A few years ago, actor Lee Sun-kyun had a major role in a film that made history: director Bong Joon-ho’s dark comedy thriller Parasite, which racked up multiple Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. It was the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. But now Lee’s life has come to a tragic early end. South Korea’s emergency office has confirmed that Lee has passed away at the age of 48, and it’s suspected that he committed suicide.
As Deadline notes, since October Lee had been “under investigation after drug use allegations amid an ongoing crackdown on illegal drugs by the South Korean government. Local news service Yonhap reported that Lee had been questioned multiple times by authorities, including for 19 hours this past weekend. The actor had said he was tricked into taking drugs.” Lee...
As Deadline notes, since October Lee had been “under investigation after drug use allegations amid an ongoing crackdown on illegal drugs by the South Korean government. Local news service Yonhap reported that Lee had been questioned multiple times by authorities, including for 19 hours this past weekend. The actor had said he was tricked into taking drugs.” Lee...
- 12/27/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
In 2018, the Korean film business stumbled, as local films made with blockbuster budgets and targeting the usual high seasons of Chuseok and Christmas last year failed to deliver blockbuster earnings. So Korean distributors have embraced some tactics to enhance their bottom lines.
Genre films “Monstrum,” “Fengshui,” “The Negotiation,” “Take Point,” “Swing Kids” and “Drug King” tripped over each other and did healthy B.O. but not the blockbuster business that distributors anticipated.
“The South Korean market has been supersaturated and the market has reached its limit. It is pretty obvious that no one would make significant profit when there are four to five films to watch in one season,” one disappointed producer told Variety.
Now, key distributors have announced lineups filled with fewer blockbusters and more small to mid-sized titles. At the same time they are accelerating overseas expansion and diversifying content formats.
Two of Cj Entertainment’s 2019 tentpoles, Bong...
Genre films “Monstrum,” “Fengshui,” “The Negotiation,” “Take Point,” “Swing Kids” and “Drug King” tripped over each other and did healthy B.O. but not the blockbuster business that distributors anticipated.
“The South Korean market has been supersaturated and the market has reached its limit. It is pretty obvious that no one would make significant profit when there are four to five films to watch in one season,” one disappointed producer told Variety.
Now, key distributors have announced lineups filled with fewer blockbusters and more small to mid-sized titles. At the same time they are accelerating overseas expansion and diversifying content formats.
Two of Cj Entertainment’s 2019 tentpoles, Bong...
- 3/19/2019
- by Sonia Kil and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
"War means business." Cj Entertainment has debuted a new Us teaser to go along with the full Korean trailer for Take Point, a military action thriller from Korean filmmaker Kim Byung-woo. The original title for this film was simply Pmc, meaning Private Military Company, a reference to the group of elite mercenaries hired for a secret CIA mission to abduct North Korea's Armed Forces Minister in an underground bunker below the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The film is actually set in the future, on the day of the Us presidential election in 2024, and is about the fear of starting World War III. Ha Jung-woo (from The Chaser) stars, with Kevin Durand, Jennifer Ehle, Spencer Daniels, Lee Sun-kyun, Robert Curtis Brown, and Malik Yoba. That robot sentry in this looks brutal! Lock & load. Here's the international trailer / Us teaser (+ posters) for Kim Byung-woo's Take Point, from YouTube: On the day of the U.
- 12/10/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Ha Jung-woo, one of South Korea’s most bankable superstars, has had a good run in the past few years. While the two “Along With the Gods” films were among the most successful Korean films of all time, his performances in “1987: When the Day Comes”, “The Tunnel” and “The Handmaiden” were universally praised. It’s been a while since he has been in action mode though, but that changes with his next film “Take Point” (called “Pmc” domestically) by director Kim Byung-woo.
Synopsis
Under the tense situation between South Korea and North Korea, hired Pmc (Private Military Company) attempt a daring rescue within an underground bunker.
While the synopsis may seem meagre, the trailers are interesting for their use of mostly English dialogue as well as for their gritty-looking action set-pieces. Director Kim Byung-woo reteams with Ha Jung-woo for his first film since 2013’s “The Terror Live”. “Take Point...
Synopsis
Under the tense situation between South Korea and North Korea, hired Pmc (Private Military Company) attempt a daring rescue within an underground bunker.
While the synopsis may seem meagre, the trailers are interesting for their use of mostly English dialogue as well as for their gritty-looking action set-pieces. Director Kim Byung-woo reteams with Ha Jung-woo for his first film since 2013’s “The Terror Live”. “Take Point...
- 11/3/2018
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Sitting between the early fall festivals of Toronto and Venice and November’s American Film Market, Busan’s Asian Film Market is either badly timed or brilliantly positioned, depending on your point of view.
There is no doubt, however, that it plays host to a range of hidden gems, and allows buyers to get an early jump on a selection of key titles – both of the artistic and the commercial varieties.
Hong Kong’s Mandarin Entertainment is handling the festival’s big-budget ($28 million production cost) closing film, “Master Z: Ip Man Legacy,” with its starry cast including Dave Bautista, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Jaa. The company is also pre-selling its even bigger “Ip Man 4.” The budget is now confirmed at $52 million and pitches Asian superstar Donnie Yen against British action star Scott Adkins with delivery scheduled in 2019.
Another Hong Kong studio, Edko Films, is touting $40 million China-Australia co-production “The Whistleblower.
There is no doubt, however, that it plays host to a range of hidden gems, and allows buyers to get an early jump on a selection of key titles – both of the artistic and the commercial varieties.
Hong Kong’s Mandarin Entertainment is handling the festival’s big-budget ($28 million production cost) closing film, “Master Z: Ip Man Legacy,” with its starry cast including Dave Bautista, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Jaa. The company is also pre-selling its even bigger “Ip Man 4.” The budget is now confirmed at $52 million and pitches Asian superstar Donnie Yen against British action star Scott Adkins with delivery scheduled in 2019.
Another Hong Kong studio, Edko Films, is touting $40 million China-Australia co-production “The Whistleblower.
- 10/5/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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