The South Korean movie “Mother” is coming to theaters in limited release this March. It has won critical acclaim from multiple international film festivals: Toronto, New York, and Festival De Cannes. If you watch the preview, you can feel the movie’s intensity and just watching the short clip made me scared. It’s directed by Bong Joon-Ho who’s artful direction was previously seen in The Host and Memories of Murder. The film press is praising Bong Joon-Ho’s latest work with high praise in the name of Hitchcock.
“BY MILES THE BEST THRILLER I’VE SEEN THIS YEAR. Riveting and darkly funny, Bong Joon-Ho is a brilliant filmmaker.”
— JOHN POWERS, VOGUE
“Go! As he previously did for the police procedural (Memories of Murder) and the monster movie (The Host), South Korea’s sublimely talented Bong Joon-ho takes another venerable pulp genre — the wronged-man thriller — and enthusiastically stands it on its head.”
— LA WEEKLY
Synopsis
Hye-ja is a single mom to 27-year-old Do-joon. Her son is her raison d’être. Though an adult in years, Do-joon is naïve and dependent on his mother, and a constant source of anxiety, often behaving in ways that are foolish or simply dangerous. Walking home alone one night down a nearly empty city street, he encounters a young girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. Thanks to an inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force, Do-joon’s case is quickly closed, but his mother refuses to let this be the end of the story. Trusting no one, Hye-ja’s maternal instincts kick into overdrive, and she sets out to find the girl’s killer and prove her son’s innocence.
KBS’s megahit IRIS will be premiering on DramaFever on Thursday, Jan 28. IRIS will be available in high quality streaming video with English subtitles. All three Korean broadcasters (MBC, SBS, and KBS) have now joined with DramaFever to bring the best Korean dramas online to the U.S. and Canada. IRIS will become part of a growing library that includes recent hits such as Shining Inheritance, Boys Over Flowers, and Queen Seon Duk, as well as classics such as Coffee Prince, My Lovely Samsoon, Land of Wind, Gourmet, Stairway to Heaven, My Girl, Hotelier, Sandglass, Jewel In The Palace and Jumong.
And DramaFever will soon be carrying more than just dramas. The documentary series Shocking Life will be DramaFever’s first non-drama series. Part Real Sex, part Ghost Hunters, and part Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Shocking Life examines the oddities and the unusual from Korea. Shocking Life premieres on DramaFever on Thursday, Feb 4.
ABOUT IRIS
A blockbuster hit and one of the most talked-about dramas of the year, Iris premiered to stunning ratings of 24.5% and had crossed 30% ratings by its 8th episode. With a budget of 20 billion won (almost a million U.S. dollars per episode), this explosive action-spy thriller uniquely utilized many aspects of American television and action film genres to create a high-octane, large-scale production with international flare and exotic shooting locations.
Megastar and Hallyu icon Lee Byung Hun gives the performance of a lifetime as a daredevil secret agent who transforms into a driven, tormented spy on the run from powers he doesn’t understand. He is ably assisted by a star-studded cast including Kim Tae Hee (Hallyu star for Love Story in Harvard and Stairway to Heaven), Jung Joon Ho (2008’s hit Last Scandal), Kim So Yeon (Gourmet), and T.O.P. (mega Kpop hiphop boyband Big Bang). Having tried and succeeded in blending the tension and fast pace of American spy series such as 24 with the romance and character depth of Korean dramas, Iris’s innovative style, heavy-weight leads and big budget have enabled it to become something of a minor phenomenon (the broadcast rights have already been bought by seven other countries). It could very well become a Kdrama classic.
About DramaFever
DramaFever.com is the premier online destination for North American audiences to enjoy popular prime-time television shows from Asia in high quality with English subtitles. DramaFever has built up one of the largest licensed collections of popular Asian TV content for the North American market with programming from Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Media, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Distribution, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) International, Group Eight, ISplus, and JS Pictures. For more information, please visit http://www.dramafever.com
Wired Magazine interviewed Justin Chon and speaks out against violence against Asian women in the United States and of course he talks about the Twilight series. He notes how the Asian culture is very quiet and that there may be many Asian women who are not speaking up about possible domestic violence.
What if all it took to help a charity raise $1 million was a simple online vote? Would you help then? The Center for the Pacific Asian Family hopes so, as the nonprofit competes with 99 other charities in the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook.
