'Fast and Furious 9' trailer played on 6 giant screens wows fans in Seoul Michelle Rodriguez, left, and Vin Diesel in a scene from “Fast and Furious 9” / Courtesy of the movie's official websiteBy Ko Dong-hwanUpcoming Hollywood action film “Fast and Furious 9” is raising expectations from many fans in Seoul in a spectacular fashion, as its trailer was shown simultaneously on six giant digital screens in the city's busy streets.The screens were installed on top of buildings towering over a major intersection near Samseong Station in Seoul's Gangnam District, one of the city's most crowded and upscale areas. Atop the area's landmark K-Pop Square, a rounded L-shaped screen ― 81 meters long and 20 meters high ― was among the giant screens showing the synchronized snippet of the highly anticipated film. According to News 1, a local news agency, it is the first movie promoted in such a manner and on such a scale since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.The trailer is played every hour at the 33-minute, 58-second mark. The promotion began on May 5 and will continue through May 19 when the movie hits theaters for its globaMay 13, 2021By Ko Dong-hwan
INTERVIEW For Gong Seung-yeon, 'Aloners' marks a new beginning Actor Gong Seung-yeon / Courtesy of VARO Entertainment By Kwak Yeon-sooActor Gong Seung-yeon said that she did not expect to get such a strong reaction and win an acting award for playing an expressionless character in “Aloners,” a drama film that subtly captures the life of a loner who deliberately avoids social interaction.“I did not expect to win the Best Actor award at the Jeonju International Film Festival, nor did I expect to be met with such a favorable reaction from movie fans,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Thursday.“It's a relief, because I was worried that I might have done something bad. We filmed the movie in 2019, but I hadn't heard the plan about the release date until recently.” Directed by Hong Sung-eun, “Aloners” revolves around Jina (Gong), a customer service employee at a credit card company call center, who dislikes and rejects interacting with family, neighbors and coworkers. Instead, she prefers to work alone, eatMay 13, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'The Croods: A New Age' leads weekend local box office “The Croods: A New Age” topped the local box office over the weekend. Courtesy of Universal PicturesBy Lee Gyu-leeHollywood animation “The Croods: A New Age” topped the weekend local box office, reclaiming the top spot after slipping to third Friday. The family comedy collected about 47,000 ticket sales over the weekend, adding about 425 million won ($380,000) to its total gross at 1.45 billion won ($1.3million)The film had a strong opening Wednesday, which was Children's Day in Korea, scoring the highest opening record for a film this year. It sold about 103,000 tickets, grossing 913 million won ($817,000). Directed by Joel Crawford, the sequel to the 2013 animation “The Croods” follows a caveman family, led by the big-hearted patriarch Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage), taking a journey outside their cave. The Croods family and an outsider Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who is the creative one in the group, come across a verdant utopia on their journey and meet a family living there called the Bettermans, who show off a more advanced way of thinking. A poster May 10, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
DMZ documentary festival to screen short films to commemorate Gwangju Uprising A scene from the short documentary, "Murmuring Debris and Leaves Silently Fall"/ Courtesy of the DMZ Docs Organizing CommitteeBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs) will screen five short films online to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the May 18 pro-democracy Gwangju Uprising.The festival's organizing committee said, Monday, that it will present five short documentaries directed by Asian filmmakers who were born after 1980 on its YouTube channel from May 14 to 28. They will all feature how the younger generations look back on the event. The five selected works are: “Yarn of Light,” directed by Park Yeong-I; “Truly Beautiful,” directed by Jeong Kyung-hee; “Hand, Remember, Mosaic,” directed by Park Eun-sun; “Murmuring Debris and Leaves Silently Fall,” directed by Bo Wang; and “She'story,” directed by Hwang Jun-ha. Of them, “Murmuring Debris and Leaves Silently Fall” explores the abandoned site of the former Armed Forces' Hospital in Gwangju through rubble, dust, wild grassesMay 10, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Disney's 'Cruella' to hit theaters in Korea first Emma Stone in a scene from “Cruella” / Courtesy of Walt Disney KoreaBy Kwak Yeon-sooDisney's latest live-action film, “Cruella,” will hit theaters in Korea first, with a May 26 release date, Walt Disney Korea said, Friday. This comes two days before the film's U.S. release date.Set in the 1970s, the movie centers on Cruella de Vil's life prior to her penchant for mass murdering puppies in London and turning them into fur coats, as was depicted in the 1961 film, “101 Dalmatians.”Emma Stone will portray the burgeoning designer Cruella, known at the time as Estella, who balances her day job with her ambition of becoming a successful fashion designer.The cast includes Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, and Mark Strong.