KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Numerous indie films are doing well at the box office while supposedly hot 3D movies losing traction. The Journals of Musan, with its troves of awards, and others are performing strongly at home and abroad. (The Hankyoreh, July 4, 2011)
Korea's 2008 oscar entry Crossing, which depicts a family's struggles in the border region of the North, is a big hot among movie fans in North Korea. (Daily NK, July 5, 2011)
After passing through many hands, the remake of Oldboy (2003) is set to be made by acclaimed director Spike Lee. Mark Protosevich is writing and the film is getting ready for production at Mandate. (Twitch Film, July 5, 2011)
Upcoming blockbuster Sector 7 will be Korea's first 3D IMAX film, it is set for release on August 4. (MarketWatch, July 7, 2011)
Na Hong-jin's sophomore feature The Yellow Sea has been selected for the 44th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival. (hancinema.net, July 7, 2011)
New trends seem to be affecting the Korean box office as rookie directors and independent films are generating more revenue while vehicles with supposedly reliable box office draws are disappointing at the charts. (The Chosun Ilbo, July 8, 2011)
While overall revenue was down 2.3%. Korean films upped their market share to 48% and saw their revenue rise by 9.9% in the first two quarters in 2011. Given that the back half of the year is packed with promising films this bodes well for the industry. (KOFIC, June 8, 2011)
Megastar Media Company, Vietnam's largest exhibition company, has been purchased by CJ Entertainment for $73.6 million. CJ is aggressively expanding to foreign markets with 7 screens already operational in China as well as one in the US. (Screen Daily, July 8, 2011)
Fantasia is to feature a Korean spotlight section that will feature five films: Bleak Night, Haunters, Hello Ghost, Invasion of Alien Bikini, and Petty Romance. (hancinema.net, July 8, 2011)
Hopes are high for Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, as it courts foreign buyers and may bring about a renaissance for Korean animation. (hancinema.net, July 8, 2011)
Hong Sang-soo's next film will feature none other than the revered French actress Isabelle Huppert, who had previously expressed an interest in collaborating with the acclaimed filmmaker. (hancinema.net, July 10, 2011)
4D theaters are enticing viewers in Korea with fog, water, shaking seats, and smells. A multiplex with this technology is expected to be built in New York and could take off in Europe if successful. (METRO.co.uk, July 10, 2011)
An esteemed figure in Korea, Darcy Paquet is well known to anybody with a serious interest in Korean film. In this Korea Herald profile, his contributions to the expansion of Korean cinema are lauded. (The Korea Herald, July 11, 2011)
INTERVIEW
A piece on actor Cha Seung-won, who has been very busy of late, on his process for creating characters and his day to day routines. (hancinema.net, July 10, 2011)
TRAILERS
Lots of english subbed trailers this week, including for some highly anticipated summer blockbusters.
My Heart Beats (Eng Subs)
Quick (Eng Subs)
Sector 7 (Eng Subs)
BOX OFFICE
Transformers 3 pulled in another 1,670,000 million viewers this weekend to come within a hair's breath of the 6 million mark. Sunny grew again to 270,000 while The Cat had a strong opening with 300,000. Poongsan also grew while White dipped slightly, both are performing well. (Hancinema.net, July 10, 2011)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
