Latest news with #CGVYongsan
Korea Herald
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
‘The King of Kings' arrives in Korea after record-shattering US run
Director Jang Seong-ho touts faith-based animation's success ahead of local release Joy to the world, the Lord has come to offer eternal salvation, Christian tradition tells us. What He likely never foresaw was becoming the star of a South Korean animated feature that just swept the US box office and is now coming home on a wave of buzz. Created by VFX specialist-turned-rookie director Jang Seong-ho, "The King of Kings" was the outsider no one had on their tracking sheets. In a 17-day sprint, the film leap-frogged "Parasite" to become the top-grossing Korean title ever released in North America, collecting $60.2 million stateside and $67 million worldwide by early June. Along the way, it toppled benchmarks that had stood for decades: its opening week alone eclipsed Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" and, by week three, it was trailing just behind "Pokemon: The First Movie" to claim the No. 2 slot for Asian animation in North America -- all without the safety net of a built-in franchise. Back in Seoul on Wednesday, Jang exuded a victor's confidence at a press conference at CGV Yongsan. Brandishing the tagline 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' he said, 'I can confidently say this is probably the highest-quality animated film Korea has produced. It's worth every penny of the ticket price -- a film that deserves the big screen.' From day one, Jang said, the project was strategically engineered for American audiences. 'We needed source material everyone would recognize,' he explained. 'The Bible fit that bill. America was founded by Puritans; I knew the story would resonate.' Above all, the film turned heads with an A-list English-language voice cast led by Kenneth Branagh, Pierce Brosnan and Oscar Isaac. The Korean dub answers in kind: Lee Byung-hun voices Charles Dickens -- an ironic twist given his recent turn as a demon king in Netflix's "K-Pop Demon Hunters" -- while Lee Ha-nee plays Catherine Dickens and veteran character actor Jin Sun-kyu steps into the sandals of Jesus Christ. The performances, though earnest, don't always match the polish of veteran voice talents. Jang, however, seemed more than satisfied. Of Lee Byung-hun, who is not religious, he said: 'He became genuinely interested in this universal story of love as we worked. The playful rhythm he found between father and son was fascinating.' Lee Ha-nee, meanwhile, 'was a revelation,' Jang said. 'If she chose voice acting full-time, she'd be in the top tier.' Casting Jin Sun-kyu as Jesus initially gave him pause -- 'You picture all those villains he's played,' he admits -- but the result, he said, is 'surprisingly youthful and warm,' a testament to the actor's theater-honed projection. Technically, "The King of Kings" definitely pushes local animation forward. The team built a virtual-production pipeline in Unreal Engine, treating the shoot like live action. 'Our cinematographer lit and shot each scene as if we were on a physical set,' Jang said. 'We captured the actors' movements exactly the same way.' The bigger question now: Will anyone outside of church circles show up? Churchgoers will likely turn out in force -- some even perhaps shedding tears of redemption. However, its appeal to broader secular audiences remains uncertain. The film is serviceable but hardly spectacular, with its predictable biblical arc perhaps better suited for Sunday school than for mainstream cinema. And with the domestic box office still struggling to recover, the odds aren't entirely in its favor. Jang remains decidedly optimistic. "Even for general audiences, it's ultimately a story about restoring relationships and love, so I felt they could watch without much resistance," he said. "For people of faith, I included many biblical metaphors they'll enjoy picking up on. But at its core, this isn't just about Christianity — it's about the human experiences we all share."