“The Devil Wears Prada” screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna wrote the early drafts of the script for “Cruella,” which was later finalized by “Favorite Queen” screenwriter Tony McNamara. “I, Tonya” filmmaker Craig Gillespie helmed the film.Meanwhile, many other HollywoodMay 9, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung returns home Actress Youn Yuh-jung arrives at Incheon International Airport, May 8, two weeks after winning an Oscar for her role in the film "Minari." YonhapYoun Yuh-jung made a triumphant return to South Korea, Saturday, nearly two weeks after winning an Oscar for her role in the immigrant film "Minari."The actress, wearing a green bomber jacket, jeans and a white mask, waved to reporters as she arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from the United States earlier in the day.She did not hold a news conference at the airport ― something that celebrities usually do as part of a hero's welcome ― due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.In a message released by her management agency, Hook Entertainment, Friday, Youn expressed gratitude to South Koreans for their support and love for her wining Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 93rd Oscars held April 25.This was the first time for a South Korean to clinch an Oscar in an acting category. Last year's best picture winner "Parasite" had no acting nominees even though it had six nominations overall, including best director anMay 8, 2021
Jeonju film fest to scale down remaining events following COVID-19 outbreak Actors Kwon Hae-hyo, left, and Park Ha-seon speak as they host the Jeonju International Film Festival's opening ceremony at Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do in Jeonju's Deokjin District, April 29. YonhapOrganizers of the ongoing Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) said Friday it will partly scale down its remaining events as two COVID-19 cases have broken out among its volunteers and spectators.According to the municipality of Jeonju, the host city of the annual film festival located about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, one JIFF volunteer recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus.All 53 volunteers were tested for the virus and received negative results. Seven of them, who worked in the same venue with the patient, have gone into self-quarantine as part of precautionary measures, the city government said.At the same time, another COVID-19 case was reported from the visitors who attended the film festival over the weekend.But the diagnosed visitor was found not to have come into close contact with other people thanks to the festival's sit-apart rule and the mandatory weaMay 7, 2021
'Splinters,' 'Kim Min-young of the Report Card' win big at 22nd Jeonju film festival A scene from “Splinters,” the grand prize winner of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival / Courtesy of JIFFBy Kwak Yeon-sooJeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) has awarded its Grand Prize to Argentinian director Natalia Garayalde's film “Splinters,” which depicts an Argentinian political scandal through the lens of a 12-year-old girl. The festival held its awards ceremony at Korea Traditional Culture Center, Wednesday, with 50 people in attendance, including festival director Lee Joon-dong, jury members and directors and actors with films in the Korean competition. Overseas guests were unable to attend the event due to a mandatory two-week quarantine required of all foreign visitors entering the country.The Best Picture Prize went to Marta Popivoda's “Landscapes of Resistance,” which tells the story of Sonja, one of the first female partisans in Serbia during World War II who helped lead the resistance in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Special Jury Prize went to James Vaughan's “Friends and Strangers,” which revolves around two youMay 6, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Daily box-office attendance hits 7-month high on Children's Day A scene from "The Croods: A New Age" / Screen capture from YouTubeThe number of daily moviegoers reached a seven-month high on the Children's Day holiday in South Korea, thanks to strong performances by animated films, data showed Thursday.According to the data from the Korean Film Council, a total of 326,000 people went to theaters Wednesday, up sharply from 77,000 tallied the previous day.It is the highest daily box-office number since Oct. 3 when it hit 389,000 amid the five-day Chuseok holiday, the Korean version of Thanksgiving."The Croods: A New Age," an American animated adventure film released on Children's Day, topped the daily list, garnering 102,000 people.It is the strongest opening day record in 2021, beating Disney-Pixar's "Soul," which sold 66,000 tickets on its first day of Jan. 20 and the award-winning "Minari" with 40,000 attendees on March 3.Also, it is the first time in nearly 40 days that a film has attracted more than 100,000 moviegoers on a single day since the U.S. monster film "Godzilla vs. Kong" achieved the feat in March.In the top 10 were three other animaMay 6, 2021
Park Jeong-min and Yoona realize lofty dream in 'Miracle' Actors Park Jeong-min, left, and Im Yoon-a, right, in a scene from “Miracle” / Courtesy of Lotte EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooPark Jeong-min and Im Yoon-a, better known by her stage name, Yoona, of Girls' Generation, are set to star as best friends who passionately encourage each other's big, lofty dreams in the upcoming moving drama, “Miracle.”Set in 1986, “Miracle” tells the story of math prodigy Joon-kyung (Park), who lives in a remote town in North Gyeongsang Province. His five-hour commute to school weighs on him, and that encourages him to come up with a plan to build a train station in his hometown. Joon-kyung joins hands with townspeople to obtain approval for the project to create a train station. The film is based on a true story ― Yangwon Station located in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, which was built by townspeople in 1988 and is recorded as Korea's first private train station. Director Lee Jang-hoon, who previously directed the romance drama, “Be With You,” explained that the upcoming film is about people who May 5, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
