All articles by Jean Noh – Page 88
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CJ's Gwangju Massacre pic starts production
Production started July 7 onKim Ji-hoon's $10m drama, Hwaryuh-hanHyuga (lit trans: Splendid Holiday),about South Korea'sGwangju Massacre.Old-school production houseKeyweckshidae, which previously worked with director Kim on Mokpo Gangster's Paradise, is producing.CJ Entertainment is co-financing and plans to release the film in March. Set against the real eventsof the military government's ...
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Korean admissions up by 29% in first half of the year
Admissions in South Koreaincreased by 28.7% to 80.8 million from Jan-June 2006, compared to the sameperiod last year, according to local exhibitor CJ CGV, marking the biggestincrease since 2001. Hits were bigger and morenumerous during the first six months compared to last year, and admissions werealso boosted by an increase ...
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Korean filmmakers protest as new quota becomes reality
An estimated 10,000protestors rallied in Seoul todemonstrate against the reduction of Korea's Screen Quota and the US-Korea free tradenegotiations on Saturday (July 1), the day that the reduced quota wasintroduced. Top stars such as AhnSung-ki (Silmido) and Choi Min-shik (Old Boy) led filmmakers, academics andrepresentatives from financial, cultural and audio-visual ...
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PIFF steps up support for documentaries
The Pusan International FilmFestival (PIFF) is launching five film funds to invigorate Asian documentaryproduction. Grouped under the title ofthe "Asian Network of Documentaries" (AND), the combined funds will award up to$50,000 to documentary filmmakers.Four previously establisheddocumentary funds - the Youngsan Fund, Unikorea Fund, Kyungsung Fund andDongseo Asian Fund - will ...
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Revitalised PiFan to open with Ghost Theatre
Resurfacing from last year'scontroversy, Korea's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) willkick off July 13 with opening film GhostTheatre (working title), a Korean musical directed by Jeon Gye-soo. The closing film is Berlinale-awardedHK-China production Isabella by PangHo-cheung which screens on July 20. The festival will hold itsusual two extra days ...
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Winter Sonata set for big-screen adaptation
Asia-wide hit TV series Winter Sonata, which is widelyaccredited for fuelling the Korean Wave and launching Bae Yong-joon and ChoiJi-woo to stardom, is to be made into a film.KOSDAQ-listed group PoibosEntertainment has bought the film remake rights to the drama series from KBSMedia. Poibos production subsidiary Culturecap Media, which previously ...
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KOFIC to support overseas filmmakers
The Korean Film Council(KOFIC) is launching an initiative to offer funds to overseas Korean filmmakersthrough three support programmes - Low Budget Production Support, a ScriptContest and an Independent Film Contest.Overseas ethnic Koreanfilmmakers, such as Korean-Chinese Zhang Lu and Korean-American Grace Lee, haverecently enjoyed a rising profile. Zhang's GrainIn Ear premiered ...
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TWC picks up Korean action title City Of Violence
The Weinstein Company (TWC) hasacquired all North American rights to Korean action film The City Of Violence, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. Known for martial artsfantasy Arahan and last year'sDirector's Fortnight entry Crying Fist,Ryoo also stars in The City Of Violence,alongside martial arts choreographer Jung Doo-hong.Jung plays Tae-soo, a Seoul police ...
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Lau linked to Chinese classic
Korea'sTaewon Entertainment and Hong Kong's Visualizer Film Production areco-producing $15m-$20m epic Three Kingdoms - Resurrection of the Dragon.Hong Kong star Andy Lau Tak Wah is attached to the project with other castingto be confirmed.Thefilm is being directed by Daniel Lee, who previously directed Dragon Squad,starring Sammo Hung Kam-bo and Michael ...
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Korea's YedangOnline acquires ShowEast
KOSDAQ-listed games companyYedangOnline Corp has acquired a 54.6% share in Korean production anddistribution house ShowEast. YedangOnline has bought120,000 of ShowEast shares for a total of $9.5m. It stated the move was made as"the first step towards creating an entertainment portal business comprisinggames, music, films and TV dramas" in collaboration with ...
