SBS, though — although, I wonder if the broadcast station will put aside its squabbles with the production company and attempt to woo Lee Kim’s upcoming Lady Castle, starring Yoon Eun-hye.

Via Joy News

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