Heartthrob Daniel Henney Confesses Early Sins

With short hair and jeans instead of a suit, Daniel Henney looks relaxed and approachable. The man who in just two dramas -- “My Name is Kim Sam-soon” and “Spring Waltz” -- captured the hearts of millions of Korean women is now promoting his first feature film, “Seducing Mr. Robin,” which is released on Dec.7. The Chosun Ilbo spoke to the 28-year old.

Don’t you think that you are playing on women’s fantasies a little too much? In this movie, your character is a Harvard graduate and CEO of a foreign company.

“It’s a misunderstanding. Having read the screenplay, I thought he was such an ass. Too cold and stubborn. Later in the movie, a little human touch is added to the character, but the part is different than my previous roles, which were more warm-hearted.

” Your fans praise your gentleness and sweetness, best represented in your smile.

“Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, everybody has two sides: good and bad. I showed my true self through Henry in ‘My Name is Kim Sam-soon’, but I showed only my good side.”

What kind of guy is the rest of you?

“When I played basketball in college, I used to be a greedy player. I only thought about winning. I didn’t go so far as to take steroids, but I went on a protein diet to build up muscle, and got all the way up to 220 pounds (around 110 kg). When I was a high school student, I threw eggs at school buses for no reason. I was the captain of my basketball team, but I ended up getting a seven-game suspension. It was a time when I was full of dissatisfaction and greed.”

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Song Hye-kyo Gets a Visit from her friend, Rain

On Nov. 10, Rain, a close friend of Song Hye-kyo’s visited her at Korean Folk Village, bringing her some midnight snacks, which showed a sign of their close friendship.

Rain arrived late in the evening while the staff and actors of “Hwang Gini’, Song Hye-kyo’s new movie, were having dinner and gave Song some yummy snacks.

The women staff looked on a bit enviously as Song thanked Rain for his visit and saw him out to the parking lot.

Both born the same year, Rain and Song Hye-kyo, have developed a good friendship from a previous drama ‘Full House’ in which they both acted together as lovers. This drama had been popular not only domestically but also in other Asian countries.

Rain is now busily promoting his new album and new movie “I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay”. However, it is been said that he stops by to see Song who has been preparing the transition of her acting style through this new upcoming movie.

The drama version of ‘Hang Gini’ starring Ha Ji-won is now being aired on KBS and gaining much popularity from television viewers, so many people wonder if a movie version will be as exciting as its drama. Song Hye-kyo has been filming this movie in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do for 4 months without announcing the film locations and its scenes to the media, which brings more anticipation to her fans as well as the media.
source:www.tour2korea.com

S. Korea sweeps Asia-Pacific film fest Festival

2006/11/26The China Post & agencies
South Korea swept the most awards at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival held in Taipei late Friday, winning six awards -- best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best sound effects, best short film and best editing, while the Iranian film "The Unwanted Woman" won three top honors -- best feature film, best director and best screenplay.

In results announced Friday night, Iranian director Tahmineh Milani clinched top honors with a complicated story about a wife who helps a murderer escape while escorting a young widow on a journey home.
The awards have further established Milani as one of the most influential directors in Asia, despite the Iranian government's suppression of her films at home.

South Korean actress Son Ye-Jin won the best actress award for her performance in "April Snow," about a man and a woman who have an affair after their spouses get into a traffic accident.
Lee Jae-eung of Seoul was honored as the best actor for his portrayal in "Bravo, My Life," which portrays the growing pains of a youngster.
Best supporting actor went to Byun Hee-bong for "The Host," a thriller about a family's fight against a mutant monster.

Host Taipei garnered two awards, with Lu Yi jing winning best supporting actress for her outstanding performance in the feature film "Blue Cha Cha," and the 10 minute "A Fish With A Smile" capturing the best animation award.
The lifetime achievement award went to Run Run Shaw, who founded the famous Shaw Brothers movie company in 1958 with his siblings.

