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Next Wednesday, the stellar triumvirate of Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung gather to start filming ¡°The Good, the Bad and the Weird.¡± Simply by starring the three stars, the movie is generating huge advance buzz. The Chosun Ilbo spoke to Director Kim Jee-woon (43).
"As a movie fan, I have certain wishes. Why are there no movies in Korea like ¡°Ocean's Eleven¡± that gather an ensemble of superstars? There should be at least one such movie in my generation, never mind popularity and ambition.¡±
That begs the question how difficult it was. The audience may be delighted, but persuading the stars must have been a headache for Kim. Every star, after all, has a tendency to think of him- or herself as the center of the universe. Catering to the emotional needs of three solar systems can¡¯t have been easy.
Even though the three actors are reportedly close, Kim seems reluctant to talk about the point. After some thought, he puts it this way: Lee Byung-hun is ¡°the most questioning actor in Korea¡±, Song Kang-ho is ¡°Korea's super actor¡± and Jung Woo-sung has ¡°ambitions as a director.¡± ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t easy. For many stars acting is only possible if they understand the character, but that¡¯s especially true for Lee Byung-hun.¡± How much so? Kim smiles. "Byung-hun may be unhappy to hear this, but for example, if I convince him to play the character on April 1, he calls on April 3 saying he doesn¡¯t understand. If I convince him again the next day, he calls on April 5 saying some part is strange." Kim adds, "As you can see, he is stubborn about his parts."
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From left: Song Kang-ho, Jung Woo-sung and Lee Byung-hun
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Even though they call each other brothers -- in order of Song, Lee and Jung -- there is a certain tension. But Kim is undeterred. "I¡¯m excited about the prospect of seeing Song, Lee and Jung Woo-sung in the same frame,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯m going to give the audience a picture and a story they have never seen in Korean movies."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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