Dramabeans » Lee Na-young

A Gentleman’s Dignity inches closer to securing its cast

javabeans — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:55:27 +0000

A whole lotta names are being bandied about for A Gentleman’s Dignity, the new drama set to come from the Secret Garden and Lovers in Paris scriptwriter (hence the heightened buzz).

Jang Dong-gun (Good Morning President) and Lee Na-young (Runaway Plan B) were both previously in contention, and their names have resurface as leading candidates to headline the series. Although the bottom line hasn’t changed (neither is confirmed, both are “positively considering”), the fact that a fresh news cycle has brought both of them up suggests that the drama is close to finalizing negotiations.

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Post tags: Jang Dong-gun, Kim Min-jong, Kim Myung-min, Lee Na-young

Lee Na-young eyes drama from Secret Garden writer

javabeans — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:04:34 +0000

A number of leading ladies have met with great popular and critical success via a Kim Eun-sook vehicle: Kim Jung-eun (Lovers in Paris), Kim Haneul (On Air), and Ha Ji-won (Secret Garden), to name a few. Now Lee Na-young (Runaway Plan B) is circling ’round the latest project from the star scriptwriter, according to new reports.

Lee isn’t confirmed for the role, her reps have noted, but she IS considering it very favorably. The project is called A Gentleman’s Dignity, which you may recall was the project recently rumored to be courting Jang Dong-gun as its lead. Lee has received the offer but has not put anything in writing.

Kim Eun-sook is the kind of writer many actors would probably jump to work with sight unseen, because she’s got such a strong body of work and has churned out hit after hit. She’s known for her slick, rapid-fire dialogue, with tons of fast banter. For the record, I sort of hate her writing. I’ve been burned by her endings more than once, and I find her fancy writing hollow. But, I do see her popular appeal and have no doubt this one will probably be a huge hit, like the others. It’s just a matter of taste.

The drama is described so far as simply a “romance melo” and would be a weekend SBS series to air next spring, tentatively in March or April.

Via No Cut News

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Lee Na-young’s 20th-century looks in Allure

javabeans — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:16:23 +0000

Lee Na-young (Runaway Plan B) is featured in a shoot for Allure magazine’s November issue, which has released a few teaser stills from her “100 Years of Beauty” spread.

That means each image adopts a look representing a particular decade from 1910 through 2000. Like 1950s “French chic,” which is probably the second image, and a contemporary “eco” look (as in eco-friendly, which I guess might be the image above). So…which decade is the one where we all got abducted by aliens, dressed in loud patterns, and cloned?

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Read the rest of Lee Na-young’s 20th-century looks in Allure (119 words)

Lee Na-young still waiting for her payday

javabeans — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:45:29 +0000

Runaway Plan B is wrapped and off the air, but lead actress Lee Na-young has yet to see a single cent from it, and is taking legal steps to claim her salary.

To that end, she has filed suit against producers with the Seoul Central District Court demanding the unpaid wages, according to her management company Keyeast. This comes after the drama that boasted a 10 billion won budget had trouble securing funding mid-shoot, troubled by ever-dropping ratings. Lee isn’t the only one who hasn’t been paid; other supporting cast members and crew are also waiting. According to management reps, other stars in the main cast like Rain, Daniel Henney, and Yoon Jin-seo have received some pay, though the rest is still outstanding.

A source with the production company promised to negotiate the matter, but it remains to be seen how long that might take if the problem is that there are no funds to be paid.

I hadn’t heard of Runaway running into mid-drama funding issues, although I can see how that happened after its strong start quickly took a dive as the show wasted episodes throwing around its money and glitz before getting down to the actual story. The ratings stabilized at 10% (down from 20%), but it was difficult wooing people back; turns out viewers can’t be bought off with empty style, and they checked out before the show could hook them by turning its attention to real conflict and drama.

It’s too bad, because I found myself enjoying Runaway a lot more once they started to take the story seriously, and it turned out to be much better than I initially thought. But you can’t blame people for moving on without waiting to see when — if — things would get better.

Via Segye

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: lawsuits, Lee Na-young, Runaway

Lee Na-young wraps drama, turns to film

javabeans — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:24:08 +0000

Fresh off her latest drama, action-comedy Runaway Plan B, actress Lee Na-young is turning to the big screen for her next role. Though contracts haven’t been signed yet, reports indicate that she will likely be acting next in the movie Howling, starring opposite the ubiquitous Song Kang-ho (Blue Salt, Secret Reunion, Thirst).

A source with Howling’s production stated that the movie is prepping for a 2011 release and that after contacting a handful of actresses, Lee is their top contender for the role. A rep from Lee’s management company confirmed that she had received the script and is considering the project favorably.

In Howling, an animal that is bred to be a wolf-dog hybrid is used to track down killers in murder cases. Lee Na-young’s role is of a newbie cop, who works with veteran cop Song Kang-ho.

(Okay, I get that if you’re going to cast Lee Na-young and Song Kang-ho together, it makes sense that she’s the rookie and he’s the vet. But what is with the glut of movies/dramas relying on this overused dynamic, pairing female newbs with grizzled male vets? Just once, can’t we have the reverse? Just imagine the hilarity of making Song the newbie and Lee the old soul. Or, if that goes against the intended tone too much, pair an older actress with a younger hotshot. How ’bout something for us noonas out there?)

