VIDEO Song Joong-ki's 'Space Sweepers' gives sneak peek Actor Song Joong-ki will star in the new movie “Space Sweepers.” Courtesy of Merry ChristmasBy Dong Sun-hwa“Space Sweepers,” a Korean space opera film starring Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, offered a sneak peek on Thursday. Distributor Merry Christmas floated a trailer for the movie, which is dubbed the first Korean sci-fi flick set in space. Watch the trailer: bit.ly/2WBI16a“Space Sweepers” will premiere this summer. Courtesy of Merry ChristmasThe film, set in 2092, follows the crew of a space junk sweeper named “The Victory.” As they look for lucrative space debris, they discover the humanoid “Dorothy” ― a weapon of mass destruction ― and start a “risky deal.” Song plays the shuttle's pilot Taeho. Kim appears as the crew's young and confident leader. Acclaimed actors Jin Sun-kyu and Yoo Hai-jin also feature in the much-anticipated movie. Filmmaker Jo Sung-hee, who previously teamed up with Song for the fantasy romance movie “A Werewolf Boy” (2012), directed “Space Sweepers.” The flick wiMay 7, 2020By Dong Sun-hwa
Film industry shows signs of recovery with eased social distancing Moviegoers walk through a relatively empty cinema foyer in Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooWith the loosening of social distancing rules, the local box office is showing signs of a recovery. Over the five-day holiday from May 1 to 5 that included Buddha's Birthday, Labor Day and Children's Day, 441,380 people visited cinemas nationwide, according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Daily box office sales recorded 114,700 moviegoers May 5, the highest in nearly two months.In April the monthly number of moviegoers hit the lowest level since KOFIC started compiling box office data in 2004. A total of 972,337 tickets were sold over the month, compared with 13.3 million tickets sold in the same period last year.The rebound in the cinema business comes after the government hinted that it would ease social distancing rules to allow people to engage in a certain level of economic and social activity while maintaining their distance. Korea has recorded around 10 or fewer new cases daily recently, a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909.“I visited the movie theater forMay 6, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Tom Cruise aims higher with movie shot on space station Tom Cruise. Korea Times fileAction star Tom Cruise is working on a movie shot in outer space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Tuesday. "NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station!," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote on Twitter. "We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA's ambitious plans a reality," Bridenstine added. He gave no details but the tweet followed a report in Hollywood trade outlet Deadline that Cruise was working with Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk to make what would be the first feature film to be shot in space. The proposed action adventure is in its early stages, Deadline reported on Monday. Representatives for Cruise did not immediately return a request for comment. "Mission: Impossible" star Tom Cruise, 57, is renowned for his daredevil films and for doing his own stunts. He flew fighter jets for the upcoming "Top Gun: Maverick," hung off the side of a plane as it took off in "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" in 2015 and climbed the Burj KhalMay 6, 2020
Moviegoers heading back to theaters More than 114,000 tickets were sold on Tuesday alone. / YonhapBy Park Si-sooMoviegoers are heading back to theaters as the coronavirus pandemic has noticeably subsided.More than 114,000 tickets were sold on Tuesday alone ― the highest daily record in two months ― according to the Korea Film Council, with newly released animated movies such as “Trolls World Tour” and “Cats and Peachtopia” leading the sales. Tuesday was Children's Day, a national holiday.The figure was nearly one tenth of that of last year's Children's Day, but still a substantial increase from 20,000 recorded at the height of the pandemic.Industry insiders believe more people will visit theaters as the pandemic has lost its steam and the social distancing campaign has been eased.South Korea reported only two new cases of coronavirus infection on Wednesday, both of which were imported, marking zero domestic infections for three consecutive days. May 6, 2020
Taika Waititi to direct new 'Star Wars' film This Jan. 27, 2020, file photo shows Taika Waititi at the 92nd Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Los Angeles. Waititi, the New Zealand filmmaker of “Jojo Rabbit” and “Thor: Ragnarok," will direct a new “Star Wars” film. APTaika Waititi, the New Zealand filmmaker of ``Jojo Rabbit'' and ``Thor: Ragnarok,`` will direct a new ``Star Wars'' film. Waititi had for months been expected to take the reins of the galaxy far, far away, having already directed the season finale of the ``Star Wars'' streaming spinoff ``The Mandalorian.'' But the Walt Disney Co. waited until the franchise's unofficial holiday, May the Fourth, to make Waititi's hire official. Waititi will co-write the film with Krysty Wilson-Cains, who wrote the World War I thriller ``1917'' with Sam Mendes. Both Waititi and Wilson-Cains were screenplay nominees at the Academy Awards earlier this year; Wilson-Cains for the original script to ``1917'' and Waititi for his adapted Nazi satire ``Jojo Rabbit.'' Waititi won. The announcement potentially suggests the new path forward for ``Star Wars'' theatrMay 5, 2020
