Dramabeans » Rain

Rain plans drama role next

javabeans — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:13:38 +0000

Earlier this summer, superstar singer-actor Rain alluded to the possibility of taking another movie or television project, and now he has announced his decision to make his acting return with a drama.

He’s currently engaged in singer-ly activities, kicking off his 2009 Asia Tour (“Legend of Rainism”) on August 29 at Japan’s Saitama Super Arena. It was at a press conference at that event that he spoke of his drama comeback plans. Rain didn’t get into the details, saying merely, “It will have an entirely different feel from the movie Ninja Assassin.”

Speaking of which, Ninja Assassin will be released in theaters in late November. As for the concert tour, Rain follows the Japan opener with performances in China, Seoul, and Southeast Asia. Ever the overachiever, he added, “If possible, I’ll try for Europe and America as well.”

I know he’s been busy working on his two Hollywood films (Ninja Assassin and Speed Racer), but it still feels to me like he’s been out of the acting spotlight for a really long time. I like him best in kdramas, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing him on television again. I get the sense that many people write him off from his uncomplicated spoiled-superstar character in Full House, but while it is his most well-known (and probably most-watched) role, it was also one of his earlier projects and he’s grown in the five years since that drama. (Take, for instance, his role with Im Soo-jung in Park Chan-wook’s eccentric psych-ward love story, I’m a Cyborg But It’s Okay.)

Via Joy News

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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)

Rain eyes a return to television dramas

javabeans — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:02:28 +0000

Singer, actor, fashion designer, entertainment company CEO, and all-around entertainer Rain is said to be eyeing a return to broadcast television later this year.

According to a rep from Rain’s company J.Tune Entertainment, the star has been looking favorably at several proposals for drama roles, and plans to make his final decision soon. One possibility is with a project whose writer made the suggestion directly to the star himself, and as they are close friends, Rain is said to be considering that role seriously. His rep said, “It’s true that he’s looking more positively on a drama role rather than a film.”

Rain had at one point decided to make his television comeback last year, but development fizzled on the project. This would be his first drama in four years, following 2005’s revenge series A Love to Kill. He’s done several films in the interim — I’m a Cyborg But That’s Okay, Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin — but arguably hasn’t been able to reclaim the visibility he’d enjoyed at his peak, around the time of his incredibly popular 2004 trendy drama Full House co-starring Song Hye-gyo and his third album (”It’s Raining”).

(Personally, I think his somewhat haphazard approach to breaking into the American market set him back quite a bit. Without the proper organization and strategic planning required for such a huge undertaking, his career screeched to a halt back home as he dropped out of the spotlight for several years — eons in showbiz time. I think Rain is a decent actor, particularly with his roles in Sangdoo, Let’s Go to School and I’m a Cyborg But That’s Okay, so if this drama thing ends up happening, I’ll be looking forward to it.)

Rain left Korea on July 6 for U.S. promotional activities for Ninja Assassin, which will have its worldwide premiere on November 25. Following his return to Korea, he’ll hold a fanmeeting on the 26th.

Via Star News

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Lee Da-hae’s old pageant photos

javabeans — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:24:52 +0000

Lee Da-hae, in 2001 and more recently

Lee Da-hae (East of Eden, Hello Miss) has been attracting some attention for recently discovered photos of her earlier days, given how different they look from her current appearance.

These photos capture Lee Da-hae from a “Miss Chun-hyang” beauty pageant she had won back in 2001. The images were shown when actress Jang Shin-young appeared on the KBS variety show Happy Together on the 21st, and was asked about her participation in the Miss Chun-hyang pageant. She explained that she had come in sixth, but that in the same competition, Lee Da-hae had won first place.

Although Jang looks pretty much the same, many fans are wondering at the noted change to Lee Da-hae’s appearance, leading to inevitable plastic-surgery suspicions.