Via TV Daily

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Runaway Plan B: Halftime report

javabeans — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 03:02:24 +0000

All right, folks, time to check back in with Runaway Plan B. I’ve been watching the episodes despite not recapping it, and now at the halfway mark, I can say that the show is better now than it was at the outset. I’m still a few points away from loving it, but I’m more invested than I was.

I said in the initial recap (and the podcast) that I liked it with some reservations, because there were a few key points that kept me from jumping fully onboard. Like the super-slickness, the style-without-a-heart vibe, the bravado. And one main weak point still holds it back: While the individual episodes move briskly (how can they not, with all that running?), the overall story progresses at a creepy-crawl. If you cut through the action and the fighting and boil down what actually happened in an episode, you’ll see that plot movement only actually makes up small fraction of the real estate. There’s a lot of time spent on filler stuff, like the other PIs in other countries and whatnot. But maybe that’s intentional.

On the upside, Runaway IS very easy to watch. And it may have taken about six episodes before I cared anything about any character, but here at Episode 10, we’re making some nice movements forward. (Finally!)

Here’s the thing, though: You absolutely can’t take it seriously. You have to approach the drama knowing it’s all fun fluff, whether we’re talking about everyone’s magic designer wardrobe — despite being on the run five times per episode — or escaping from handcuffs with a bendy straw. You’ve gotta roll with the ridiculous punches and laugh at the cheekiness, rather than rolling your eyes in derision, because otherwise you’ll just strain yourself (and said eyes).

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

MBLAQ – “Running and Running” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Runaway Plan B: Halftime report (4,947 words)

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Post tags: Daniel Henney, featured, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young, Rain, Runaway, Yoon Jin-seo, Yoon Son-ha

Runaway (Plan B): Episodes 1-2

javabeans — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:50:56 +0000

Runaway: Plan B premiered this past week to huge intro ratings, setting KBS up for yet another hit this year. (You may know the title as Fugitive: Plan B but don’t worry if you’re confused, since not even the drama’s official site is keeping things consistent.)

What we get here is a stylish action drama that is — let’s face it — pretty fluffy entertainment but executed well and with a cheeky attitude. It knows exactly what it is, and plays that to the hilt. The casting is spot-on and the action sequences are designed to achieve maximum cool effect.

Did I like it? Very much in parts, and not much at all in other parts. It’s complicated. We’ll get to that.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

Mate – “Go” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Runaway (Plan B): Episodes 1-2 (3,984 words)

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Post tags: Daniel Henney, featured, first episodes, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young, Rain, Runaway, Yoon Jin-seo, Yoon Son-ha

Better (and funnier) posters for Runaway

javabeans — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:30:31 +0000

We’ve been hearing that KBS’s new action drama Runaway (Plan B) is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but hadn’t seen any indication to that effect. Finally we get a glimpse at the lighter side with these two new posters, and while I still don’t know how the wild-treasure-hunt-through-Asia storyline will play out as comedic, I’m not skeptical that it can be done.

I also think this is a welcome angle, because we’re going to be getting a lot of action dramas in the near future and they were all starting to blur in my mind. I’m hoping Runaway will establish itself with a fresh, distinct voice and humorous tone.

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Read the rest of Better (and funnier) posters for Runaway (93 words)

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Post tags: Daniel Henney, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young, Rain, Runaway, Yoon Jin-seo

Runaway poster is out

javabeans — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:01:38 +0000

The first poster is out for KBS’s Runaway (Plan B), and it’s a battle of the cocked guns and eyebrows as everyone puts on their fiercest Blue Steels. From left to right, we have Yoon Jin-seo and Lee Jung-jin as cops, Rain and Lee Na-young as the two leads, and Daniel Henney playing a devoted protector type (aka, The Henney).

In this romantic-comedy action drama, Rain plays a private detective who is approached by Lee Na-young, who hides her true motives while acting the part of client. They get caught up in a case involving a large amount of cash that went missing in the Korean War, and are chased through Asia by the two cops.

The drama has attracted a lot of interest not only for its cast but its writer-director pair, who last led KBS to ratings gold with their blockbuster sageuk action drama Chuno. It’ll air on Wednesdays and Thursdays after Baker King Kim Tak-gu wraps.

Via Mk.co.kr

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 75 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daniel Henney, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young, Rain, Runaway, Yoon Jin-seo

Preview clip for Rain’s Runaway (Plan B)

javabeans — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:28:50 +0000

Here, we go, the preview video for Runaway! And true to the drama’s title, there’s a lot of running in it.

The drama is described as a romantic-comedy action project, which could have skewed hokey if done too slapstick. But on the contrary, it looks pretty slick, actually. Lots of action and — with this writer-director pair (of Chuno, as well as Level 7 Civil Servant‘s writer) — probably a lot of stylish cinematography and fast pacing.

(Do we now have to change the title to Plan B, per the trailer? I’ve gotten so used to thinking of it as Runaway… By the way, for those of you wondering why I’ve stuck with Runaway instead of Fugitive — as both titles are in use equally — it was a deliberate choice because the Korean word can mean either, but “fugitive” has the added connotation of criminality. As far as I know, Rain isn’t a criminal, but he IS on the run. Plus, the drama website uses the word “run.” Just for those who were curious.)

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 61 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daniel Henney, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young, Rain, Runaway