After acting for ten years, Yoo Ji-tae is taking on his debut drama role. Despite his many film roles (Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Ditto, Hwang Jini, Attack the Gas Station) and his additional career as filmmaker, remarkably Yoo has never done a television series before. While we see many a star go from television to film, it’s unusual for such a big name actor to go from an entirely film career to a television one. Perhaps we owe this move to his suitably high-profile co-star, Choi Ji-woo.

He takes on the part of a university instructor who falls in love with a famous movie star (Choi) in SBS’s December drama A Star’s Lover [스타의 연인] . (Let me tell ya, they make one good-looking — and tall — couple.)

(Looks like this is the drama formerly called Lovers in Asuka before it was then changed to Oh My Goddess, which has now changed its moniker once again. Third time’s the charm? Yeesh, just pick one already — especially considering how none of the titles is really remarkably better than the others.)

Yoo’s character is highly educated but has a somewhat difficult personality, part-time lecturing while aspiring to be a novelist. Lest you think this is another Notting Hill, the story is purported to be “a realistic love story” and departs from the potential Cinderella-story aspect of the premise.

The drama starts filming later this week, shooting on location in Japan, and is aiming for an end-of-year broadcast.

Via E Daily

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Tags: Choi Ji-woo, Yoo Ji-tae

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 9 Comments →

After all the hullaballo, Kwon Sang-woo finally married Sohn Tae-young today (September 28), and I for one am glad, since we won’t be having to hear about it anymore.

The couple gave a press conference prior to the wedding, as the wedding itself was closed to the press. Sohn Tae-young wore a Kenneth Pool gown, which she bought on the couple’s recent trip to England.

Kwon: “I’m finally getting married. I’m so nervous — my nerves don’t begin to compare with any film festival or event I’ve been to. … We’ll live happily together. I vow to love her forever.” Sohn: “It doesn’t feel real yet. Actually, I wasn’t nervous at all while getting ready. But now I’m starting to feel it.”

When asked about kids, Kwon answered that he’d like three, but joked that Sohn “has agreed to two, for her figure’s sake.”

And, since it’s not every day such a huge Hallyu star gets married, we have a pretty impressive guest-star roster that rivals the red carpet at some of the largest industry events.

The parade of high-profile attendees >>

Tags: Byun Jung-soo, Cha Seung-won, Choi Ji-woo, Ha Ji-won, Han Ga-in, Hwang Bo, Jang Dong-gun, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Sung-soo, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Beom-soo, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Jung-jin, Oh Ji-ho, So Ji-sub, Sohn Tae-young, Song Seung-heon, star romances, weddings, Yoo Ji-tae

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 59 Comments →

Note: What they’re talking about in this article is a step up from the ubiquitous “sel-ca” photos, or “self-taken” photographs, that we see online everywhere. A lot of the photos in question do feature the celebs themselves, but this is referring more to the trend of stars becoming amateur photographers, publishing books and putting their work out for display.

“What’s the reason for the celebrity photographer trend?”

Actors aren’t merely models who always stand in front of the camera. Sometimes they stand behind the camera and see the world through the eyes of photographers. Some publish photo collections like Park Ji-yoon (Secret Garden), Bae Doo-na (Doo-na’s Tokyo Fun), Lee Byung-jin. Others operate photo studios themselves, like Jo Min-ki (Seoul Cheongdamdong St. Zio) and Bbaek Ga (Seoul Shinsadong BY100).

A number of others are photography fans boasting a bit of skill, such as Bae Yong-joon, Boa, So Ji-sub, Song Il-kook, Uhm Tae-woong, and Jung Jong-chul. Let’s take a look at the reason for the trend of celebrities getting behind the camera lens.

(You mean, other than vanity?)

SONG OF THE DAY

Misty Blue - “너의 별 이름은 시리우스B” (Your star’s name is Sirius B) [ Download ]

More star photographs >>

Tags: Bae Doo-na, Bae Yong-joon, Moon Geun-young, Park Ji-yoon, Shin Ae, Shinji, So Ji-sub, star extracurricular activities, Yoo Ji-tae

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 12 Comments →

While I wouldn’t call the 4th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF 2008) a star-studded event, it had its share of famous faces sprinkled in amongst the packed crowd of festival attendees, including promo reps Lee Jung-jin and Lee Yeon-hee, above, who hosted the opening ceremony on the evening of August 14.

Also attending the festival are Korean directors Lim Kwon-taek, Lee Joon-ik, Heo Jin-ho, Park Heung-shik, Kim Sang-woo and others. International guests include director Claire Pijman from the Netherlands (Talking Guitars), American animator Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), German director Martin Walz (Melodies of Spring), Morocco’s Ahmed El Maanouni (Burned Hearts), Hong Kong’s Pang Ho-cheung, and more.

Following the opening ceremony, the festival kicked off with a screening of British filmmaker Stephen Walker’s Young@Heart, the acclaimed documentary about senior citizens singing rock and pop songs as a part of the Young at Heart Chorus.

JIMFF will screen films from 30 countries — features, documentaries, shorts, animation, and others — including a new section on films featuring world music. The festival takes place over the next six days in the city of Jecheon in scenic Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong province), and closes on August 19.

 
Top row: Lee Jung-jin and Lee Yeon-hee
Middle row: Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Tae-woo with Eom Ji-won, Eom Ji-won, Ahn Sung-ki with Kang Soo-yeon

Via OSEN, Newsis

Tags: film festivals, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Yeon-hee, Yoo Ji-tae

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 6 Comments →

Actor-director Yoo Ji Tae (Oldboy, Hwang Jini) has had a rather successful run with his recent short film Out of My Intention, which just won a special contribution award at the Short Shorts Film Festival (SSFF), in its Asian category. The Tokyo-based film festival is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world (and is one of the qualifying festivals for the Academy Awards). This year, the festival selected 80 films to screen from nearly 3,000 submissions.

Out of My Intention is Yoo’s latest of three short films, all of which screened at SSFF. Last year he was a judge in the competition section; this year he was invited as a special seminar guest. The festival explained that Yoo’s award was given upon recognizing his passion in his work and his “wonderful contribution” to Asia’s short film industry.

Out of My Intention was released for a theatrical run in Korea in March, and continues to the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival in Seoul, which opens on June 26, where it will be entered in the competition section. (Yoo’s debut short, 2003’s Bicycle Boy, earned him recognition as a director, and his second, 2005’s How Do the Blind Dream, won an award at the 23rd Pusan Asian Short Film Festival.)

Star News, Newsen

SONG OF THE DAY

Nell - “섬” (island) [ Download ]

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• Yoo Ji Tae’s directorial release

Tags: directors, film festivals, short films, Yoo Ji-tae

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 5 Comments →