Korea Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Summer's zombie fare banks on family feels
Director Pil Gam-seong and cast discuss family-friendly take on the undead at press event for "My Daughter is a Zombie" Summer movie season calls for crowd-pleasers, and 'My Daughter is a Zombie' pitches something unexpectedly offbeat — a zombie comedy that swaps gore for giggles, turning the undead apocalypse into a heartwarming family romp. On Monday, director Pil Gam-seong and cast introduced the film at a press conference at Seoul's CGV Yongsan, offering a first look at their family-friendly spin on the zombie genre. Based on a web comic that ran from 2018 to 2020, the film follows Jung-hwan (Cho Jung-seok), a zoo animal trainer whose teenage daughter Su-ah (Choi Yu-ri) becomes infected during a zombie outbreak. To avoid losing her to the authorities, Jung-hwan flees to his rural hometown, where his K-pop-loving mother Bam-soon (Lee Jung-eun) reigns as the village matriarch. With his longtime friend Dong-bae (Yoon Kyung-ho) in tow, Jung-hwan attempts the impossible: training his zombie daughter like one of his big cats. Things take a turn when his childhood crush Yeon-hwa (Cho Yeo-jeong) returns as the new schoolteacher, determined to take on the undead. The cast brings decades of shared history. Cho Jung-seok and Cho Yeo-jeong first met in 2005 performing in the musical "Grease," while Cho Jung-seok and Lee previously teamed up for the 2015 TV drama "Oh My Ghost." Lee and Cho Yeo-jeong, of course, appeared together in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite." For Cho Jung-seok, the film marks another bid to dominate the summer box office. His disaster comedy "Exit" drew 9.4 million admissions in 2019, while last year's "Pilot" — in which he played an out-of-work pilot who masquerades as a woman to get hired — pulled in 4.7 million viewers despite a sluggish post-COVID-19 pandemic theater market. "Opening in the summer again — honestly, I think I might have some kind of luck with this timing," Jo said. "I'm incredibly grateful. I hope this one goes well too." The trailer shown at the event revealed a film caught between horror and heart. Su-ah's zombie makeup is genuinely unsettling — sickly veins pulse beneath her skin, her pupils clouded and vacant. She moves like a feral animal, unable to understand human speech. Yet the characters treat this situation with surprising levity, drawing feel-good comedy from the otherwise grotesque premise. That mix of tones — equal parts macabre and endearing, comedy and genuine emotion — is central to the film's approach. 'We had to move seamlessly between comedy, pathos, and action, sometimes all in the same scene,' said director Pil. 'It was tricky, but I think we pulled it off.' Cho Jung-seok agreed: 'When I read the script, it was so funny and moving at the same time that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew I had to take it on.' Despite its lighthearted surface, the production took its craft seriously. The team enlisted zombie choreographers from "Kingdom" and "Peninsula" to create a movement style that conveyed a range of tones. 'We asked them to come up with something that felt scary but also lovable, almost like a pet,' said Pil. 'We even borrowed movements from real animals.' Sixteen-year-old Choi endured hours of special effects makeup each day on set, a transformation that even her co-stars found remarkable. 'I would fall asleep during the process, but when I looked in the mirror afterward, I barely recognized myself,' Choi said. 'It was honestly a shock.' That same attention to detail extended to the set design. The crew built a full-scale house on the coastal town of Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, transforming an empty bracken field into the family's storybook hideout. 'When we arrived, the house looked like something out of a fairy tale,' Yoon recalled. 'Just being there, you couldn't help but slip into character. The emotions came naturally.'
Korea Herald
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
CGV AI film contest showcases amateur filmmakers breaking ground
Theater chain's inaugural contest demonstrates how artificial intelligence tools lower creative barriers for newcomers Mutiplex chain CGV's AI-generated film contest concluded Friday with an awards ceremony at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, showcasing how AI tools can enable creators to create sophisticated cinematic works previously beyond their reach. The theater chain's inaugural event drew submissions from amateur and first-time filmmakers who leveraged generative AI to produce short films that would have previously required massive budgets. "The Wrong Visitor" by Hyun Hae-ri claimed the grand prize among five winners selected from 15 finalists. "I think AI filmmaking isn't 'film by AI' but 'film with AI,'" Hyun said in her acceptance speech. Her 11-minute short film centers on a character with a wolf's head and the body of a human who guides fellow animals through death. The contest particularly highlighted AI's democratizing potential through entries like "Galaxy Cat Express," which earned third place alongside a college student's production, "Pinocchio: Begins." Kim Young-hyun, creator of "Galaxy Cat Express," quit his previous job to pursue filmmaking after AI tools became available. "I used to dream about making those imaginative stories I loved watching as a kid with my parents — 'Terminator' and 'Predator,'" Kim said during his acceptance speech. "When AI tech started developing, I thought 'I can actually do this now' and quit my job to give it a shot." College students from Sogang and Yonsei universities created "Pinocchio: Begins," a cyberpunk reimagining featuring an android programmed to eliminate liars. Screenwriter Kang Da-bin, in accepting the award on behalf of director Ahn Ye-eun, highlighted their amateur status: "We weren't film experts or AI specialists, but we pulled all-nighters and made this movie with just 200,000 won ($145) in our hands. We hope this shows other young people that you can make it happen." The panel of judges included "Concrete Utopia" director Um Tae-hwa, author Kim Jung-hyuk, science YouTuber Kim Jae-hyeok and CJ ENM's AI production director Jung Chang-ik. Evaluation criteria weighted storytelling at 40 percent, creativity at 30 percent and technical execution at 30 percent. The screened works proved AI excels at generating convincing imagery for wild concepts — from the half-human, half-animal characters with intricate fur textures in "The Wrong Visitor" and the dark cyberpunk cityscapes of second-place winner "0KB," to the sweeping galactic vistas with floating spaceships in "Galaxy Cat Express." These sequences would typically require expensive video effects teams to create, but AI has enabled solo creators to achieve comparable results on minimal budgets. It may be one thing to create high-concept short videos resembling on-demand commercials, but it is quite another to craft coherent narrative films, however short. The technology's limitations showed clearly in the editing, where constant hard cuts between scenes prevented narratives from gaining momentum. Visual consistency also proved problematic, with characters' facial features and physical detail shifting between shots, resulting in jarring discontinuities. Notably, most entries relied heavily on English dialogue, suggesting AI's translation capabilities may help creators overcome language barriers. For now, the technology appears positioned to complement rather than replace human creativity — potentially threatening video effects roles while helping screenwriters and directors expand their creative possibilities.
Korea Herald
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Jeonju film fest unveils full selection under 'beyond the frame' banner
Korea's premier indie film festival returns with 224 films from 57 countries amid global political uncertainty The Jeonju International Film Festival unveiled its lineup for its 26th edition Tuesday at Seoul's CGV Yongsan, showcasing 224 films from 57 countries under the slogan "Beyond the Frame." Opening the festival is Romanian director Radu Jude's "Kontinental '25." The Berlin Silver Bear winner follows a woman who starts to question societal norms after witnessing an unexpected death. Shot entirely on smartphones, the film embodies what programmer Moon Sung-kyung called "the pioneering spirit of the festival, which has been breaking away from conventional film formats." The closing film, "In the Land of Machines," marks Kim Ok-young's directorial debut after 40 years as a documentary writer. It follows three Nepali migrant workers in Korea who contributed to a poetry collection titled "This Is the City of Machines," offering an outsider's gaze into Korea's mechanized labor systems through poetic language. Among this year's diverse sections, "Again, Towards Democracy" stands out as a particularly timely addition examining recent challenges to democratic institutions across the globe. The program features six documentaries exploring political turmoil worldwide, including "The Last Republican," which follows Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger after he voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, and "At This Moment, in the Nation's Sky," a chronicle of Brazil's contested election and subsequent storming of government buildings. "Since Dec. 3, 2024, South Korea's democracy has faced a crisis, with ongoing chaos and aftermath," said programmer Chun Jin-soo, referring to President Yoon Seok Yeol's short-lived declaration of martial law. "We assembled this special section to reflect on similar democratic crises around the world that may feel all too familiar to us now." Actress Lee Jung-hyun, featured as this year's "J Special Programmer," curated a personal selection of films for the festival. The versatile performer, who debuted at 15 in Jang Sun-woo's "A Petal" (1996) before becoming a pop star and later returning to acting, selected six works to screen, including three she appeared in and three from international directors she admired. Her selections include Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," which she considers his "best work" despite its commercial failure. "It's aesthetically and visually flawless, a film that expanded my perspective on cinema," Lee said. She also chose the Dardenne brothers' "The Child" and Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Nobody Knows." Reflecting on revisiting "A Petal" after decades, Lee said, "I couldn't watch it at 15. The filming was incredibly difficult — I got hurt repeatedly during shoots because I couldn't act properly." She credited Park Chan-wook with helping her to appreciate the film years later, calling it "a poetic, intense expression of Gwangju's pain" — a reference to the film's harrowing depiction of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising and subsequent military massacre. Lee will also debut her directorial short "Toe-Tapping Tunes" in the festival's Korean Cinema section. "Since my twenties as a singer, I've always dreamed of directing one day," she said. The film follows a woman raising money for her dying mother's hospital bills while dealing with her own congenital condition. The festival continues its tradition of embracing challenging films despite budget constraints affecting Korean cinema. Executive Committee co-Director and veteran actor Jung Jun-ho stressed that with support from sponsors and Jeonju City, they've maintained program scale to "showcase the achievements and values of independent cinema." The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival will take place from April 30 to May 9 across multiple venues in Jeonju's cinema district in North Jeolla Province.
