'Dune' to come back to IMAX in February A scene from the film, “Dune” / Courtesy of Warner Bros. KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic, “Dune,” is coming back to IMAX theaters for fans to experience it again on the big screen. According to Warner Bros. Korea, “Dune” will be available for a limited time in 17 IMAX theaters across the country starting Feb. 9, allowing viewers to experience the visually stunning epic film in a format that offers 26-percent more image space than regular widescreen showings.“We are very excited for fans to be able to enjoy this groundbreaking film again in IMAX. We expect tickets to be sold out as soon as they go on sale,” the company official said. “Dune,” which opened last October, attracted over 1.5 million moviegoers and created a significant fan base in Korea. Globally, it crossed the $400-million mark at box offices. The film's success led to the making of a sequel, which will reportedly start filming in July 2022.An adaptation of Frank Herbert's best-selling sci-fi novel, the film tells the story of Paul AJan 19, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
INTERVIEW Actor Seol Kyung-gu talks about real-life inspiration for movie role Actor Seol Kyung-gu / Courtesy of Megabox Plus MBy Kwak Yeon-sooActor Seol Kyung-gu said the characters in “Kingmaker” are fictional, but they are inspired by prominent politicians, including former President Kim Dae-jung who served from 1998 to 2003. Because the film is inspired by the story rather than a factual telling of it, he had more room to take the film in a far more different direction than the true events.In the political drama, Seol plays Kim Woon-beom, an opposition party candidate who has failed in several local elections. He teams up with “Seo Chang-dae (Lee Sun-kyung) to win the local election and run for the presidential election. The ambitious and unprincipled Seo uses all means to subvert the powers that be and put Kim in the position of presidential candidate. The acclaimed actor revealed he was under a lot of pressure because he had to portray a well-known and respected public figure in Korea's modern history. “The first script for 'Kingmaker' had real people's names. Because Kim Dae-jung was loved and admired by many in our country, I turJan 18, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
'The Hill of Secrets' invited to 72nd Berlin film festival A scene from “The Hill of Secrets” / Courtesy of O SpringBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Lee Ji-eun's debut film “The Hill of Secrets” has been invited to the youth-centered competition at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, the film's distributor said, Monday.According to the 2022 lineup for the Berlinale, which will be held from Feb. 10 to 20, “The Hill of Secrets” will be presented in the Generation's Kplus section. The film features 12-year-old Myung-eun who learns more about herself and the meaning of family through writing. “'The Hill of Secrets' is an emotional, artistic and thought-provoking film. It will be a wonderful opportunity for the team to celebrate its world premiere at Berlinale Generation,” said Maryanne Redpath, the head of the Generation section of the film festival. Before creating her first feature film, Lee directed many short films including “I am” (2016), “Arrangement” (2018) and “Santa Claus” (2019).Moon Chang-yong and Jeon Jin's “Becoming Who I Was” won theJan 18, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Movies based on books spark renewed interest in novels Haruki Murakami's 2014 short story collection “Men Without Women,” left, and Joh Sasaki's 2017 novel “The Policeman's Lineage” / Courtesy of Munhakdonge Publishing, Viche BookBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe recent release of films based on books has raised interest in the original novels, as fans of these movies often go on to seek a deeper and more layered understanding of the films in their literary form.Haruki Murakami's 2014 short story collection “Men without Women” reached 33rd on the top seller list for fiction, drama and poetry in Kyobo Bookstore, the country's largest bookstore chain, while it previously hadn't even ranked in the top 100. It also rose to 66th and 73rd on Aladin and YES24 bookstores, respectively. The re-entrance on the top seller chart comes after Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi's “Drive My Car,” a film based on the book, drew strong reactions from critics and audiences. The Japanese film, which won the Golden Globe award for Best Picture in the non-English language category, became a rare arthouse hit by exceeding 38,Jan 17, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
INTERVIEW Han Hyo-joo stars as treasure-seeking hero in 'Pirates 2' Actress Han Hyo-joo / Courtesy of BH EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooActress Han Hyo-joo has taken on a new challenge by starring in the stunt-heavy, adventure fantasy film “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure.” A sequel to the 2014 blockbuster “The Pirates,” the upcoming film centers on pirate captain Haerang (Han) and her crew joining forces with Muchi (Kang Ha-neul), a bandit leader, and his gangs to discover the long-lost treasure of the royal family of the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom. In the rare female-fronted pirate film, Haerang appears as a highly skilled fighter and a charismatic leader. To execute her role to perfection, the 34-year-old actress trained three days a week for three months to become physically stronger and learn swordsmanship.“Apparently there was a lot of sword fighting, big swings and underwater action. It took a while to learn all those things, but I wanted to do them on my own,” she said. To act as the leader of the pirates with a powerful force, she also underwent a visual transformation and practiced vocal exercises. &ldquoJan 17, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
