October 17 was the night of the 48th Grand Bell Awards (or, per its Korean name, Daejong Awards), and it was a big event for a few films in particular. And while the Joseon-era David-versus-Goliath action sageuk Bow: The Ultimate Weapon didn’t sweep the categories, it did take home a nice chunk of them.

But Best Picture (and a few others) went to the Korean War film The Front Line (which is probably a good thing, since it’s this year’s entry to the Academy Awards — not that I expect it’ll win or even make final cut. Korean films rarely — never? — do).

A couple of other notable winners: bright, touching comedy Sunny, and the moody, pensive Bleak Night. All are on my Must Watch ASAP list.

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Post tags: awards, Bae Jong-ok, Cha Tae-hyun, Choi Kang-hee, Daniel Choi, Go Chang-seok, Jang Seo-hee, Jang Young-nam, Jo Hee-bong, Jo Sung-ha, Jung Soo-young, Kang So-ra, Kim Haneul, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Sumi, Lee Je-hoon, Lee Min-jung, Moon Chae-won, Park Hae-il, Park Hyo-joo, Seo Young-hee, Shin Hyun-bin, Shin Hyun-joon, Song Sae-byuk, Won Bin, Yoon Kye-sang

Jung Jun-ho, most recently of blockbuster drama IRIS, is keeping up with a busy schedule as he adds two new films to his upcoming agenda, one of which he shoots with his good friend Shin Hyun-joon (Cain and Abel).

First is Ice Rain [얼음비], which he will begin shooting next month. The story starts out with a married couple living in wedded bliss; she’s a successful ob-gyn, while he’s an architecture professor. However, once the wife learns that her husband is having an affair, she devises her revenge. The wife is played by veteran actress Shin Eun-kyung (Mom’s Dead Upset) and the movie will be directed by Jung Yoon-soo of My Wife Got Married.

Then, after shooting wraps on Ice Rain, Jung Jun-ho will take on a comic buddy film with Shin Hyun-joon called George and Bong-shik. In it, he plays George, a police officer with the LAPD who returns to Korea when he hears that the woman he loves has been murdered. He then teams up with country cop Bong-shik (Shin Hyun-joon) to catch the criminal.

Ice Rain begins filming in February, and George and Bong-shik will begin filming in April. Looks like a busy spring for Jung Jun-ho…

Via OSEN and OSEN

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jung Jun-ho, Shin Hyun-joon

Shin Hyun-joon (Cain and Abel) is taking on the part of a police detective for his latest movie, the thriller Family Picture, and has sustained an injury to his finger while shooting an action scene. I know, “finger injury” sounds mild, but the accident must have been fairly significant, because it required fifteen stitches (oww).

The incident took place as Shin’s character and his partner, an officer played by Lee Ki-woo, get caught up in a fight scene with their suspect during a raid of a loan shark’s office. Apparently it wasn’t an elaborately planned scene, but rather a down ‘n dirty fistfight, and the staff had been nervous prior to the shoot. Evidently for good reason. Shin Hyun-joon’s hand injury resulted when he was so absorbed in the scene that he threw punches hard enough to break his own skin. He continued filming the scene through the night and headed to the hospital the next morning, where he received his stitches.

Family Picture is described as a crime investigation thriller of two cops working to find the culprit in the shocking murder of a child, and takes a realistic (read: gritty?) tone. (Generally this type of movie isn’t my bag, but plotwise Familiy Picture sounds a bit like Gone Baby Gone, and if this is anything like that movie, it’ll be a good thing.)

Via Newsen

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Post tags: Shin Hyun-joon, star accidents

Actors Shin Hyun-joon (Cain & Abel) and Lee Ki-woo (A Star’s Lover) are teaming up as detectives in a new movie, Family Picture [가족사진].

Although the two characters are described as having diametrically opposing personalities, Odd Couple this ain’t: The plot surrounds the kidnapping and murder of a child, and the ensuing investigation aims for a “realistic portrayal” of our world. Shin’s detective is the warm-hearted and brash one, while Lee Ki-woo’s character is driven by a sense of duty. Jeon No-min (Strongest Chil Woo) plays the father of the child, a taxi driver who becomes a suspect in the murder.

In order to portray their roles realistically, a source from the production company said that both Shin and Lee would be transforming their usually polished images to fit their characters, and are studying Chungcheon province dialect before filming begins early this month.

