Korean cinematographer to shoot BBC thriller 'The Little Drummer Girl'
Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung is behind the camera, shooting a scene for “Assassination.” Courtesy of Cinematographers Guild of Korea
By Park Hyong-ki
Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung has joined director Park Chan-wook and BBC's production team to shoot their mini-series spy drama, “The Little Drummer Girl,” according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
The drama, consisting of six episodes, is based on the book of the same title by John le Carre, who is often referred to as the “master of spy storytelling.” The TV mini-series is also a remake of the 1984 film directed by George Roy Hill, who is famous for films with the acting duo Paul Newman and Robert Redford in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting.”
Director Park and Kim will be working together for the first time on this series, which critics expect to be “much darker in tone” than the original 1984 film. This would also be their first time making an overseas TV drama.
This is because of Park's previous movies crediting classic film noir that integrates gloomy plot twists and turns through femme fatales and male characters in despair ― best represented by his Cannes winner “Old Boy.”
Cinematographer Kim is known for using deep and rich contrasting colors that almost look surreal especially for period films that get audiences immersed in fictional scenes set in non-fictional times.
His most recent film credits include “1987,” “Assassination,” and “The Front Line” ― set in the past during the Democratic Uprising, the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula and the Korean War, respectively.
Kim is expected to reuse his trademark of lights and cameras to paint Park's spy thriller about an Israeli agent tracking down a Palestinian terrorist, who targets and bombs Jewish facilities in Europe. The agent uses a female character to capture the terrorist.
The “Drummer” storyline similarly takes after Israel's clandestine mission to track down terrorists in Europe following the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics. This was later adopted by director Steven Spielberg for “Munich,” which was based on the book “Vengeance” by George Jonas.
Park and BBC's “The Little Drummer Girl” shot by Kim will be shown in November.