Korea Herald
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Solo diner's global vision
Yutaka Matsushige, star of Japan's beloved culinary series, introduces his directorial debut to Korean fans There is a certain epicurean joy in eating alone. The right to dine without anyone bothering you applies equally to all, especially to those who work hard to make ends meet. "The Solitary Gourmet" is a work that embodies precisely that ethos. At Thursday's press conference at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Yutaka Matsushige — star of the beloved Japanese TV franchise that has run for 11 seasons since 2012 — sat before Korean reporters to discuss the film adaptation, his directorial debut. "I can feel how much Koreans love this work even when walking the streets here," Matsushige told reporters. "Young people in Korea seem to enjoy it much more than in Japan." The show's premise has remained disarmingly simple: Middle-aged businessman Goro Inogashira (played by Matsushige), in suit and tie, wanders city streets until his stomach growls. He then enters random local restaurants, typically modest mom-and-pop establishments, and enjoys a meal all by himself. "What's so captivating about watching a middle-aged man eating alone?" one might ask. There are no frills — no company, no Instagram posts, no talking (the narration consists entirely of internal monologues), no theatrical displays of delight. He simply sits and savors his food. The show maintains an almost religious contemplation of the act of solitary dining, letting food take center stage against the protagonist's stoic observations and musings. Inogashira's modest journeys preceded — perhaps even heralded — the explosive rise of mukbang in Korea and its eventual global spread. Even as food porn went on to produce its own excesses, he became an unlikely icon for lone diners, amassing a considerable Korean fanbase well before the food-content hype. This time, the film moves beyond one man's solitude and offers a sweeping romp through varied locales and characters. Here, Goro's culinary odyssey begins in Paris, where an elderly friend of his — the father of his late ex-girlfriend — asks him to find the ingredients for a nostalgic soup from his childhood. This curious errand leads him to Japan's Goto Islands and onward to Korea, a journey fraught with unexpected detours and mishaps. For many familiar with the show's trademark realism, seeing Goro jump headfirst into such a grandiose quest on a whim might seem out of character. Matsushige shared a personal story that inspired this imaginative leap. "Recently, I found a painting from my late grandfather and asked about restoration," he said. "When I inquired about payment, the specialist said they only charge transportation costs and accept whatever clients feel like giving. They follow their heart— just like Goro, who undertakes this journey with no material reward in mind." "I wanted to convey joy and surprise through this film," Matsushige added. "Though it might seem impossible in reality, creating a believable fiction is the mission of filmmaking. You could say I'm boldly playing with the medium." Setting aside its far-fetched premise, the film is first and foremost a love letter to Korean viewers. It features extensive shootings on Geojedo, Gyeongsang Province, and incorporates a uniquely Korean ingredient as a key plot element. Veteran Korean actor Yoo Jae-myung features prominently in a supporting role. "I saw Yoo in 'Voice of Silence' (2022) and thought, he's the one," Matsushige said. "So I sent him an invitation, and he accepted. He understood our creative intentions even better than we expected." Matsushige, who said he was deeply moved by the warm reception at last year's Busan International Film Festival, revealed he initially asked "Mickey 17" director Bong Joon-ho to helm the film before taking it up himself. "I wanted to make something that transcends being just a Japanese film," he said. "I thought Bong could bring something special to this material. Our schedules didn't align, but he sent a warm message wishing us success." Food brings people together, and Matsushige seemed a true believer in its uniting force. He recently appeared on Netflix's reality show "K-Foodie Meets J-Foodie" with Korean singer Sung Si-kyung to explore cuisines from both countries. "Japan and Korea must cooperate as neighbors," Matsushige said. "We don't know what challenges the future holds, so we need to face them together. If this film helps maintain that connection, I'll happily consider it my life's mission." "I'm not just trying to show food tasting good," he added. "I want to share those delicious moments with viewers. Eating connects people across cultures with shared emotions. That's why a show about an old guy eating alone somehow clicks with so many different people."
