By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Top Korean pop star and actor Rain, 25, aka Jung Ji-hoon, will play the lead role in a Hollywood film produced by the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver, the creators of the ``Matrix'' series.
J Tune Entertainment, Rain's agency, held a press conference on Wednesday to announce Rain's next step and their cooperation with the William Morris Agency, an international talent and literary agency which has Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez as their clients.
John Mass, the senior vice president of the agency, also attended the press conference. ``He (Rain) is not just popular in Korea or Asia, but he is popular throughout the world. … This is going to be the start of something big for him, like a next chapter of his career,'' Mass said.
``Ninja Assassin'' will be directed by James McTeigue of V for Vendetta (2005) fame.
Rain also made an appearance, looking slimmer than before. ``I am building up my body for my next project,'' he said.
``This is such a big chance for me and it's like a dream. I am losing my weight and practicing English hard for the movie.''
``Speed Racer,'' Rain's Hollywood debut, will be released in May. In the movie he plays a major role as Taejo Togokhan, a key character who holds secrets, and is on screen for about an hour of the two-hour running time. ``I lobbied the Wachowski brothers to put Koreans in the movie, so it will be fun looking for them,'' he said.
Rain is still busy with his music, singing a song for the DreamWorks production ``Kung Fu Panda,'' which will be in theaters in June, and preparing the worldwide release of his next album.
``The album is still my top priority. However, I do not want to miss good chances like `Ninja Assassin' and `Kung Fu Panda.' I can release my album anytime, but for the movies, they were now or never,'' he said.
Rain made his debut in 2002 with the album ``Bad Guy,'' and has since released three more best selling albums. He also starred in hit Korean dramas such as ``Full House'' (2004) and the movie ``I'm a Cyborg But That's OK'' (2006).
He was named one of the ``The People Who Shape Our World'' by Time magazine in 2006 and one of the ``World's 100 Most Beautiful People'' by People magazine last year.