Dramabeans » Won Bin

Won Bin is an ajusshi for his next film role

javabeans — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:55:49 +0000

More Won Bin = always gooood.

With his successful comeback film (the thriller Mother) still fresh in our minds, the actor has announced his next project: a movie called Ajusshi [아.저.씨], which is the term adult men start being called as they hit their thirties and beyond (although the typical connotation of an ajusshi tends to be the conventional middle-aged man).

He plays a “lonely man who lives as though he’s cut off from the world,” having willingly rejected society. As he meets with a unique woman who opens his heart, the character promises to show a “deep, internal” style to Won Bin’s acting. His co-star has not yet been cast.

Won Bin is still promoting Mother abroad, and will travel to Japan mid-month in time for its premiere there. Ajusshi will enter filming at the end of this year and will aim for a summer 2010 release.

Via My Daily

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Mother screens at AFI FEST in Los Angeles

javabeans — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:03:52 +0000

Good news for Los Angeles fans of Won Bin (Taegukgi), Kim Hye-ja (Mom’s Dead Upset), and/or director Bong Jun-ho (The Host): Their latest film, the thriller Mother, is getting a screening at this year’s AFI FEST 2009 in Hollywood.

The film has already been licensed for North American theater release, but that will not occur until early next year. AFI FEST runs from October 30 through November 7, and has just announced its first twelve official titles to screen at this year’s event, of which Mother is one. (Others include Lee Daniels’ Precious — which looks heartbreaking and awesome — and Warner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant.)

Mother also screens this week at Toronto International Film Festival and at New York Film Festival on October 9.

Usually, I write about these film festival screenings without firsthand experience, but I’ve been to AFI FEST many times when I lived in LA and it’s a really great film festival, with a broad, eclectic range of films selected from all around the world. If you’re in the area, I’d highly encourage you check it out. (Not sure if the cast will be there for the Q&A session afterward, but you never know.)

Via Sports Chosun

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Jun-ho, film festivals, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Won Bin makes surprise visit to film set

javabeans — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:36:04 +0000

It’s not unheard of for movie stars to visit other film sets in support of friends, but the unannounced arrival of Won Bin on the set of the new film Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle came as a surprise, particularly since Won Bin is known for lying low and not doing a making a lot of appearances.

Kimchi Battle is the sequel to the popular original film starring Kim Kang-woo (which was based on the same manhwa that was adapted into the drama Gourmet with Kim Rae-won). It stars Kim Jung-eun and Jin Gu, the latter with whom Won Bin acted in his recent film Mother. He’d also once shared the same management with another cast member, Wang Ji-hye, and had worked on the movie Taegukgi (which solidified his status as a top star) with Kimchi Battle’s producer Lee Sung-hoon.

According to one source, the visit was completely unplanned and Won Bin came bearing snacks for the staff and greeted the director and actors individually. He is currently taking a break after finishing promotional activities for Mother, and is considering his next project.

Via Sports Seoul

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jin Gu, Kim Jung-eun, Won Bin

Mother will get a U.S. theatrical release

javabeans — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:13:17 +0000

Looks like director Bong Jun-ho’s most recent film, Cannes entry Mother (starring Won Bin and Kim Hye-ja), will be getting a theatrical release in the U.S.

American film distributor Magnolia Pictures has bought the rights for a North American run, and announced on August 31 that the release will happen sometime in early 2010. Magnolia is the distributor that also imported director Bong’s previous film, The Host, for a U.S. run in 2007. Along with Mother, they have also licensed Bong’s debut feature film, 2000’s A Higher Animal (starring Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doo-na). A representative from Magnolia said, “In the future, we would like to continue to distribute the movies directed by Bong Jun-ho.”

Mother screens this month at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Mother is also South Korea’s entry for the upcoming Academy Awards in the foreign film category.

Via Sports Chosun

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Jun-ho, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Shin Mina and Won Bin kiss for coffee

javabeans — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:56:05 +0000

Actors Won Bin (Mother) and Shin Mina (The Naked Kitchen) pair up — and pucker up — for their first kiss in a CF for Maxim T.O.P. brand coffee.

A brand representative explains the target demographic to be 20- and 30-something men and women, and in that spirit, they picked a pretty appropriate couple. I mean, do they make a gorgeous duo or what? (Watch a behind-the-scenes clip of the CF shoot below.)

The ad will begin airing on the major broadcast stations and cable TV on June 1.
(...)
Read the rest of Shin Mina and Won Bin kiss for coffee (133 words)

Mother opens big with a box-office record

javabeans — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:30:51 +0000

Thriller film Mother has claimed the top spot for Korean movie openings this year, drawing in more than 220,000 attendees in its first day (May 28).

This breaks the April 30 opening of Park Chan-wook’s vampire-horror film Thirst, which recently won a jury prize at Cannes, which drew in 178,000 people on opening day. It also beat out Hollywood blockbuster Terminator 4, which came in second in its second week.

Mother has generally received praise from audiences, particularly for director Bong Jun-ho, who’s made a name for himself with films like The Host and Memories of Murder. Kim Hye-ja plays the determined mother out to rescue Won Bin, the mentally slow son accused of murder.

Via IS Plus

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Jun-ho, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals

javabeans — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:00:40 +0000

With Cannes over and the thriller movie Mother releasing this week, there’s been a lot of stuff in the news involving the film’s three main players: Won Bin, Kim Hye-ja, and director Bong Jun-ho.

Aside from Won Bin’s status as one of the hotties of the first wave of Hallyu (initiated by his 2000 tearjerker drama series Autumn Fairy Tale with Song Hye-gyo, Song Seung-heon), this role has been highly anticipated because he’s had such a long break from acting. In stark contrast to most heartthrobs who try to capitalize on fame as much as possible (cramming schedules with movies, dramas, CFs, and magazine shoots), then hurry to burst back on the scene after army duty by trying to hit the ground running, Won Bin has had a relatively sparse career, stayed out of the limelight, and resurfaced only sporadically in recent years as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Here’s an interview with the actor, who strikes me as very humble and also very aware of (perhaps even overly disparaging of) his acting limitations.

(...)
Read the rest of Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals (864 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bong Jun-ho, interviews, Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin