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Mon, June 27, 2022 | 20:50
Travel & Food
Claudia Kim steals show in `Avengers'
'어벤져스2' 서울 촬영장면 효과 놓고 '시끌'
Posted : 2015-04-23 17:31
Updated : 2015-04-23 21:27
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This photo provided by Disney/Marvel shows, from left, Cobie Smulders, seated, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Claudia Kim, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the film, 'Avengers: Age of Ultron.' / AP-Yonhap
This photo provided by Disney/Marvel shows, from left, Cobie Smulders, seated, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Claudia Kim, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the film, "Avengers: Age of Ultron." / AP-Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

This photo provided by Disney/Marvel shows, from left, Cobie Smulders, seated, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Claudia Kim, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the film, 'Avengers: Age of Ultron.' / AP-Yonhap
Actress Claudia Kim attend a press conference to promote her latest film "Avengers: Age of Ultron" in Seoul, April 17. The movie opened Thursday in Korea. / AP-Yonhap
It is not Robert Downey Jr. or Scarlett Johansson but Kim Soo-hyun, who goes by her English name, Claudia Kim, that captured the imagination of some early Korean moviegoers on the opening day of "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

The sample may be too small to generalize the 177-centimeter-tall Korean actress as the unexpected scene stealer, especially when a group of young male college students was asked who was the most impressive.

"Before entering the cinema, we all thought casting Kim Soo-hyun was sort of a fan service for the Koreans, because she was unfamiliar to moviegoers here," said one of a group of college students on their way out of a cinema in southern Seoul, Thursday.

"However, after the end of the film, we all agreed that Kim looked superb, and now we are all big fans of her."

In the film, the Korean actress plays Helen Cho, a world-renowned geneticist who helps superheroes from her office in Seoul and Avengers Tower.

The film made headlines here last year when Kim was named to appear in the franchise.

The opening of the film has been met with enthusiasm. The reservation rate hit a record high of more than 95 percent, or 930,000 people, wanting to watch it.

Fascinated with the media hype and the trailer scenes of the much-anticipated Hollywood blockbuster, early birds gathered at the COEX Megabox Theater, southern Seoul, to enjoy the movie before anyone else, and they were not disappointed.

"We are great fans of the Avengers franchise," a movie fan, who only identified himself as Han, said.

Accompanied by his wife, Han, in his early 30s, said he took a day off work to watch the film.

"The scenes filmed in Seoul were a bit shorter than the media has previously reported, but it was good to see superheroes fighting in my hometown," he said. "But I doubt whether overseas visitors would decide to visit Seoul as the scenes taken here moved too fast."

"Avengers: Age of Ultron," the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster hit that garnered some 7 million viewers in Korea, has been the talk of the town since it filmed scenes in Gangnam, Sangam Digital Media City and Mapo Bridge in April last year.

The Hollywood cast members' visit to Seoul heightened expectations for the movie. The visitors included Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and director Joss Whedon.

Considering that "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is running at 1,821 movie theaters on some 2,200 screens throughout the country, experts say the film is expected to become the top-grossing foreign hit, surpassing the record of 13 million set by the 2009 blockbuster "Avatar."


Is investment worth it?

Is it worth it?

A question hundreds of thousands of Koreans expected to watch the new Avengers movie might well ask.

The Seoul government cordoned off a bridge for filming and gave financial aid to the tune of 2 billion won ($1.8 million) for Marvel's production of "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Scenes from Seoul in the film amount to 20 minutes screen time, so it remains to be seen whether such an investment was justified.

Officials forecast that the Korean capital featuring in the blockbuster will present it positively to the rest of the world, bringing 2 trillion won ($1.85 billion) in direct and indirect economic benefits.

"The city and the Korea Film Council decided to financially support at least 25 percent of Marvel's production budget during its filming in Korea," Park Je-myeong, of the Culture and Economy Fusion Department at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said.

Hur You-jung, 24, who works in public relations at the JW Marriot Hotel, does not think the money was a wise investment.

"Honestly, it gives great exposure but we have other ways to attract foreign tourists, and if Seoul was featured as the main location or portrayed longer in the movie, it would have been a wiser decision," she said.

Others say that the scenes highlighting Seoul are not that positive.

Kang Hyung-gyu, 22, a university student, said the amount spent was not that much, however.

"Investing in the development of cultural content is important for the city of Seoul — and there's not much the government could do with 2 billion won anyway," he said.


'어벤져스2' 서울 촬영장면 효과 놓고 '시끌'

작년 서울에서 촬영한 할리우드 블록버스터 '어벤져스-에이지 오브 울트론'의 개봉을 앞두고 서울이 등장하는 장면의 경제적 효과를 둘러싼 논란이 벌어지고 있다.

22일 영화계에 따르면 언론·배급 시사회를 통해 공개된 '어벤져스 2'편의 총 상영시간 141분 가운데 서울에서 촬영된 분량은 7분여의 전투 장면을 포함해 20분 안팎이다.

할리우드 영화이고 한국 외에 남아프리카공화국, 영국, 이탈리아 등 다른 나라에서 촬영됐다는 점을 고려하면 길지도, 짧지도 않은 분량이다.

이에 대해 떠들썩한 국내 촬영 지원에 비해 실망스럽다는 반응과 그만하면 적당한 수준이라는 반응이 엇갈리고 있다.

영화진흥위원회는 작년 촬영 당시 국내 촬영에 따른 경제적 효과를 제작진이 쓰는 비용과 국내 고용, 외국인 관광객 수 증가 등으로 876억원으로 추산했으며 한국관광공사는 직접 효과 4천억원, 브랜드 제고를 포함한 장기적 효과를 2조원으로 예상했다.

한 국내 영화사 관계자는 '도로 액션 장면이나 지하철 장면의 배경으로서 서울의 모습이 그렇게 최첨단의 이미지가 아니어서 실망스러웠다'며 '관광 측면에서 과연 얼마나 효과가 있을지 모르겠다'고 말했다.

반면 또 다른 영화사 관계자는 '서울이 등장하는 장면의 분량이 꽤 길었고 서울이라는 점도 눈에 잘 띄었다'며 '예상했던 것보다는 괜찮게 나왔다'고 평가했다.

소셜네트워킹서비스(SNS) 상에서도 누리꾼들의 의견은 나뉜다.

한 트위터 이용자는 '도시 때려부수는 장면으로 광고 효과를 노린다는 게 말이 되느냐'고 꼬집은 반면, 다른 이용자는 '서울은 감초로 찾아보는 맛이 있는 거고 핵심은 어벤져스 아니냐'고 말했다.

작년 서울 촬영 당시에도 시민이 큰 불편을 겪고 제작비 일부까지 지원해 줄 정도의 관광 효과가 있겠느냐는 의문이 제기됐고 실제 영화가 23일 개봉하면서 국내 극장가를 싹쓸이할 것으로 점쳐지는 만큼 논란은 계속될 전망이다.

제작진은 지난해 3월 말부터 16일간 서울 강남대로, 마포대교, 세빛섬, 상암동, 청담대교, 문래동 등지에서 촬영을 진행했으며 제작진 방한 당시 국내 기관들의 촬영 지원은 전폭적이었다.

촬영 기간 마포대교, 월드컵북로 등 도로가 통제됐고 촬영지를 경유하는 시내버스의 노선이 조정됐으며 탄천주차장도 개방되지 않았다. 낮에 촬영하는 곳을 새벽부터 통제한다는 원성도 나왔다.

피?이 영화는 영화진흥위원회가 운영하는 '외국 영상물 국내 로케이션' 사업에 선정돼 관광진흥개발기금으로 조성된 지원금으로 제작진이 국내에서 쓰는 제작비의 20∼30%를 환급받는다.

'어벤져스' 2편의 국내 제작비는 100억원 정도로 알려져 있으며 그 경우 30억원까지 되돌려받을 수 있게 된다.

영진위 관계자는 '국내 촬영 10일 이상, 국내 집행비용 20억원 이상이 인정되면 30%를 환급받을 수 있다'며 '영화가 개봉되면 실제 제작 인정비용을 산정하는 과정을 거쳐 지원 비용을 지급하게 된다'고 설명했다.

영진위 영화관입장권 통합전산망에 따르면 이 영화는 전국에 1천808개 스크린을 확보했으며 오전 10시 40분 현재 예매점유율은 94.5%에 달한다. 현재까지 75만4천명이 예매하면서 이를 통한 매출액만 75억원을 넘어섰다. (연합뉴스)
Emailbaekby@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
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