Huh. Another one: Scandal Makers (aka Speed Scandal, 과속스캔들), which has enjoyed tremendous success in the past few months, is being remade by Hollywood.

The film has sold over 8.2 million tickets in Korea and catapulted young star Park Bo-young to household-name status (and earned her a Baeksang Award just a few days ago). It also stars Cha Tae-hyun (My Sassy Girl) and a very young Wang Seok-hyun. It is directed by Kang Hyung-chul.

Attached to direct the U.S. remake is Barry Sonnenfeld, director of films like Men in Black and RV and producer of Get Shorty, Ladykillers, and Pushing Daisies, who had the following to say about the Korean movie: “What a fabulous movie. It is funny, intelligent, and full of heart and values. It is also a movie with universal themes. I am honored to have the opportunity…” According to the CEO of M Line, which handles overseas sales and distribution, remake offers came from multiple studios, such as Universal, Sony, Disney, and Paramount.

The thing is, from everything I’ve heard, Scandal Makers is a great, fun, quality movie. The story seems remake-able. But it’s almost TOO remake-able — the plot doesn’t sound all that unusual for an American film: A 36-year-old bachelor finds his life upturned when he is surprised by the appearance of an unknown 22-year-old daughter… and her 6-year-old son. (The reason for the “speedy” scandals? Cha’s character, now a successful DJ and happy bachelor, was once an idol star in his teens with lots of female fans.) What keeps it afloat is its charm, and we know from past experiences that Hollywood tends to kill THAT elusive quality straightaway (case in point: My Sassy Girl, Il Mare, Tale of Two Sisters).

Via Mk.co.kr

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New Actress winner Park Bo-young

Awards!

The 45th Baeksang Arts Awards were held on the evening of February 27, which means: lots of awards for film and television stars, and lots of clothes to gawk at.

There were no real surprises in the winners list; they’re mostly a variation of the same lists we’ve been seeing from the other ceremonies in the winter awards season. Some film winners include A Movie is a Movie and My Dear Enemy, while acting honors went to many of the Daesang winners from earlier awards, like Kim Myung-min, Moon Geun-young, and Sohn Ye-jin. Oh, and a little actor going by the name of Lee Min-ho took home one of the newcomer awards — but a stumble on the red carpet keeps him humble.

Check out all the winners (and the clothes!) beyond the jump:

Yeah, this page might take a while to load >>

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The Lee Min-ho phenomenon continues on. I can’t recall the last time we saw something like it, but since it’s a result of his talent as much as anything else, I don’t begrudge him one bit.

First it was a slew of old pictures, old girlfriends, family anecdotes, etc. Now one of his old projects is drawing particular notice: Secret Campus [비밀의 교정], which he acted in back when he was 19. Because of all the heightened attention being given to Lee’s prior work, EBS, the station that originally aired the 2006 youth drama, has announced that they will be rebroadcasting the series.

(I know there’s some Boys Before Flowers news fatigue. I feel it too. But this isn’t really about BBF, and Lee Min-ho acting projects somehow feel exempt to me…)

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Following MBC’s Acting Awards on the 30th, the 31st saw awards ceremonies for the other two stations. First up: 2008 SBS Drama Awards. (KBS coming up next!)

The big news is that the SBS Daesang was awarded to the very young but very talented Moon Geun-young for her gender-bending role in the gorgeously shot historical drama Painter in the Wind. It had been widely speculated that her co-star, shunned star Park Shin-yang, might not appear after being shut out of the nominations and criticized for his exorbitant asking fees, and he in fact did not show. (I think Park’s management did not handle the War of Money pay situation well, but making a point to blackball him from SBS seems like scapegoating to me.)

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I wasn’t sure how I would feel about SBS’s A Star’s Lover. I approached it hesitantly, because (1) Hype often leads to disappointment, and (2) I know by now that series descriptions don’t really adequately portray the actual product.

So it is with a bit of relief that I say: I liked A Star’s Lover. It has a lot of pluses, such as gorgeous cinematography (particularly in Japan), wonderfully evocative music, and great casting. But what struck me most was its unusual tone — there’s a touch of whimsy to the drama, which is reminiscent of things like Pushing Daisies or Big Fish. The hint of “magical surrealism” is not nearly as overt as in either Daisies or Fish, but it works well to create a feel that’s a bit different. It’s refreshing.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oldfish – “좋은생각이 날것같아” (I think I’m about to have a good idea) [ Download ]

A STAR’S LOVER Episode 1 >>

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