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States and Stories take top prizes at Korea's Jeonju festival
Canadian director DenisCote's Drifting States and Stories From The North, from Thaidirector Uruphong Raksasad, picked up the top prizes at South Korea's Jeonju InternationalFilm Festival (April 27 - May 5).Drifting States was awarded the Indie Vision Woosuk Award for films by first andsecond-time directors while documentary StoriesFrom The North took ...
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Bubble set for multi-platform release in Korea
Steven Soderbergh's Bubble is set to be the first film in Korea to receive a day-and-date multi-platform release onmobile phones as well as theatrical, cable TV, DVD and video-on-demand (VoD).The film is to open on May 11.The experimental thrilleroriginally saw a simultaneous release in the US this past January in ...
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KOFIC to send Korean filmmakers overseas
The Korean Film Council(KOFIC) is setting up a series of international training programmes, startingin China, to help Korean filmmakers to work more easily overseas.The "Business R&DCampuses" will enable Korean filmmakers to meet with and learn from local industryfigures and government officials, in order to adapt to and work moreefficiently in ...
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Korean director Shin Sang-ok dies aged 80
Master Korean cineaste ShinSang-ok passed away at the age of 80 late last night (April 11) in Seoul. With a career that spans the modern history of Korea, his life has often been compared to a film scriptitself.Born in Cheong-jin (now in North Korea) in 1925 during the Japanese occupation, ...
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Group tries to stop Korean release of The Da Vinci Code
Fundamentalistgroup the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) has applied for aprovisional injunction to stop the local theatrical release of The Da Vinci Code.Korea's largest Christianorganization, the CCK filed its application againstdistributor Sony Pictures Releasing Korea to the Seoul Central District Courttoday (April 7).CCK saidin a statement that the film was ...
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Kwak to adapt controversial Japanese novel
Korean director KT Kwak,whose credits include Typhoon, Korea's most expensive film to date, is set to direct a film based on famousJapanese novelist Murakami Ryu's Hanto ODeyo (Get Out Of The Peninsula). The controversial noveldepicts a North Korean commando unit taking over the island of Fukuoka in 2010 when Japan ...
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Korea's Nabi Pictures moves into Chinese production
Korea's Nabi Pictures is establishing a branch in China, Beijing Nabi Pictures, to produce aChinese-language film. Speaking to reporters at China's Hengdian World Studios, Nabi Pictures co-CEOs JoMin-hwan and Kim Sung-soo claim this marks the first time that a Korean filmcompany has set up a local corporation in China to ...
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Korea's Jeonju film festival kicks off with Offside
South Korea's JeonjuInternational Film Festival (JIFF) has announced the line-up of its seventhedition (April 27 - May 5), which kicks off with Iranian director Jafar Panahi'sOffside, about a female soccer fan, makingits Asian premiere after winning the Berlinale Silver Bear this year.JIFF's closing film will bethe world premiere of Korea-Japan ...
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Innotz/Prime Entertainment buys Korea Entertainment
Koreanfilm conglomerate Innotz/Prime Entertainment has taken over more established productioncompany Korea Entertainment, producer of commercial hits My Tutor Friend, Mapado, and The Art ofFighting. PrimeEntertainment acquired 100% of Korea Entertainment's stocks for $15m today. Asa subsidiary of Prime Industrial group and formerly a company focusing onsoftware, Innotz had recently announced ...
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Korea's Tube Entertainment merges with media companies to form Mediacorp
Koreaninvestor/distributor Tube Entertainment has merged with stock exchange-listed publisherYoungjin Dotcom and entertainment-related firms Media 2.0 and Oi Music tocreate a "total media" enterprise called Mediacorp, which will be listed on thestock market.Mediacorpwill focus on entertainment, publishing, and digital content as its mainbusinesses this year. As the entertainment affiliate, Tube Entertainment ...