By Gary C.W. Chun
Dennis Oda / doda@starbulletin.com
Jung Woo-sung posed for pictures with Azumi Akimoto and other fans on Saturday after a press conference at the Halekulani Resort. Jung was in town for the Hawaii International Film Festival, which showcased his film "The Good The Bad The Weird" as its closing-night feature
Korean actor Jung Woo-sung is hoping to become more than "just" the megastar that he is in Asian cinema.
Looking much younger than his 35 years, the affable and handsome Jung knows he'll have to work hard to make his face known on a larger world stage, but he's willing to take on the challenge -- much as he did to prepare for his co-starring role in the Korean box-office hit "The Good The Bad The Weird."
He plays a stoic bounty hunter in the action movie that reportedly has reached an audience of close to 7 million in South Korea, and has already received international exposure through screenings at the Cannes, Telluride and Toronto film festivals. "The Good The Bad The Weird" has been picked up for U.S. distribution by the independent IFC Films.
The film was also the closing-night feature at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival. Jung and director Kim Jee-woon took part in a press conference Saturday at the Halekulani Resort, just before a sold-out screening that night at the Dole Cannery multiplex.
Jung, speaking through an interpreter, said that after he first read the script, "I was already getting mentally prepared in how I was going to portray (bounty hunter Park Do-wu), how he would talk this way and help visualize his look."
Getting into character, Jung put on a couple of pounds, grew a mustache and learned to ride a horse. He would later learn some of the required stuntwork, like twirling a rifle after each gunshot -- while riding.
He laughed when he described his Western-styled outfit as unimaginably uncomfortable, but enjoyed the location work in Manchuria, where he's become such a presence in Chinese films that the inside joke on set was that Jung was really a professional Chinese actor.
While Saturday's press conference was not a public event, a handful of Jung's female fans still got wind of it, and were waiting patiently in the lobby to get their up-close moments with the star.
Local resident Hiromi Shimada came ready for autographs, her bag filled with movie posters and photos taken the previous morning at Jung's airport arrival.
The star-struck Shimada took a shine to Jung not only because he's "nice-looking," but because "his characters are nice and warm-hearted," referring in particular to previous roles in movies that also played at the festival, "Sad Movie" and "A Moment to Remember."
Because he's serious about his acting, Jung is very particular about the roles he chooses to play. After leaving the islands, he takes on the lead in a Korean-Japanese co-production of the popular manga title "City Hunter." He said he hopes that role will help him overcome any English-language barrier so that he can make a go of it in Hollywood or Europe.
"It all depends on the script and the actor I want to be," he said. "I want to keep my integrity as an Asian actor. It has to be the right role, because, to be blunt, a place like Hollywood is ultimately a business market."
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin
http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20081020_hiff_pt1.html
Dennis Oda / doda@starbulletin.com
Jung Woo-sung posed for pictures with Azumi Akimoto and other fans on Saturday after a press conference at the Halekulani Resort. Jung was in town for the Hawaii International Film Festival, which showcased his film "The Good The Bad The Weird" as its closing-night feature
Korean actor Jung Woo-sung is hoping to become more than "just" the megastar that he is in Asian cinema.
Looking much younger than his 35 years, the affable and handsome Jung knows he'll have to work hard to make his face known on a larger world stage, but he's willing to take on the challenge -- much as he did to prepare for his co-starring role in the Korean box-office hit "The Good The Bad The Weird."
He plays a stoic bounty hunter in the action movie that reportedly has reached an audience of close to 7 million in South Korea, and has already received international exposure through screenings at the Cannes, Telluride and Toronto film festivals. "The Good The Bad The Weird" has been picked up for U.S. distribution by the independent IFC Films.
The film was also the closing-night feature at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival. Jung and director Kim Jee-woon took part in a press conference Saturday at the Halekulani Resort, just before a sold-out screening that night at the Dole Cannery multiplex.
Jung, speaking through an interpreter, said that after he first read the script, "I was already getting mentally prepared in how I was going to portray (bounty hunter Park Do-wu), how he would talk this way and help visualize his look."
Getting into character, Jung put on a couple of pounds, grew a mustache and learned to ride a horse. He would later learn some of the required stuntwork, like twirling a rifle after each gunshot -- while riding.
He laughed when he described his Western-styled outfit as unimaginably uncomfortable, but enjoyed the location work in Manchuria, where he's become such a presence in Chinese films that the inside joke on set was that Jung was really a professional Chinese actor.
While Saturday's press conference was not a public event, a handful of Jung's female fans still got wind of it, and were waiting patiently in the lobby to get their up-close moments with the star.
Local resident Hiromi Shimada came ready for autographs, her bag filled with movie posters and photos taken the previous morning at Jung's airport arrival.
The star-struck Shimada took a shine to Jung not only because he's "nice-looking," but because "his characters are nice and warm-hearted," referring in particular to previous roles in movies that also played at the festival, "Sad Movie" and "A Moment to Remember."
Because he's serious about his acting, Jung is very particular about the roles he chooses to play. After leaving the islands, he takes on the lead in a Korean-Japanese co-production of the popular manga title "City Hunter." He said he hopes that role will help him overcome any English-language barrier so that he can make a go of it in Hollywood or Europe.
"It all depends on the script and the actor I want to be," he said. "I want to keep my integrity as an Asian actor. It has to be the right role, because, to be blunt, a place like Hollywood is ultimately a business market."
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin
http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20081020_hiff_pt1.html
