SOUTH KOREA SPECIAL FEATURE whose Fists of Legend received a limited release in the U.S. in April, “but now <strong>Hollywood</strong> is watching the Korean film industry. It’s amazing that a Korean director, Kim Ji-woon, directed Schwarzenegger in <strong>The</strong> Last Stand.” Since more than 80 percent of Korean films rely on digital release for revenue, most U.S. theaters don’t clamor for foreign product, and American advertising costs are sky-high, Kang is thrilled at the growing VOD market offered by Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and YouTube. “Digital has made it easier for us to find all kinds of audiences,” he says. “Two years ago it was a dream, now it’s an ordinary day, business as usual.” When Netflix began accepting 20 titles from Choi Joon-hwan, CEO of CJ Entertainment, Korea’s biggest studio, he asked all his employees to click on at least five to 10 Korean films a day to add more to Netflix numbers. It turned out he didn’t have to: “I thought 100 clicks a day would help! Tens and twenties of thousands came up. Even Netflix was surprised.” Choi has bigger plans still for China, where CJ has patiently navigated its notoriously tricky film bureaucracies. “We’ve been working with China for 10 years,” says Choi. “We have theaters, production companies, home shopping in China. <strong>The</strong>y have a lot of money, so it’s hard to compete with them sizewise. So we focus on a kind of niche market, concentrating on high-level films.” CJ’s latest Chinese co-production is the comedy A Wedding Invitation, in Mandarin with English subtitles, produced by CJ and five Chinese companies and distributed by China Lion Film Distribution. <strong>The</strong> film opened April 12 in China and already has grossed $35 million. It bows May 24 in the U.S. “It’s not our first Chinese coproduction,” says CJ svp of marketing Angela Killoren, “but it’s our first to hit number one there.” China’s cap on foreign films is an obstacle to Korean exports, and co-production with China is a dicey art. In an effort to streamline negotiations, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), has ramped up efforts to showcase 1 Korean film talent overseas, particularly China. Last year KOFIC spent about $1.5 million launching an International Co-production Team, a highlight of which was setting up the Korean Film Business Center in Beijing in April. KOFIC has sponsored trips to the Chinese capital so South Korean film talent can meet with local producers to establish the all-important relationships that are necessary for doing business in China. This year the organization has allotted just over $1 million to support international collaborations in China, the U.S., France and Japan. “KOFIC has been supporting international co-productions since five, six years ago, but it is now much more systematic, and meetings are held every three months,” says Kim Young-gu, manager of the International Coproduction Team. Whether or not the South Korean expansion succeeds as planned, Lee — one of the first Asian actors to leave hand and footprints in front of TCL Chinese <strong>The</strong>atre (formerly Grauman’s) — admits to being a bit starstruck about more collaborations with <strong>Hollywood</strong> in the future. “It still feels new to me,” he says. “To be working alongside these big <strong>Hollywood</strong> stars I grew up watching in the movies, I can’t believe it.” 3 1 Kim Ji-woon on the set of <strong>The</strong> Last Stand. 2 Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho. 3 Lee Byung-hun, the “Brad Pitt of Korea.” 2 THE DICAPRIO OF SOUTH KOREA SAYS NO THANKS TO HOLLYWOOD Superstar Jung Woo-sung says filmmaking in Asia is so hot he has no desire to cross over in the West <strong>The</strong> “Leonardo DiCaprio of Korea” has been expanding his horizons in Asia, and says the region has matured so much that for established stars like himself, the lure of <strong>Hollywood</strong> is not what it once was. Early in his career Jung Woo-sung drew comparisons to James Dean thanks to his breakout role in the coming-of-age blockbuster Beat in 1997, but his career increasingly has drawn comparisons to that of DiCaprio. Like the Great Gatsby star, Jung — once known primarily as a heartthrob — has delivered on his early promise by taking on a challenging array of roles, from romantic leads to action heroes, to <strong>The</strong>re definitely seems to be more demand for Asian actors in <strong>Hollywood</strong>, but I think debuting there just for the sake of debuting there would be wrong.” dynamic character studies. But his next part — in the upcoming thriller Cold Eyes — is sure to give his loyal, pan-Asian female fan base a bit of a shock: For the first time Jung will play an unambiguously evil character, carrying out several disturbingly violent acts. “In the past I’ve played romantic assassin types, but this time he really is a bad guy — he does some horribly violent things that are definitely going to earn the film an R rating,” the 40-year-old actor says. “Quite a few mainstream Korean movies are experimenting with new types of characters, especially those that are not so typical.” Although Jung’s recent work has given him increasing exposure to non-Asian audiences — most notably the John Woodirected Reign of Assassins, Asia’s answer to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in which he appears John Woo’s Reign of Assassins (2010) opposite Michelle Yeoh — Jun says he’s not particularly interested in attempting the risky high-wire act of a <strong>Hollywood</strong> crossover, as some of his A-list Korean contemporaries have recently pursued, such as Lee Byung-hun (G.I. Joe 1 and 2, Red 2). “<strong>The</strong>re definitely seems to be more demand for Asian actors in <strong>Hollywood</strong>, but I think debuting there just for the sake of debuting there would be wrong,” he says. “Besides, there are so many intriguing projects here in Asia right now, I don’t necessarily feel compelled to look beyond.” — H.L. SOUTH KOREA CREDIT: GI JOE: ©PARAMOUNT/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 46
MARCHÉ DU FILM 2013│ RIVIERA B17-C20 CJ ENTERTAINMENT PORORO: THE RACING ADVENTURE 3D SOLD TO MAJOR DISTRIBUTORS IN NORTH AMERICA, MIDDLE EAST, AND BRAZIL 5.18 [SAT]│18:00│RIVIERA 1 FEATURE SCREENING TODAY BOOMERANG FAMILY SOME PEOPLE NEVER GROW UP 5.19 [SUN]│15:30│RIVIERA 4 FEATURE SCREENING TOMORROW A WEDDING INVITATION SCORING OVER USD 30M BOX OFFICE IN CHINA 5.19 [SUN]│17:30│RIVIERA 4 FEATURE SCREENING TOMORROW
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