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Read the rest of Lee Da-hae’s old pageant photos (96 words)

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Post tags: Jang Shin-young, Lee Da-hae, Rain

Jeon Ji-hyun criticized for “Hollywood debut” exaggerations

javabeans — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:53:18 +0000

Jeon Ji-hyun’s Hollywood debut has been buzzed about for practically two years, and although previews have finally come out for Blood: The Last Vampire, there has still been no official U.S. release announced (July has been mentioned as a tentative possibility). It seems that Korean fans and netizens are growing weary of the hype without an actual product, and have started to voice their suspicions, dissatisfied with the exaggeration of her role and accusing her of false advertising.

The movie has been touted all along as a “Hollywood film,” by Jeon herself as well as the promotional machine. Sidus HQ, Jeon’s management, explained: “When Jeon Ji-hyun spoke of it as her Hollywood debut film, she didn’t mean that it was made in Hollywood but that it would be released in America. The point is that it is the first step in the Hollywood system.”

The source article points out that even though the film wasn’t made by Hollywood, this wouldn’t be an issue if it had received investments from American film companies. However, the production budget was not furnished by Hollywood, financed instead by companies in four other countries, making it a co-production between Japan, Hong Kong, France, and Argentina. The film has a French director, Chris Nahon, and is based on a Japanese manga.

I think this is rather harsh on Jeon (and really, Blood kinda looks awesome, much better than the other so-called Hallyu-to-Hollywood debuts), but it has a very valid point, which is to take the press and management companies to task for being too eager to label any and everything a “Hollywood debut.” For instance, the media was quick to blare the trumpets for Han Chae-young’s “Hollywood debut” in the horror film Soul Mate, which was a Korea-New Zealand production that had no traction in Hollywood. Han Go-eun’s supposed Hollywood project was a Korea-Canada co-production.

On the other hand, there are projects that can be legitimately called Hollywood debuts, such as Daniel Henney’s recently released X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Lee Byung-heon’s upcoming G.I. Joe (which releases in August), Rain’s upcoming Ninja Assassin (November), and Jang Dong-gun’s The Warrior’s Way (which was previously called Laundry Warrior).

Via My Daily

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 34 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daniel Henney, Han Chae-young, Han Go-eun, Hollywood, Jang Dong-gun, Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Byung-heon, Rain

News bites: May 5, 2009

javabeans — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:41:56 +0000

Philip Lee of “Story of a Man”

Must be a slow news week. I keep looking through the latest articles, and while there IS news being posted, none of it really interests me enough to write it up on its own. But that’s what News Bites are for! For instance:

Articles tell us that Philip Lee is sexy as the homme fatale in Story of a Man. Because we need “news” to tell us this? [Segye]
Speaking of which: Story of a Man isn’t drawing the big ratings, but it shouldn’t worry, because it’s so awesome. [Asia Economy]
Crown J has split with his management and is headed back to the States. One media source reports that “Crown J was unhappy that he couldn’t receive much of a popular response for his music.” He’s not retiring for good, though, according to other reports, just keeping his activities limited to Atlanta for the moment. [Hankook Ilbo]
New mom Sohn Tae-young’s new daily drama Two Wives [두 아내] got off to a decent start with a 13% rating and a story that has both “comic and heavy” elements. It’s not as high as its predecessor, “makjang” series Temptation of Wife, but give it time. Koreans love their adultery daily dramas. [OSEN]
Super-talented but old-man-beating actor (not that the two are mutually exclusive) Choi Min-soo (Sandglass) is heading for Hollywood with the action thriller Serpent Rising. Who wants to bet this is a sorry waste of his skills? [Sports Chosun]
The F4 comparisons must die. Any drama with four of anything is being rebranded a twist on the Boys Before Flowers quartet, even these City Hall ajusshis. Come on, F4 parodies were so two months ago. [Sports Khan]

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Read the rest of News bites: May 5, 2009 (572 words)

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Post tags: Chae Yeon, Choi Min-soo, City Hall, Crown J, EZ Hyoung, news bites, Philip Lee, Rain, Sohn Tae-young, Story of a Man, Younha