The studio churned out more than 900 Chinese films over the next 30 years.
A total of 53 films from 12 member cities took part in this year's competition.
The other winners at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Awards are as follows:
-- Best Documentary: Lasting With Time (Hanoi)
-- Best Animation: A Fish With A Smile (Taipei).
-- Best Short Film: Atomic Punch, My Darling (Seoul).
-- Best Editing: The Host (Seoul).
-- Best Art Director: Perhaps Love (Hong Kong)
-- Best Soundtrack: Perhaps Love (Hong Kong)
-- Best Sound Effects: The Host (Seoul)
-- Best Photography: The Banquet (Hong Kong)
-- The Panel of Judges Award: Living in Fear (Hanoi)
--Special Awards: Story of Poa (Hanoi); GIE (Jakarta); and Bilut (Kuala Lumpur)

The award presentation was held at Taipei County's Multi-function Gymnasium, with the participation of senior Taiwan officials, including Government Information Office Cheng Wen-tsang and noted film professionals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia-Pacific Film Festival was launched in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954 to promote cultural exchange in the region. Since then, it has been held every year by one of the festival's 21 member countries.
The Asia-Pacific Film Festival has stolen the limelight from Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival, the award ceremony for which was held Saturday evening in Taipei.

The Golden Horse Film Festival is the world's largest film festival for films made by Chinese directors and offers a rare opportunity for directors and movie stars from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere to show up on the same stage.

South Korea's Tae-yong wins Greek film award

SALONIKA: Korean writer-director Kim Tae-yong won the award for the best feature film at the 47th Salonika International Film Festival on Sunday. Tae-yong, 37, won the 37,000 euro (47,450 dollar) Golden Alexander award for his film "Gajokeui Tansaeng" ("Family Ties"), which followed his 1999 debut "Yeogo Goedam II" ("Memento Mori").

The korean film, which also shared the award for the best scenario and has yet to be shown in European cinemas, describes the chaotic relationships of a family which has been reunited.The second prize, the Silver Alexander and its 22,000 euro (28,200 dollar) cheque went to went to Iranian Mona Zandi Haghighi for her film "Friday Afternoon" ("Asr-E Jomeh") which recounts the tale of two sisters who were reunited after a long separation. Brazilian Karim Ainouz shared the prize for the best scenario with Tae-yong for his film "O Ceu de Suely" ("Suely in the Sky"). American producer Christine Vachon presided over the jury. The official selection included 14 full-length features by young directors on their first or second films.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/update_detail.asp?id=13585

Son Ye-jin Wins 1st Best Lead Actress Award

Actress Sohn Ye-jin has received her first best actress award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, which was held in Taipei, Taiwan, for her role in the movie “April Snow.” A person from Sohn’s agency said the actress was overwhelmed with happiness to be honored with the award, and that even the agency did not know that “April Snow” was invited to the festival. He added that the award was even more meaningless because the movie was filmed in cold winter weather and included many “teary” scenes..Sohn acts opposite actor Bae Yong-jun in “April Snow,” where she plays a woman who falls in love with another man while nursing her husband, who gets into a car accident with his mistress.
source:kbs grobal

'King' Win Honors at Cape Town Film Fest

One of the nation's all-time highest grossing movies "The King and the Clown" was awarded Best Picture and Best Screenplay at this year's Cape Town World Cinema Festival, which ended Monday in South Africa.It's the first Korean movie to compete at the festival, which is the largest in Africa.Other Korean films, "A Bittersweet Life" by Kim Ji-woon and "3-Iron" by Kim Ki-duk were invited as out-of-competition selections.Director Lee Joon-ik's "The King and the Clown", a period film about a Joseon dynasty king and his court jester, has been invited to several international film festivals in Toronto, Tokyo, London, Hawaii, Vancouver and Chicago.

Reported by KBS WORLD Radio

source:hancinema.net