Song Chang-eui (Boys Don’t Cry) poses with pop singer Bada and musical actress Yoon Gong-joo (really, parents, gong-joo?) as they promote their new musical, the adaptation of sleeper hit 200 Pound Beauty.

The 29-year-old Song plays a PD main character, while Bada and Yoon alternate in the lead female role originated by Kim Ah-joong. The names in the musical are changed from the film, which hints that the musical, while sharing the main idea of the movie, may take certain departures.

Song last stepped onto the musical stage two and half years ago in the production of Hedwig, and the actor feels an affinity for the stage: of all the experiences he’s had, “musicals are still the most fun.”

The musical opens on November 27.

Via Newsis

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Tags: 200 Pound Beauty, Bada, musicals, Song Chang-eui

Filed under: Theater/Musicals by javabeans - 22 Comments →

Lee Wan (Insoon is Pretty) and Song Chang-eui (Golden Bride) promoted their new film, Boys Don’t Cry, on October 14 at a somewhat unusual location for movie press conferences: an indoor pojangmacha (streetside food tents) in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong neighborhood.

The film takes place in 1953 following the Korean War and two youths who lose everything and grow up quickly to survive in postwar conditions. Director Bae Hyung-joon perhaps didn’t seem the most obvious choice for the harsh realism of a wartime film — his previous film was the romantic comedy Don’t Believe Her — but he explained, “I enjoy coming-of-age films as much as I do the romantic comedy genre. Even if recent films depict adolescents in a dark, brooding way, they don’t compare to those who survived the war.”

However, he doesn’t describe his film as a re-creation of the war, but rather, “I aimed to take a look at people in adversity facing extreme conditions.”

Because of the subject of the film, the director needed his actors’ appearances to correspond to the poverty of the times, and actor Lee Wan thus slimmed down 6 kg for the role, even losing much of his muscle tone. Song Chang-eui likewise dropped 6 kg.

Boys Don’t Cry opens on November 6.

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Tags: Lee Wan, press conferences, Song Chang-eui

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 11 Comments →

I foresee this may start getting repetitive, but here’s another red carpet from the Pusan International Film Festival (we saw opening night’s red carpet yesterday).

This time, the event was the Asian Pacific Actors Network (APAN) Star Road. It seemed some of the stars who were at opening night were noticeably absent at this event, most likely because they traveled back to Seoul to pay their respects to Choi Jin-shil.

Pics beyond the jump.

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Tags: Choi Jung-yoon, Daniel Henney, fashion, film festivals, Jung Ryeo-won, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-soo, Kim So-yeon, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Min-ki, Lee Wan, Oh Man-seok, Park Jin-hee, Song Chang-eui, Yeh Ji-won

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 13 Comments →

It’s kind of unnerving how all the news right now is either Choi Jin-shil’s sudden death or the 13th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), and sometimes while looking through the news listings, it’s easy to confuse the two based on the thumbnail images. (Given the timing, as far as I can see, there were no overlaps in attendees — or at least, very few — between PIFF and Choi Jin-shil’s funeral viewing.)

October 2 saw the opening night to the nine-day festival; PIFF closes on October 10 and is the largest film festival in Korea, and one of the largest in Asia. Over the course of the week, more than 300 films will be screened from 60-plus countries.

Kim Rae-won and Han Eun-jung, above, came as brand models for PIFF sponsor L’Oreal. Other famous name actors showed up to the red carpet night; the opening film was Kazakhstan’s The Gift to Stalin, as well as the Hyun Bin & Lee Bo-young film I Am Happy.

PIFF’s red carpet >>

Tags: Cha Seung-won, Choi Jung-yoon, Choi Kang-hee, Eom Ji-won, Eugene, fashion, film festivals, Go Ara, Gong Hyo-jin, Han Eun-jung, Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Joo Ji-hoon, Jung Ryeo-won, JYP, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-soo, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Rae-won, Kim So-yeon, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Bo-young, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Wan, Lee Yeon-hee, Oh Ji-ho, Park Eun-hye, Park Hae-il, Park Jin-hee, Shin Hyun-joon, Shin Mina, Song Chang-eui, Yeh Ji-won

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 46 Comments →

…but they do attend high-profile film festivals.

Actors Lee Wan and Song Chang-eui of the film Boys Don’t Cry (director Bae Hyung-joon) are expected to attend the upcoming Pusan International Film Festival, including the Asia Pacific Actors Network (APAN) event on the 3rd.

In addition to those appearances, both actors will be on hand for a fan autograph-signing event, all in the name of promoting their upcoming war drama, which is set in 1953 — dealing with the two boys’ struggle to survive in the aftermath of the war — and opens on November 6.

Song Chang-eui, by the way, has also been cast opposite singer Bada in the musical version of 200 Pound Beauty.

Take a look at stills from “Boys Don’t Cry” >>

Tags: Lee Wan, Song Chang-eui

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 7 Comments →