Korean stars Go Soo and Son Ye-jin posed for November issue of Cosmopolitan magazine [Kr]; the duo is starring in Into the White Night which is screening next month. The film is Go Soo’s first movie since his enlistment in 2006; the hype is further sparkled with news that Son is going nude for the love scene.
Red carpet show at the opening ceremony of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival, which kicked off last Thursday (Oct 8) in Korea’s City of Busan…
Ha Ji-won
Trailer for Korean disaster movie “Haeundae”. Haeundae is a popular beach district in Busan; and the movie is about a giant tsunami that struck the coast.
Billed as Korea’s first major disaster film, the movie fields a strong cast of Sol Kyung-gu, Ha Ji-won, Park Jung-hoon and Uhm Jung-hwa etc…
Haeundae will hit the Korean cinemas in July 2009. The trailer doesn’t look half bad; and being a disaster movie freak, I’m definitely going to watch it when it’s released in local theatres [credits to nadiv1@youtube for the upload]
Winners of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. Not a bad outing for Asian films… Filipino director Brillante Mendoza won best director, Chinese director Lou Ye won best screenplay, while Korean director Park Chan-wook won a jury prize.
Feature films
Golden Palm – “The White Ribbon”, directed by Michael Haneke
Grand Prix – “A Prophet”, directed by Jacques Audiard
Best director – Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay”
Best screenplay – Lou Ye, “Spring Fever”
Best actress – Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Antichrist”
Best actor – Christoph Waltz, “Inglorious Basterds”
Jury prize – “Fish Tank”, by Andrea Arnold / “Thirst”, by Park Chan-wook
Lifetime achievement award – “Wild Grass”, directed by Alain Resnais
Short films
Golden Palm – “Arena”, directed by João Salaviza
Special distinction – “The Six Dollar Fifty Man”, by Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston
Other Cannes Film Festival 2009 articles: Photos [1] ~ Photos [2]
Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun, or Gianna Jun, is kicking off the promotion campaign for her supposedly Hollywood debut movie “Blood: The Last Vampire”, a live action adaptation of the same title Japanese anime film.
Jun is beginning her promotion in Japan where the movie will make its global premier on May 29th (titled as “Last Blood” in Japan). The actress looks pretty cool in the stills, but things are not doing too well for the film at the moment.
There’s not much buzz created for the movie; and the trailer (British version) looks kinda disappointing… seems like it would have to rely on Jun’s fans and the original anime’s fans to support the box office.
But, as compared to the likes of “Dragonball” and “Chun Li”, the Blood anime probably doesn’t have a similarly huge fan-base to begin with. And if there’s no other attractions being pulled out in the next few weeks… things are not looking good.
The movie will be released in Europe in mid-June, but the US release date has not yet been set, which could be another huge concern. In worst case scenario, the US distributor might turn it into a DVD release if it’s not doing well in other markets… I wonder if it could still be called a Hollywood debut for Jun if it happens.
Best of luck to Jun Ji-hyun, because she really needs some luck for the film.
[Update] Sony Pictures has acquired the US rights for the movie; Gianna is getting a Hollywood debut after all.
Winners of the 3rd Asian Film Awards presented in Hong Kong on Monday (Mar 23)…
Best film – “Tokyo Sonata” (Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands)
Best director – Hirokazu Kore-Eda, “Still Walking” (Japan)
Best actor – Masahiro Motoki, “Departures” (Japan)
Best actress – Zhou Xun, “The Equation of Love and Death” (China)
Best newcomer – Yu Shaoqun, “Forever Enthralled” (China)
Best supporting actor – Jung Woo-sung, “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” (Korea)
Best supporting actress – Gina Pareño, “Service” (Philippines)
Best screenwriter – Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Max Mannix, Sachiko Tanaka, “Tokyo Sonata”
Best cinematographer – Jola Dylewska, “Tulpan” (Kazakhstan and co.)
Best composer – Joe Hisaishi, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” (Japan)
Best editor – Kim Sun-min, “The Chaser” (Korea)
Best special effect – Craig Hayes, “Red Cliff” (China)
The 45th Baeksang Arts Awards, one of Korea’s biggest entertainment awards, were presented at Seoul Olympic Park on Friday (Feb 27).
A few more red carpet pics from the 29th Blue Dragon Film Awards which were presented on November 20 at KBS Hall in Seoul… [image from Newsen]
Kim Ha-neul and Kang Ji-hwan
