The main cast now looks complete for What’s Up with the addition of Tamra the Island’s aristocratic Park Kyu, aka actor Im Joo-hwan, which was previously rumored and is now official.

This means we may expect to see Im show off some singing skills as he takes on the role of a student in a university musical department: the rest of the main cast are Big Bang’s Daesung, Hon’s possessed girl Im Joo-eun, former child actress Jeon Hye-jin, Kim Min-hee’s model boyfriend Lee Hyuk-soo in his acting debut, and musical actor Jo Jung-seok.

Writer Song Ji-nah confirmed the news, and also mentioned that an offer had gone out to musical actor Jung Sung-hwa (Spring Awakening), a rising star in the musical world, whose casting is not yet final. The producers are also holding open auditions for other roles, which has attracted a surge of applicants. What’s Up is being touted as a (sorta) sequel to Song’s KAIST, which ten years ago served as a launching pad for new actors which included Chae Rim, Ji Sung, Lee Min-woo, Lee Eun-joo, Lee Na-young, Kim Min-jung, and Kang Sung-yeon. Expectations are high that this drama will do the same for its young cast.

The drama will begin filming in March.

Via Newsen, OSEN

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Posters are out for the upcoming Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi War, which is the sequel to the hit 2007 film that also spawned a hit television drama.

Kimchi War looks like it’s taking the formula that made both previous projects work — cinematic flair and an eye for beautiful food photography — while only being based loosely on the original film (which was in turn based on a popular manhwa). Kim Jung-eun plays a perfectionist chef, while Jin Gu takes over for the Sung-chan role previously played by Kim Kang-woo in the film and Kim Rae-won in the drama Gourmet.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 35 Comments →

With Lee Byung-heon most likely leaving the IRIS franchise behind when the series ends later this month, how would you feel about Kwon Sang-woo stepping in as the next leading man? According to Kwon himself, he was offered that possibility.

On December 11, he appeared on the KBS morning show Yeo Yoo Man Man to say, “These days, I’m enjoying watching IRIS. Actually, the movie I’m filming now (Into the Gunfire) is being made by the same production company as IRIS, and I received an offer to be in IRIS 2.”

However, a rep from Kwon’s side made sure to clarify the situation in a phone interview with My Daily on the 11th: “Kwon Sang-woo is currently filming the movie Into the Gunfire, and IRIS hasn’t ended yet. Casting talks aren’t yet serious. When he met with the production company president, he was asked lightly, ‘What do you think of doing it?’ IRIS 2 doesn’t yet have a director or actors, and it’s not time for casting talks yet. He was only expressing that he likes the show. Kwon Sang-woo isn’t the type to decide on a project easily. Currently, he’s fielding a lot of offers within Korea and from abroad. Of course, if he ends up shooting IRIS 2 that would be great, but the script and role may change. He plans to focus on his acting activities beginning next year.”

(Talk about protesting too much, eh? In my overactive imagination, I am seeing two possible scenarios: Either they’re trying to keep Kwon’s schedule wide open for other possibilities and don’t want to commit, or he made a faux pas by mentioning IRIS, pissed of people at Taewon, and has to now backtrack. Note that I’m making all this up in my head, but it’s amusing to ponder.)

Despite all that backpedaling and the fact that it seems too early to seriously consider casting, I’d actually like to see Kwon Sang-woo playing a spy in IRIS 2. He’s had a rough couple of years, which is partly bad luck but also partly due to questionable choices. I think he’d be a great successor for Lee Byung-heon as a recognizable Hallyu star who would have as much to gain from the role as the drama would for having him. He’s still famous, but he hasn’t had a good role in years and his post-army career has been less successful than his buddies like Song Seung-heon and So Ji-sub, populated by one disappointment after another. (His recent projects: melodrama Bad Love, weepie flop More than Blue, and underwhelming trendy drama Cinderella Man.)

Via My Daily

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Last month, a sequel was announced for last year’s summer horror flick Go-sa: Bloody Midterms, also called Death Bell (starring Lee Beom-soo, Nam Gyuri, Kim Bum). However, two recent press conferences for the sequel project have been abruptly canceled without adequate reason, leading to puzzlement over why.

Go-sa 2 is to be a collaboration between CEO Kim Kwang-soo of production company Core Contents Media and horror director Ahn Byung-ki (of Nightmare and the upcoming Phone remake). A previous press conference had been announced, then canceled. It was rescheduled for December 9, but two hours before the event, it was also canceled, saying that Kim had caught a cold.

Go-sa was the debut film project for Core Contents Media, and its surprise success in theaters allowed the company to produce the Kwon Sang-woo melodrama More than Blue (aka A Story Sadder than Sadness), which was not a critical or commercial success. Reportedly, the Go-sa sequel is not likely to bring back Lee Beom-soo. Singer-turned-actress Nam Gyuri had a fractious split with Core Contents when she left SeeYa and criticized CEO Kim, so she’s clearly out as well.

(Tangential note: If you can read Korean, the source article is pretty amusing because it’s basically spewing vitriol at the producers for canceling the press conference. I’ve just taken out the general facts, but the original is so bitter it’s actually funny. You’d think a cancellation were a grave moral failing. It even points out that it’s not even swine flu, but a normal cold, lol.)

Via OSEN

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Thanks to the success of several screen projects, old folk hero Hong Gil Dong is popular again, and now the latest take on the Robin Hood-like character — action movie Hong Gil Dong’s Descendant — has performed well enough to merit a sequel.

You may be familiar by now with the story of the Joseon-era chivalrous robber, which was turned into a fusion sageuk drama last year written by the Hong Sisters and starring Kang Ji-hwan. Recently, the movie Hong Gil Dong’s Descendant starred Lee Beom-soo to combine the familiar folk story with a modern Superman twist to feature Lee as Hong Gil Dong’s descendant — he’s a mild-mannered teacher by day, and a crime-fighting secret hero by night.

The film opened last week on November 26, and in its first week drew 300,000 viewers. Production companies Another Day Company and Sio Film have decided to go ahead with a sequel, and are looking to produce a superhero franchise — perhaps the Korean counterpart to American superheroes like Superman and Batman. Director Jung Yong-ki said, “A sequel is only possible if the movie is loved by a lot of viewers, so if Hong Gil Dong’s Descendants 2 is produced, it’s a really happy event.” Actors Lee Beom-soo (On Air), Lee Shi-young (Boys Before Flowers), and Kim Su-ro (Our High School E.T.) would, of course, return.

It looks goofy and silly but the premise adds a refreshing angle on a familiar genre, and I like all the actors involved. Well, there’s another thing to add to my watch list…

Via My Daily

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