The Korea Herald

Busan film fest kicks off with focus on Asia

Oct 4, 2012

A Hong Kong crime thriller about a battle between police and gangsters will open the international film festival in the South Korean port city of Busan Thursday under the festival's new plan to focus on Asian diversity.Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has grown into one of Asia's largest film festivals.It was an unspoken rule that BIFF usually kick-starts its 10-day ev
‘The Thieves’ steals Korean box office record

Oct 3, 2012

Director Choe Dong-hoon’s box office smash hit “The Thieves” has now become the top-selling Korean movie of all time. As of Tuesday, the movie featuring a star-studded cast set a box office record for Korean films by drawing in 13,020,393 movie goers to the theaters, stealing the top spot from director Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 sci-fi thriller “The Host.” Official box office figures showed that the movie has earned approximately 93.6 billion won ($84 million), surpassing the previous admissions leade
Busan Film Commission to unveil digital studio

Oct 3, 2012

The Busan Film Commission said Wednesday that it will open Asia’s first 3-D digital film production facility during an annual international film festival set to open in this southern port city this week.The “Digital Bay” studio is equipped with a previsualization system used to visualize complex scenes in movies before filming, according to the commission.The studio was created through a remodeling of a conventional film studio in the city to cope with rapidly changing moviemaking environments a
‘Paranormal Activity’ latest cult horror saga

Oct 3, 2012

AUSTIN, Texas (AFP) ― Remember grisly franchises like “Friday the 13th,” “Halloween” and the “Saw” movies? Now, “Paranormal Activity” is the latest horror saga to earn cult status, and on a tight budget.Paramount, the studio behind the films, launched the fourth outing in a suitably noctural midnight screening at the Fantastic Fest for horror fans in Austin, Texas, ahead of its release later this month.An audience which appeared to be 98 percent male ― the core horror movie demographic ― squeeze
Crowdfunding rescues provocative S. Korean film

Oct 2, 2012

After being turned down by many investors over the last four years, South Korean film producer Choi Yong-bae said it feels strange and exciting that his revenge film about a notorious South Korean president blamed for the massacre of democracy protesters is finally coming to life through online donations. Finding film investors is a tough shot even for a seasoned producer such as Choi, the chief executive of Chungeorahm Film, who made his name in South Korea’s film industry with several box offi
Ex-Scientologist: Cruise ‘scary to watch’

Oct 2, 2012

Tom Cruise (AP)The relationship between U.S. actor Tom Cruise and Scientology leader David Miscavige is so close the lines between them are blurred, an ex-Scientologist said.Former Scientologist Steve Hall, who headed the church‘s marketing division for 20 years, said Cruise could have been seen as a victim of charismatic leader Miscavige when he became a Scientologist, but not anymore.“There’s a
Korean film 'Gwanghae' hits local box office

Oct 1, 2012

The Korean historical film "Gwanghae:the Man Who Became the King" reigns at the local box office,breaking the 5 million mark in attendance numbers, officials said Monday.The movie, directed by Choo Chang-min and starring top actor Lee Byung-hun, drew 5.23 million viewers as of Monday, 18 days after its release, according to the Korean Film Commission.Actor Lee plays dual roles as King Gwanghae, th
Busan set to launch int'l film hub

Oct 1, 2012

South Korea's southern port city of Busan is gearing up to establish an international film hub in the coming years, city officials said Monday.Construction will begin next year to build the tentatively named "International Image Contents Valley" near Busan's Centum City areas and the nearby Gijang region for research and development activities for film contents, an official of the Busan Metropolit
BIFF to heat up Busan

Sept 28, 2012

Guide to the 17th edition of one of the biggest film fests in AsiaMoviegoers and cineastes will head to Busan next week, as one of the biggest film festivals in Asia is kicking off its 17th edition in the southern port city. This year, the Busan International Film Festival features a total of 304 films from 75 countries, including a romantic comedy shot entirely in North Korea.Hong Kong’s police action film “Cold War” opens this year’s edition, while Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Farooki’s sati
Box Office

Sept 28, 2012

Taken 2 (U.S.)Opened Sept. 27Action. Crime. Thriller. Directed by Olivier Megaton. While on a trip to Istanbul, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills, gets a surprise visit from his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen) and his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and is rejoiced by the sudden family reunion. However, the reunion turns into a disaster when Lenore is taken by anonymous kidnappers. Fortunately, Kim manages to escape the scene but is on the run from the
Joseph Gordon-Levitt time travel in ‘Looper’ with Bruce Willis

Sept 28, 2012

If an actor’s face is his fortune, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is rolling the dice, big time. “Looper,” the sci-fi time-travel extravaganza that opens Friday, stars Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano, Piper Perabo and ... who’s the guy on the movie poster?It’s Gordon-Levitt ― looking slightly more recognizable than he is in the movie, directed by Rian Johnson and in which Gordon-Levitt plays Joe Simmons, a hit man ― or “looper” ― for the mob, circa 2044. Time travel isn’t possible in
A last hurrah at the 50th New York Film Festival

Sept 27, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― When the playwright Tony Kushner recently grabbed a microphone and sat down for a post-screening Q & A with a filmmaker and the film’s cast, he mumbled that he felt like Richard Pena.So central has Pena been to film in New York over the last 25 years that for many merely sitting in front of a movie screen here is likely to bring him to mind. As the programming director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and chairman of the New York Film Festival selection committee, he’s one o
Werewolf tale brings out beast in Song

Sept 27, 2012

Jo Sung-hee's upcoming film 'A Werewolf Boy' brings fantasy genre to local cinemaFor fans of Song Joong-ki, his upcoming film may come as a surprise. For local moviegoers, it will be a rare opportunity to see a one-of-a-kind film character never before shown in Korean cinema. Song, who is largely recognized for his pretty-boy looks, is returning as a beast, or a “wolf-boy” in director Jo Sung-hee’s upcoming fantasy romance “A Werewolf Boy.” The upcoming flick tells the story of a teenage girl Su
Pattinson and Stewart living together

Sept 27, 2012

U.S. actress Kristen Stewart and British actor Robert Pattinson are living together again after a two-month separation, a source told UsMagazine.com.The couple of three years parted in July after Stewart, 22, publicly admitted she cheated on Pattinson, 26, with her married 41-year-old "Snow White and the Huntsman" director, Rupert Sanders."They are living together and have reconciled," an insider
Busan film festival invites N. Korean director, actors

Sept 25, 2012

Organizers of South Korea‘s Busan film festival said Tuesday they have asked the director and cast of a North Korean romantic comedy to attend a screening of their movie, the first ever invitation made to the communist nation.Director Kim Gwang-hun and the cast of “Comrade Kim Goes Flying” have been invited to Asia’s top film festival to be held from Oct. 4 to 13, a festival spokeswoman told AFP.The comedy, which was co-directed by Nicholas Bonner of Britain and Anja Daelemans of Belgium and fil