Via E Daily, Sports Seoul

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Post tags: Jeon No-min, Lee Ki-woo, Shin Hyun-joon

How time flies, huh? It felt like just the other day I was writing up my first impressions on the SBS revenge drama Cain & Abel, and now it’s already over. (The last episode aired Thursday, April 23.)

As with other popular shows I haven’t followed, I’m opening this up to an Open Thread, so you can discuss Cain & Abel‘s run, its ending, whatever, go wild. (Previous end-of-drama open threads: Tazza, East of Eden).

Starting next week in Cain‘s Wednesday-Thursday SBS timeslot is Kim Sun-ah‘s City Hall.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “운명” (Fate). One of these days I’d like to see a kdrama soundtrack (particularly a thriller) NOT feature a song named “운명.” Just for a change, you know? [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Caveat: This isn’t a proper recap. It’s not even a proper review. After catching the first few episodes, I wasn’t intending to write about SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama, Cain & Abel, but I got a lot (a lot!) of emails from people asking what I thought of it and requesting recaps.

The thing is, I didn’t know how I would feel about Cain & Abel going in, but was expecting one of a few scenarios: to love it or to hate it. To be drawn in right away or turned off right away. To be impressed or to be disappointed.

What I did NOT expect, however… was to be bored.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “미련한 사랑” (Foolish love) by G (So Ji-sub) (he’s the rapper) and Chae Dong-ha [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, first episodes, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

When Choi Ji-woo‘s drama A Star’s Lover premiered, her Stairway to Heaven co-star Shin Hyun-joon made a cameo appearance in Episode 1 as her ex-boyfriend. Now she wants to return the favor.

Shin’s new drama Cain and Abel is set to take over Choi’s timeslot (SBS, Wednesdays and Thursdays) this week, and to pass the figurative baton, both Choi and her Star’s Lover co-star Yoo Ji-tae gave messages of encouragement to the Cain cast. Choi said that she’d like to appear as one of the patients for Shin’s doctor character (she and Shin are under the same management company and good friends).

Will Choi Ji-woo get her cameo wish? Well, now that she’s offered, it’s entirely possible — although to be perfectly frank, I don’t think that the super-hyped and star-studded Cain and Abel (boasting So Ji-sub‘s anticipated comeback) needs it.

Via OSEN

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Choi Ji-woo, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoo Ji-tae

So Ji-sub and Shin Hyun-joon may be cast as competitive brothers embroiled in strife, but they look anything but antagonistic in front of reporters, no?

SBS is about to premiere its new drama, the (long, long-)awaited Cain & Abel, which follows the just-ended Star’s Lover on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (With the big names of A Star’s Lover failing to attract ratings — the Choi Ji-woo and Yoo Ji-tae-led series went out with a disappointing 6.2% — SBS is hoping that this star-studded series will have better luck.)

The high-profile cast was on hand for the drama’s production press conference, which was held in North Chungcheong on the afternoon of February 13. The drama airs its first episode next week, on February 18.

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Cain & Abel has released some new stills to stir up interest as it gears up for its premiere. The series will take SBS’s Wednesday-Thursday slot over from the current drama A Star’s Lover.

The release of new photos comes with the opening of the drama’s official website (http://tv.sbs.co.kr/cain). In the show, So Ji-sub (I’m Sorry, I Love You) and Shin Hyun-joon (Last Present) play brothers and doctors, whose rocky relationship is thrown into conflict (naturally!) over two women, played by Han Ji-min (Capital Scandal) and Chae Jung-ahn (Coffee Prince).

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Note: The following is taken from a Korean article, so the opinions therein aren’t necessarily my own. Still, it’s a look into the trends we can expect in the coming year of dramas. (For instance: Not one, but TWO figure-skating dramas?)

2009 looks like a bright new year. This year, there are many dramas to be produced and aired that may capture viewer hearts. Last year, the economic slump and the shrinking of the drama market caused many difficulties for drama production, a number of dramas still drew viewer notice.

Last year, the sageuk, which used to be a sure thing, fell back, and professional-themed series like medical- or broadcast-centered dramas came into the spotlight. Also, daily and weekend dramas that were strongly criticized had high ratings with trite characters, sharp contrasts between good and evil, conventional conflicts, extreme plot setups, and so forth. On top of that, there were many dramas looking to score success featuring top stars that failed.

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Shi-ra, Cinderella Man, drama production, Go Hyun-jung, Han Ji-min, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Ji Sung, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Yo-won, Min Hyo-rin, Park Min-young, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang