Kim Haneul and Kang Ji-hwan

Did the Blue Dragon Awards sneak up on us this year or what?

As one of the largest year-end awards shows, the Blue Dragon always tends to draw out a good number of A-listers, and we saw plenty of them out on the red carpet on November 20 and posing pretty for photos.

One big winner of the night was the “kimchi Western” The Good, The Bad, The Weird, as was the thriller The Chaser and even the sports movie Forever the Moment, from way back in January.

But, as with any awards show, sometimes the fun is less about the actual awards and more about parsing all the red carpet looks.

More photos! (Warning: This page may take forever to load) >>

Tags: awards, fashion, Go Jun-hee, Han Chae-young, Han Eun-jung, Han Ye-seul, Joo Ji-hoon, Jung Jun-ho, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Haneul, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Joo-hyuk, Kim Min-sun, Kim Nam-gil, Lee Bo-young, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Ki-woo, Lee Mi-yeon, Lee Soo-kyung, Park Shi-yeon, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub, Sohn Ye-jin, Song Yoon-ah, Su Ae, Uhm Tae-woong

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

Cable channel O’live TV hosted its first Style Icon Awards on the night of October 30, and a parade of stars turned out on the “orange carpet” for the event. Held at Club Answer in the upscale Seoul neighborhood of Cheongdamdong, the event awarded select members from not only entertainment sphere to honor as icons, but also some from society and the arts.

Actor Jung Jun-ho (The Last Scandal of My Life) acted as host, and awards were handed out to stars like Rain, above (Style Icon of the Year), Jung Ryeo-won, Park Tae-hwan, Sohn Ye-jin, and more.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Rain - “사랑이라는 건” (The thing called love), from his recent 5th album, “Rainism.” I don’t love or hate the album — the third was really my favorite, and I was not impressed with anything after that — but it has a few nice tracks, like this one (I tend to prefer the songs Rain doesn’t release as singles.)
[ Download ]

See the full list of winners and the attendee fashions >>

Tags: awards, Big Bang, cable programs, Choi Ji-ho, fashion, Hwang Bo, Jang Yoon-joo, Jung Hye-young, Jung Jun-ho, Jung Ryeo-won, Lee Eon, Lee Jung-jae, Park Tae-hwan, Rain, Seo In-young, Sohn Ye-jin

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 24 Comments →

Ooh, this one sounds really good.

Sohn Ye-jin has been busily promoting her new movie these days, My Wife Got Married, which stars her as a wife with a free-love-loving attitude and multiple relationships. But now she takes on another role for a new movie, “an even stronger character than in My Wife Got Married.”

The new project has been confirmed as the film Baekyahaeng ["Into the White Night" / 백야행], wherein a man and woman who’d been in love in their youth make an “irreparable mistake which ends in heartbreaking farewell.” The “mistake” is a murder, and they agree not to meet until the statute of limitations is over (I hadn’t realized Korea has a 15-year statute of limitation on murder — the U.S., thankfully, has none).

The movie is based on a Japanese movie (Byakuyoku) which was based on a novel, which was also made into a Japanese drama in 2006. (Reading up on Byakuyoku, there are several iterations on the same theme — in one, two siblings kill a parent and cover it up, and in another, a young man kills his father to stop him from molesting the girl he loves.)

In this Korean film version, Sohn plays a character described as manipulative and tough, even to the man she loves. Despite their promise not to meet before the statue of limitations expires, he continues to keep watch over her, “like a shadow,” while both lay low from the detective on the case and dream of a day they can be happy and free.

The film is written by (the excellent!) Park Yeon-seon, scriptwriter behind 2007’s wacky comic mystery treasure hunt Mixed-up Investigative Agency and 2006’s beautifully insightful Alone In Love (which also starred Sohn).

I’m so glad Sohn isn’t resting on her pretty face and is taking provocative roles like this and My Wife. This is one I’d actually watch.

Via OSEN

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Tags: Sohn Ye-jin

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Getting in character for their upcoming film My Wife Got Married, stars Sohn Ye-jin and Kim Joo-hyuk dressed up as bride and groom for their movie press conference on September 23.

The movie is based on a novel of the same name, and centers around its pure-hearted romantist (Kim Joo-hyuk) and the free-love-espousing Sohn Ye-jin. Whereas the guy is just an average guy, he contrasts sharply with his “shocking” wife, who tells him, “I don’t ask for the stars or moon, I just want one more husband.”

Yes, maybe a little shocking. Co-star Kim Joo-hyuk even expressed his difficulty understanding her character at times.

Jung Yoon-soo (Are You Living With the One You Love?), who directed the film, explained, “Rather than explaining this difficult-to-understand Ju In-ah character [Sohn Ye-jin] like a teacher talking to a class, I tried to embrace her with love, and show her lovable side.” Jung also spoke of swapping gender roles, showing a woman in the role formerly occupied by men, of having had many past lovers. It raises the issue of the discrimination that often gives men allowances for behaviors and traits that women aren’t “allowed” to have.

Sohn is described as portraying her character with lively and cute charm, and the question will be whether audiences will embrace her — and the film — despite her nontraditional character.

My Wife Got Married opens on October 23.

More photos from the press conference and movie stills >>

Tags: Kim Joo-hyuk, Sohn Ye-jin

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MBC’s When Night Comes, SBS’s Iljimae

 
The following article from OSEN takes a look at the difference between the types of dramas on the air these days. I find a lot of mainstream entertainment press to be oversimplified (I’m sure I’m just not looking in the right places), but it’s something to chew on, for those of us who are curious about the relationship between ratings and the popularity/quality/success of a drama — as much as we all like to say it doesn’t matter.

Popular Dramas, Buzzworthy Dramas — There’s a Difference

There are dramas that bring in high viewership ratings but don’t get talked about much. On the other hand, there are also dramas that don’t pull in strong ratings numbers but are constantly being discussed. A drama’s content, actors, and its PR are all potential factors in drawing attention, but they don’t necessarily correlate to good ratings. Because there are many ways to watch a drama these days, the significance of ratings is gradually receding, but it’s still the primary factor in deciding advertising, and is the standard for measuring popularity. …

SONG OF THE DAY

Gourmet OST - “너에게” (To you) by Casker. I’m still trying to catch up on Gourmet, but for now I will say it has a standout soundtrack. [ Download ]

 
More popular and buzzworthy dramas >>

Tags: drama ratings, Gourmet, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, Lee Dong-wook, manhwa adaptations, mania dramas, My Sweet Seoul, Oh Yeon-soo, sageuk dramas, Sohn Ye-jin, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, When Night Comes, You're My Destiny

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 32 Comments →