Behind the sceneKim Ki Duk’s production equals to “box office bomb”?
This movie is the much awaited production following Kim Ki Duk’s movie ‘Beautiful’. Director Jang Hoon is Kim’s protégé, and had participated in the filming of movies such as ‘3 iron’, ‘Bow’ and ‘Time’.
‘Rough cut’ is Jang’s first attempt at directing, he was also involved in the scripting, taking one and a half year to refine it. Initially, the plan was to focus on Gang Pe (the gangster), after numerous edit, the focus is projected on sketching out the life of Su Ta (the actor).
On closer look, this is an interesting and fascinating movie about the bitterness of behind the scene in movie production. On a broader sense, the movie is about two men with radically different attitude towards life. Gang Pe and Su Ta both have their pride. On the surface, both seemed cold and even nonchalant, but deep down inside, they cared about and are envious of each other’s life, wishing to swop how they live.
“Gang Pe abhors the violence of the dark, and imagines that his life is part of the fictitious scenes in a movie. On the other hand, Su Ta, who has to interpret Gang Pe’s life in the movie, would rather experience for himself such exciting and risky moments, as compared to those portrayed in the bland script.
Jang Hoon disclosed that the title of the movie (A movie is a movie) is a hint of its ending, where both men rediscovered the truth, and themselves. However, he refused to tell all when asked if the movie has a tragic ending. “For 1000 people, each has his own definition of what sadness is. I can only say that it is a logical ending.”
Speaking about his impression of the two lead actors So Jisub and Kang Ji Hwan, he laughs “It is a very interesting contrast. So Jisub is an introvert with few words, but what he say are bound to shock, he is an intensely humorous actor. “
“Kang Ji Hwan, on the other hand, is a lively person, with lots of questions, a hardworking actor.”
Jang Hoon said it is because the polar opposites of both actor, that there were times of communication difficulties on the set, however, as both actors are intensely passionate about acting, he stressed that this in turns help to make the roles more realistic, because in the movie, Gang Pe and Su Ta are two person who grew up from very different background.
The movie took slightly over one month to complete, but the short production schedule did not affect the director’s tempo.
Jang Hoon, who smokes an average of 4 packs of cigarettes a day, said that as the movie is about the duel between men, there will be lots of action scenes, and as such, did not wish to replicate some stereotypically simple scenes common to mobster/triad movies. “I used to pay attention to the type of bat and sharp knives used in gang fights, in fact, these are not props that can be easily maneuvered, and audiences will be treated to action scenes that are a departure from the past.”
The movie mobilized almost 200 cast in its filming, while its production budget of 20 billion won is just one third of that spent on average for Korean movies. Moreover, both So Jisub and Kang Ji Hwan had also injected their own money into the movie, besides taking only a token sum for their role. The producer commented that it is the captivating nature of the script that propelled both actors to make this “irresistible” sacrifice.
Rough cut hopes to screen in 200 theatres in Korea, making a breakthrough in the gloomy Korean box office. This is a huge departure from Kim Ki Duk’s previous stand that “It’s okay if my movie did not get the support of a single Korean audience”. As such, the critics commented that this movie is Kim Ki Duk’s olive branch to commercialism.
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Costume design: The “cross over” of favourite designer to female celebrities
Ma Yong-hee, the costume designer for the movie, is famous in her own right. The stylist, who was responsible for the elegant gowns of many female stars, puzzled many when she “crossed over” to take on the costume director role in the action movie. She went way back with Kim Ki Duk, “I interned at the filming of one of his movies when I was a student, and the experience is unforgettable until now. It is my longtime dream to design the costumes for a movie he is producing,” she said.
Ma Yong-hee has clear design concepts in mind while reading the script: Black and White. Life in the dark and light (spot light), a stark contrast between Gang Pe and Su ta, who live in two radically different worlds. She uses colours, which reflects the nature of the characters, into the conflicting scenes, and towards the latter part of the movie: “If the audiences pay attention, they will discover the subtle changes in the two characters’ dressing as they gradually assimilate each other.”
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So Jisub: The “Perfect Man” in the eyes of Kang Ji Hwan
After his discharge from military service in April 2007, So Jisub returned to the audience through Director Jang Jin’s ad-movie “U-turn” , after which he acted in the Japanese invested movie “Gegege Kitaro”. ‘Rough cut’ is his first significant role in a movie after his military service.
A physical education graduate in university, So Jisub is known among those in the film industry for his good physique. In the movie, he took on the role of Gang Pe, a mobster who lives his days amongst violence, but dreams of being an action star n the movies. A chance participation in a movie gives him the opportunity to shake off his gloomy life. This is So Jisub’s signature role, and is highly anticipated for his outstanding acting.
Kang Ji Hwan, who acted opposite Som did not disguise his “envy/jealousy” during interviews: “I have not encountered such tremendous stress, even while working with pretty actresses previously. So Jisub , a man like me, born in the same year, has always given me this “mysterious” feeling. Honestly, I was extremely tensed when filming commenced.” So Jisub’s could change his expression in a flash. “One second, he was all excited singing and dancing to the Wonder Girls’ dance hit, and the next second, once in front of the camera, he morphed into the cold and merciless mobster,” Kang Ji Hwan could not conceal his admiration for his co-star.
After filming of the scene where both Gang Pe and Su Ta tussled in the muddy swamp has ended, Kang Ji Hwan only left the location after he has cleaned off every single bit of mud from his body. So Jisub on the other hand, not only did not tend to his hand injured during filming, went off looking like a clay sculpture, without even cleaning himself. The incident left a deep impression on the crew, who claimed this is another evident that “So Jisub is manly”. So Jisub has stayed true to his previous low profile behavior, declining many media interviews. The audiences are certainly looking forward to his performance in the movie.
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Kang Ji Hwan - The man who remained earnest throughout
Kang Ji Hwan shot to stardom in Asia after appearing in dramas such as “Be strong! Geum Soon”, “90 days, Time to Love” and “Hong Gil Dong”. Even though the movie is an investment of Kim Ki Duk’s production company, Kang Ji Hwan was frank and direct when asked about his opinion of Kim’s representative work: “Kim Ki Duk’s movies are not easy to understand – the roles are not mainstream, the story are not common, and I am unable to identify or accept some of the movies’ description.”
Kang Ji Hwan admits that he dislikes movies that require one to analyse deeply before understanding it. He hopes that the role he took on is one where he can fully understand: “Because only then, you can transmit the message and emotions through your acting to the audience, allowing them to understand the character and what the movie is trying to say.”
Kang, who has a preference for sad movies, as well as brilliant and interesting movies explained that the movie is one where audience can understand, laughing and crying with the characters.
In the movie, Gang Pe is a focused, determined character, one who is clear of what kind of person he wants to be. Su Ta, while looking like a glamorous celebrity on the surface, has a fickle and unpredictable side to him. A lonely soul, he harbours complicated emotions, but lacks directions in life, and the consciousness to express himself. When editing the script, Kang Ji Hwan took the initiative to communicate with director Jamg Hoon his feelings and suggestions towards the role. “As I am an actor myself, I have added many real life experiences, as such, the audience may be able to see some facets of me in private.”
His “genuineness” is not limited to the script, he has a unique way of interpreting his character. When attending a publicity event prior to the filming of the movie, Kang even borrowed the costumes from the movies for the event, in order to integrate quickly into the inner world of Su Ta.
credit: First appeared in Mtime, reposted in Sojisub Taiwan fan club
Chinese to English translation by khwy for Jisubaddicts.com