CPAF, which helps Asian Pacific Islanders who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, has lined up some impressive supporters for its star-powered public service announcements, including actor Justin Chon from the Twilight films. Other CPAF supporters include John Cho (Star Trek), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Aaron Yoo (21, Disturbia), Archie Kao (CSI), Joe Hahn (Linkin Park) and Lisa Ling (Oprah).
The Chase Community Giving contest, with its social media angle and the involvement of so many celebrities, is a great way to get some attention to organizations like Center for the Pacific Asian Family, which runs a 24-hour support line, emergency and transitional shelters, and counseling services for victims and their families. All it takes to help out is a vote, whether it’s for CPAF or one of the other 99 charities. It won’t cost you a dime. Winners will be announced Saturday.
To find out more about CPAF and its mission, I shot off some questions to Chon. The queries were handed to a film crew that filmed the actor’s responses. Check out the video above for some firsthand insight into the charity as well as some Twilight: Eclipse tidbits for Twihards.
Oh, and what can moviegoers expect when The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the second sequel in the teen vampire series, hits theaters this summer? “You can expect it to be very similar to the book,” Chon said, “but there will be a lot more action, and a lot more lovin’ because … the guys are tryin’ to get with Bella.”
Read More http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/01/justin-chon-charity-twilight/#ixzz0dat5gt58
Who was the first Korean male to star in a leading role in a Hollywood film? That would be RAIN, the Korean pop star known was the Justin Timberlake of Asia. We knew he was going to be big back in 2006 when he was voted #1 to the TIME 100 poll, beating out everyone else in the world that was thrown on the ballot. Fast forward three years later and we found RAIN kicking his way into Ninja Assassin, produced by the guys who brought the Matrix Trilogy. What RAIN represents is the future of entertainment because the economics dictate such. With the advent of digital undermining the traditional Hollywood business model, Hollywood has to seek out new ways to expand their reach and better monetize their products. Asia is the new frontier, but RAIN wasn’t necessarily the first guy to build that bridge to several billion people across the Pacific for Hollywood. There was of course Jackie Chan, Jet Li and others who found themselves as the first set of Asians in co-leading roles of big budget films. It’s obvious that Hollywood is trying to identify someone who has a huge following and leveraging their fame to expand their overall reach. What RAIN has done is open the possibilities for other Koreans to venture into Hollywood and perhaps someday, well be cheering on our version of Slumdog Millionaire. Someday we’ll look back and say that guys like John Cho and RAIN were the ones who put Koreans on the Hollywood radar, and that’s why RAIN is #3 on our top ten list of most influential Korean(-Americans) for 2009.
It was trying to be funny and it was a worthy attempt. Rex Lee (of Entourage fame) stars as Kim Jong-Il in a short film called “The Adoption Agency,” on Will Ferrell’s “Funny or Die” website. You be the judge. I think Danny Cho’s skit as Kim Jong-Il as an eHarmony candidate is a bit funnier.
Ken Jeong became “that” guy this year. Y’know, the guy you keep seeing in a bunch of movies but you don’t know his real name. Ken Jeong made a huge splash in the surprise summer hit, The Hangover, when he jumped out of a car’s trunk in his birthday suit. He kept on rolling with roles in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, All About Steve, Couples Retreat and a co-starring role as the cantankerous Senor Chang in NBC’s new show Community. He already has a full slate of work in 2010 and the future keeps looking brighter. This is pretty incredible for a guy who gave up medicine to pursue a career in comedy and acting. Ken was a doctor in residency down in New Orleans, but he decided to give it up to go to Hollywood. How many Korean parents would’ve rolled their eyes if their sons or daughters said that they were going to Hollywood after having gone through medical school and residency? Ken defied a parent’s logic and believed in his comedic abilities. Now he’s “that” guy that cracks people up in the hilarious character roles he plays. What Ken Jeong showed us was that even in Hollywood, you can still make it even without looking like Brad Pitt. As long as you have dedication and talent, the dream is possible. There are many kids out there who are doing what they’re parents want them to do because it’s the most conservative route. Ken just showed us that you can follow your passions and beat the odds, and that’s why he’s #5 on our list of top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.