Woody Allen's controversial film coming to Korea Elle Fanning, left, and Timothee Chalamet in a scene from “A Rainy Day in New York” / Courtesy of Green Narae MediaBy Kwak Yeon-sooWoody Allen's new film “A Rainy Day in New York,” showing a young couple's romantic getaway in New York turning into a nightmare, is set to hit Korean theaters May 6 despite the controversy over the sexual abuse allegation made against the director.In the light of the controversies surrounding Allen, who allegedly molested his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old in the early 1990s, the film was unable to be released in the U.S.His history came under renewed scrutiny as the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse grew in the wake of allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2017. The film's local distributor Green Narae Media faced criticism for going forward with its release plan in Korea. To downplay criticism, it wrote the "Midnight in Paris production team,” instead of the director's name on the film's official poster. In “A Rainy Day in New York,” Oscar-nominee Timothee ChalamMay 4, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Trolls World Tour' tops local holiday box office Musical animation “Trolls World Tour” topped the local box office over the long holiday weekend. Courtesy of Universal PicturesBy Lee Gyu-lee Universal's “Trolls World Tour” notched top spot at the local box office during the "golden holiday" weekend, which started with Buddha's Birthday on Thursday followed by International Workers' Day on Friday. The musical animation, which hit theaters on April 29, sold more than 46,000 tickets over the four-day holiday, accumulating about 435 million won ($350,000). Co-directed by Walt Dohrn and David P. Smith, the movie is a sequel to the 2016 hit “Trolls” which garnered about $346.9 million at the box office. The latest offering follows two trolls Poppy ― voiced by Anna Kendrick ― and Branch ― voiced by Justin Timberlake ― who embark on a mission to stop evil rockers from destroying other music. The film skipped theaters and was released through streaming and on-demand services in a few countries including Italy and the U.S. on April 10 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since its digital release, it has earneMay 4, 2020By Lee Gyu-lee
No. of moviegoers hits all-time low in April amid pandemic A movie theater is almost empty in Seoul, Friday, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. YonhapThe number of moviegoers in South Korea dropped to an all-time low in April, data showed Saturday, as people refrained from visiting crowded places amid the new coronavirus pandemic.A total of 972,447 people went to the cinema last month, marking the first time for the figure to hover below the 1-million threshold since the data was first compiled in 2004, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).It marked a drastic drop from a whopping 13.3 million posted a year earlier.The number of moviegoers reached 16.8 million in January, before the COVID-19 pandemic made its way across the globe. South Korea reported its first infection on Jan. 20.The figure plummeted to 7.37 million in February and 1.83 million in the following month. (Yonhap)May 3, 2020
Choi Woo-shik of 'Parasite' seeks transformation, personal growth with 'Time to Hunt' Actor Choi Woo-shik poses for a photo after an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooChoi Woo-shik, one of the stars of Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” has returned to the screen, in a new role as a tough, rebellious character, in crime thriller “Time to Hunt.”The film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in February but due to the COVID-19 concerns, it went straight to streaming on Netflix instead.“I'm actually glad that 'Time to Hunt' got distributed by Netflix. I've been getting a lot of attention from Hollywood lately, so I was hoping our film could reach more international audiences,” Choi said during a video interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday. Given the massive critical and commercial success of his previous film “Parasite” that instantly skyrocketed Choi to a new level of fame, the actor confessed that he had felt pressure when deciding on his next project.After reading the script for “Time to Hunt,” the 30-year-old actor deApr 30, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Interest in OTT services surges as pandemic forces people to stay home A Netflix logo is seen in this photo. / Reuters-YonhapBy Kwak Yeon-sooWith strict social distancing measures issued by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19, over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services have seen higher viewing and increased subscriber growth over the last few months.According to media and consumer research by Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp., 75 percent of 1,000 survey respondents reported they refrained from outdoor activities in March due to COVID-19 concerns. Around 80 percent of them responded that they watched video content through TV and other digital devices at home.A Netflix Korea official declined to disclose the number of subscriptions in Korea, but said “the company has seen a temporary surge in streams, but expects viewing and growth to decelerate as lockdown eases.” Third-party research firm WiseApp has reported seeing massive increases in usage and subscription signups for the service in March. It is estimated that Netflix's subscriber base in Korea grew from around 2 million in December 2019 to approximately 2.72 million in March 2Apr 30, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
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