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| Director Park Chan-wook, right, and his younger brother, Chan-kyong, a media artist, talk during an interview with The Korea Times about "Seoul, Our Movie," a promotional film for the capital, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Director of 'Old Boy' confesses on burdens for commercial success
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Director Park Chan-wook is one of a few among those in his profession who are both critically acclaimed and commercially bankable.
Despite his success in the Cannes Film Festival and box offices here, Park feels that his creative desire is boxed in by other new obligations to the point that he has to rely on distractions.
"I feel less freedom than before," Park said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times in downtown Seoul, Tuesday, reflecting his feeling of pressure as a big-name director. "As the size of the budget for my movies increases, so does the pressure I feel. I should do my best, at least, to prevent investors from losing money. This is business."
The interview followed a news conference for "Seoul, Our Movie," a promotional film for Seoul, Park and his younger brother, Chan-kyong, a media artist, will take responsibility for making.
Under the project initiated by the Seoul City government, people around the world are allowed to upload video clips of less-than-five-minutes featuring the capital city on video-sharing site Youtube (www.youtube.com/seoulourmovie) between Aug. 20 and Nov. 9 under three themes — "Working in Seoul," "Made in Seoul" and "Seoul." The duo will select the best-made clips and edit them into the form of a promotional movie to be released in January.
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Park said he will put his own twist on portraying the city.
"I find myself becoming easily exhausted while making a commercial film," the 50-year-old said. "Perhaps this is because the project is big and heavy. But it's not the case with this project. So I will take it as a chance to refresh myself."
He said that Seoul is a beautiful place to live in, surrounded by mountains and well-preserved forests, adding that he particularly loves to see — not climb — Mt. Inwang that sits behind Cheong Wa Dae. But it doesn't necessarily mean the upcoming movie will only shed light on the bright side of Seoul.
"The movie won't only shed light on the positive side of the city," he noted. "I will produce a balanced view."
Chan-kyong echoed this view, saying their primary goal in the mission was to show the "true face" of the metropolitan city of 12 million people, not highlighting certain aspects.
"I want to reflect foreigners' views in the film," the younger Park said. "Perhaps foreign residents in Seoul have more diverse views about Seoul than locals."
Park said he has no immediate plans to make a new commercial film; instead he will take the Seoul project as a chance for refreshment to produce a movie with a fresh twist.
"I learned a lot about Korean shamanism from my younger brother," he said. "This is a very unique subject that I'm now interested in. I currently have no plan for movie making. But possibly, I will make a film about the superstitious belief."
Park said, if possible, he wants to work with Gene Hackman, 83, the retired American actor who won several prizes.
"He left me a strong impression through Unforgiven," Park said, referring to the 1992 Hollywood film that portrayed the life of retired Wild West gunslingers. "Well...But who knows. He might come back on stage if I suggest him acting a scenario that meets his taste."
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