The Korea Herald

‘Emotional, skirmishing scenes exhausted us’: ‘Accomplice’ actors

Sept 27, 2013

Actress Son Ye-jin and actor Kim Kap-soo said their latest film cost them a great deal of effort to deal with detailed portrayals of emotions.In the emotional thriller “The Accomplice,” Son played a daughter who becomes suspicious that her father might be a culprit in a kidnap-turned-murder case.The film took the motif from a true story that shocked the nation in 1988, about a man who killed two children in his neighborhood and threw their bodies into the sea. In “The Accomplice,” with only 15 d
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg to adult-themed animated film

Sept 25, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― Sony Pictures will make a raunchy, adult-themed animated film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg titled “Sausage Party.”The project was announced Tuesday by Sony, which is co-financing the film with Annapurna Pictures. Writing partners Rogen and Goldberg penned the script along with Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir.“Sausage Party” is described as “one sausage’s quest to discover the truth about his existence.” After falling out of a shopping cart, the sausage journeys through a
China’s richest man aims to rival Hollywood

Sept 24, 2013

QINGDAO, China (AFP) ― An ambitious studio complex built by China’s richest man will be a major boost for the country’s film industry but experts say it needs more than sprawling grounds to rival Hollywood.Global A-listers Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Zeta-Jones showed up on Sunday for the lavish event to showcase plans for the Oriental Movie Metropolis, set to span 376 hectares, in the eastern port city of Qingdao.The 50 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) complex will house 20 studio
Film on Korean shaman to open DMZ Docs

Sept 24, 2013

Fifth edition of the annual peace-themed documentary film festival to be held in Ilsan
Indonesian films get festival treatment

Sept 23, 2013

A total of nine Indonesian films will get the festival treatment in Korea this week, including a biopic of Indonesia’s third president, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.The first Indonesia Film Festival kicks off in Korea on Thursday, co-presented by Korea’s major multiplex chain CJ CGV, Korean entertainment company CJ E&M, Indonesian chain of movie theaters Blitz Megaplex and Indonesian film distribution company Jive Entertainment. The film festival will be held in Seoul and Ansan, Gyeonggi Province,
Hollywood stars turn out for China’s new ‘cinema city’

Sept 23, 2013

QINGDAO, China (AFP) ― Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta on Sunday added their star power to the glitzy inauguration of the ambitious “Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis,” billed as China’s answer to Hollywood.China’s richest man Wang Jianlin and his conglomerate Wanda Group have poured 50 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) into the sprawling complex in the city of Qingdao. Construction has already started but the complex will only be operational from 2016.Wang told a lavish and star-st
Golden Globes to honor Woody Allen’s career

Sept 15, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― The organizers of the Golden Globe Awards say they will honor Woody Allen for his contributions to filmmaking.The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Friday that Allen will receive the 2014 Cecil B. DeMille Award. A tribute to the 77-year-old actor, writer and director will be included in the 71st annual Golden Globe ceremony set for Jan. 12. Morgan Freeman and Martin Scorsese are among the previous recipients.Allen’s much-honored films include “Annie Hall,” “Hannah and H
Box Office: The Face Reader, The Spy, Elysium

Sept 13, 2013

The Face ReaderOpened Sept. 11Drama. Directed by Han Jae-rim. Nae-gyeong (Song Kang-ho) is the son of a disgraced noble family living in the Joseon era with a talent for physiognomy. With one glance of a person’s face, he is able to assess their personality, mental state, and habits. He is approached by officials in the royal court to use his skills to help solve a murder case. Nae-gyeong’s talents become recognized by the royal court and he is asked to not only solve crimes but also assist the
‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ shuns scares for laughs

Sept 13, 2013

More silly than its sinister predecessor, “Insidious: Chapter 2” is entertaining for the contortions the script makes to incorporate both a brief prequel and highlights from the first film into a new 105-minute package.This is a Mobius strip of a movie, looping in on itself with ghosts from “The Further” and parallel existences interwoven into the lives of the lost Lamberts of sunny Somewhere, Calif.Those “Saw” / “Insidious” guys James Wan (director) and Leigh Whannell (co-writer, co-star) throw
J.K. Rowling to pen new magic movie for Warner Bros

Sept 13, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry is coming back to the big screen ―but without Harry Potter.Film studio Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Rowling will write the screenplay for a movie based on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” her textbook to the magical universe she created in the boy wizard’s stories.The story will focus on the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is anticipated to be the first in a series.Rowling said in a statement the movie “is neither a p
‘Project Cheonan Ship’ sold out at Incheon theater

Sept 13, 2013

The controversial documentary film “Project Cheonan Ship,” whose screening was suspended by a major multiplex chain, recorded a first-day sellout at a theater in Incheon on Thursday. The film challenges the government’s claim that North Korea sunk the Cheonan warship near Baengnyeongdo Island, killing 46 South Korean sailors.Cinema chain Megabox removed the movie from its lineup only two days after the film hit theaters on Sept. 5. over security concerns for moviegoers, claiming it received thre
‘Face Reader’ opens strong, outsmarting rival movies

Sept 12, 2013

South Korean film “Face Reader” pulled off a smooth box-office start on Wednesday, selling a record 370,000 tickets on its opening day, the Korean Film Council data showed. Given that last year’s hit period flick “Masquerade” sold about 160,000 tickets on its opening day, “Face Reader” is sparking far greater responses from local moviegoers. “Spy,” released on Sept. 5, was knocked out of the box-office No. 1 slot as it sold about 50,000 tickets on Wednesday. The film illustrates a professional f
Toronto film festival focuses on family

Sept 11, 2013

TORONTO (AFP) ― Director John Wells created an incredibly believable family in his new film “August: Osage County” ― and it felt like one off-screen too, the all-star cast said Tuesday.Based on playwright Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the production brought together Meryl Streep as a mother of three daughters portrayed by Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis.It also stars Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch and features
Woody Allen cast as a pimp in new Turturro comedy

Sept 10, 2013

TORONTO (AFP) ― Woody Allen is a pimp, John Turturro is his gigolo-employee and Sharon Stone buys his escort services.It is an absurd premise, but working from his own screenplay, Turturro’s exploration of what it would be to be a middle-aged man for hire tickled audiences at the Toronto film festival, where his comedy “Fading Gigolo” premiered this week.In the film, Turturro (“The Big Lebowski,” “Transformers” and “O Brother Where Art Thou”) plays a New York florist, Fioravante, and friend to M
‘Project Cheonan Ship’ resurfaces to grab viewers’ interest

Sept 10, 2013

By Im Woo-jung, Intern reporter“Project Cheonan Ship,” a documentary on the ill-fated Cheonan naval corvette that sank off the west coast in early 2010, was supposed to sink into oblivion; surprisingly, it’s floating back to social media’s hot-button issues. The movie, directed by Baek Seung-woo, was released on Thursday, but was then removed from the lineup of national multiplex chain Megabox on Saturday, after a two-day screening. Megabox cited security concerns for moviegoers as conservative