23rd Jeonju film festival to open in April, host offline screenings The 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival logo / Courtesy of the Jeonju International Film Festival organizing committeeBy Kwak Yeon-sooThis year's Jeonju International Film Festival, scheduled from April 28 to May 7, will host physical screenings and bring its number of selected films back to pre-pandemic levels.The film festival organizing committee announced Friday that it plans to resume normal operations with strict safety regulations in place. The 23rd edition of the festival plans to present around 230 films with 500 screenings in theaters. Last year, it had 186 films in 356 offline screenings. The festival is also planning a showcase of Taehung Pictures films to commemorate the legendary production house and its former CEO Lee Tae-won, who died in October of last year. The retrospective of eight films will include: Im Kwon-taek's “Chihwaseon” (2002), Song Neung-han's “Fin De Siecle” (1999), Kim Yoo-jin's “My Dear Keumhong” (1995), Kim Hong-jun's “Rosy Life” (1994) and Jang Sun-woo's “The Road to Racetrack” (1991).&Jan 16, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Park So-dam on her first female-led action film, lessons learnt from 'Parasite' Actress Park So-dam in a scene from the film, "Special Delivery" / Courtesy of NEWBy Kwak Yeon-sooAfter the phenomenal success of “Parasite” (2019), Park So-dam had to shoulder the tremendous weight of expectation as an actor. However, handling the onslaught of attention and awards toughened her up mentally and allowed her to appreciate the hard work of the entire team that is needed to make a film. “While filming and promoting 'Parasite,' I've come to realize that there are so many people involved to get the best out of a movie. There is no difference in choosing a project or approaching a character, but I'd love to star in a foreign-language movie,” she said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.In director Park Dae-min's swift and blood-drenched film “Special Delivery,” Park plays a veteran getaway driver Eun-ha, who gets caught up in a gang war while trying to protect a child.The 30-year-old actress talked about the worries she had of having to carry the film as the female lead. “Although it was exciting to see my face on bigJan 13, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Korean Film Council appoints Park Ki-yong as new head KOFIC Chairman Park Ki-yong / Courtesy of KOFICBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has appointed Park Ki-yong, an academic and director, as its new chairman. Park was chosen through a vote by the nine KOFIC committee members during its first regular meeting on Friday. He replaces Kim Young-jin, who completed his one-year term on Jan. 3.Park previously worked a producer on director Park Kwang-su's 1993 historical war drama “To The Starry Island.” He subsequently directed the award-winning films “Motel Cactus” (1997), which won the New Currents Award at the 1998 Busan International Film Festival, and “Camel(s)” (2001), which won the Regard d'Or at the 2002 Fribourg International Film Festival. He was also the head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (2003-09) and head of the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (2006-12). He is currently a professor at Dankook University's Graduate School of Cinematic Content. Park's term will run until Jan. 8, 2024.“We will communicate more actively with film industry officials to become a trustworthyJan 10, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Sewing Sisters' explores hidden figures of Korea's labor movement A scene from the documentary film “Sewing Sisters” / Courtesy of Jin Jin PicturesBy Kwak Yeon-sooChun Tae-il, a tailor and activist who set himself on fire to raise awareness of textile workers' poor labor conditions in 1970, is a symbolic figure in Korea's labor movement history. Following Chun's self-immolation, unions sprang up and hundreds of workers at Pyounghwa Market, a cluster of sweatshops in Seoul's Dongdaemun Market area, stood up to seek guarantees of workers' rights. The majority of them were women and girls who started working at garment factories as teenagers.These young women were sent off to work to support financially desperate families, rather than going to middle school. The working conditions in sweatshops were grueling. They worked overtime without proper compensation in unventilated small compartments made by factory owners, who would squeeze as many sewing machines and workers into their factories as possible. Female workers, as young as 13, would work 15 to 16 hours a day.“The trauma I faced as a teenager was the fact that I couldn't afford Jan 7, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Peter Bogdanovich, director of 'The Last Picture Show,' dies at 82 U.S. director Peter Bogdanovich poses during a photo-call for the movie "99 Homes" presented in competition at the 71st Venice Film Festival at the Lido, in this Aug. 29, 2014 file photo. AFP-Yonhap Peter Bogdanovich, the revered director of touchstone films of the 1970s such as “The Last Picture Show,” “What's Up, Doc?” and “Paper Moon,” died Thursday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home. He was 82.The two-time Oscar nominee's death was relayed by his daughter Antonia Bogdanovich to the Hollywood Reporter. The Los Angeles Times has reached out to her representatives for confirmation.“Movies used to be something powerful,” Bogdanovich told the L.A. Times, in 2015. “It's been a bit ruined now. I don't know if we can get it back ― I think we can. But it's lost its innocence. The interesting stuff has moved to TV, and movies have become more like, 'What can I blow up next?' There's a terrible cancer at the heart of that.”“The Last Picture Show” earned two 1972 OscJan 7, 2022