Starting today we count down the top ten most influential Korean-Americans from 2009. It’s been an incredible year with Korean-Americans becoming more prominent in every facet of life from entertainment to politics. Till the end of the year, we’ll showcase these Korean-Americans who really stood out in 2009 and today we begin the countdown with Mr. Justin Chon at #10.
When we looked at our web analytics logs, Justin Chon was one of the most searched people on our website and the two interviews we conducted with him had some of the highest traffic this past year. Justin Chon had a breakout year with a key role again in the wildly popular Twilight Saga film (New Moon), which may end up being the highest grossing film this year. He also had big roles in the movie Crossing Over, and the indie film Turbo. Justin’s one of the rising stars in Hollywood and that can definitely be attributed to his work ethic. Did you know that his role “Eric Yorkie” in Twilight wasn’t written for an Asian guy? He obviously impressed enough for the casting agents of Twilight to cast him in the role of Eric. In the film Crossover, he acted along side legendary actors Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd. Justin is as Californian as they come but he portrayed a Korean immigrant struggling to adopt to America in Crossover. We had the opportunity to talk to him over the course of the year and he is truly a nerd when it comes to acting and we know he has range. Though his father was an actor in South Korea and he has the acting genes, he knows how much more he has to work. It was obvious to us how much he respects his craft and how hard he works at honing his skills. He’s very appreciative of the Twilight fame but his ambition is to work harder and to challenge himself with bigger roles. Justin had a great year in 2009 and we know you’ll see more of him in 2010 and beyond.
Big bummer for Korean-American actor Daniel Henney who was a co-star on the CBS medical drama “Three Rivers,” which got cancelled this past week. The TV show about organ transplant doctors in the Pittsburgh area had a tough time slot, going up against NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Of course they were trying to appeal to the female demographic since all the men would be watching football, but initial low ratings compounded by waning interest only made it an obvious candidate for getting cut. To bad for Daniel Henney who made a splash this past summer as Agent Zero in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and looked like he was on the rise with a network TV show. I guess you win some and you lose some. Well, his very promising career won’t be curtailed. He could always return to South Korea where he was a star in Korean dramas or he could continue to pursue Hollywood. He certainly has the talent because not to many people, especially Asian, get a big role in a summer blockbuster movie and a network TV show. Doesn’t that sound like John Cho (Star Trek & FlashForward)? We hope to see Daniel Henney sooner than later in another Hollywood movie or TV show.
This is for the ladies as we close the chapter on RAIN since Ninja Assassin has opened and played to the world. Here are pictures from an Allure magazine photo shoot which shows off the perfect abs. Does anybody know the exact abs workout he did? We’re looking high and wide for it and if we find it, we’ll certainly share it with all of you.
Our friends at DramaFever.com took the liberty to select their top ten leading men in Korean dramas. Drum roll please! They are Lee Seung Gi, Jang Geun Seuk, Yoon Sang Hyun, Bae Soo Bin, Jung Il Woo, Cha Seung Won, Jung Joon Ho, Oh Ji Ho, Park Hae Jin, and Kim Bum.
Can’t say we’ve seen a drama that each of these men have been in but they all seem worthy of the DramaFever honor. Who do you think is deserving to be on this list?
Ken Jeong became “that” guy this year. Y’know, the guy you keep seeing in a bunch of movies but you don’t know his real name. Ken Jeong made a huge splash in the surprise summer hit, The Hangover, when he jumped out of a car’s trunk in his birthday suit. He kept on rolling with roles in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, All About Steve, Couples Retreat and a co-starring role as the cantankerous Senor Chang in NBC’s new show Community. He already has a full slate of work in 2010 and the future keeps looking brighter. This is pretty incredible for a guy who gave up medicine to pursue a career in comedy and acting. Ken was a doctor in residency down in New Orleans, but he decided to give it up to go to Hollywood. How many Korean parents would’ve rolled their eyes if their sons or daughters said that they were going to Hollywood after having gone through medical school and residency? Ken defied a parent’s logic and believed in his comedic abilities. Now he’s “that” guy that cracks people up in the hilarious character roles he plays. What Ken Jeong showed us was that even in Hollywood, you can still make it even without looking like Brad Pitt. As long as you have dedication and talent, the dream is possible. There are many kids out there who are doing what they’re parents want them to do because it’s the most conservative route. Ken just showed us that you can follow your passions and beat the odds, and that’s why he’s #5 on our list of top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.
