"My wife Jeon Hye-jin also said that she enjoyed it after watching 'Killing Romance'. In the play, she changed into a Taekwondo uniform and filmed in front of chromakey (a background screen for graphic compositing), which was funny. However, when filming, there was a lot of hypocrisy (reality awareness time, vain delusion). The time has come when you realize the real situation. Of course, I think it will be fun if it becomes a hot topic through a meme (photo). Jonathan is a character I have a lot of affection for. I hope you can play around with him to your heart's content."
These are the words of Lee Sun-gyun, who went through an unprecedented transformation through the movie ‘Killing Romance’ (directed by Lee Won-seok).
Lee Sun-kyun recently starred in the movies ‘Kingmaker’, ‘Parasite’, ‘Bad Cop’, the dramas ‘The Law’, and ‘Dr. He played heavy and serious characters such as ‘Brain’ and ‘My Mister’. Of course, when you think of Lee Sun-kyun, the first character that comes to mind is Chef Choi Hyun-wook from the drama 'Pasta'.
Lee Sun-gyun, with his honey-coated voice, transformed into an icon of madness and obsession. 'Killing Romance', starring Lee Sun-kyun, is about top star Yeorae (played by Lee Ha-nui), who fell in love with island tycoon Jonathan (played by Lee Sun-kyun) and suddenly announced her retirement, and meets Beom-woo (played by Gong Myeong), a student from the 3rd fan club, and plans an extraordinary comeback. This is a story that simulates.
Lee Seon-gyun said, "I enjoyed the 'Killing Romance' scenario. After reading the scenario, I was curious about how they would film it. In fact, I had a lot of negative feelings before meeting director Lee Won-seok and the production team. It would be more of a twist if someone with the character rather than me playing the character of Jonathan It was the same. Personally, I am not close to director Lee Won-seok, so even if he rejected it, I went to the meeting because I was curious why he gave me this scenario.”
Director Lee Won-seok grabbed Lee Seon-gyun and worked hard to get him afloat. Lee Seon-gyun said, "After meeting for about an hour, I went to the United States. I met Hani in the United States. I received confirmation from Hani, saying, 'Are you really going to do this?' I think among Korean actors, she has made a mark by giving everything she has. Hanui is an actress. He revealed the reason for choosing the work, saying, "I do a variety of acting, giving everything. So I thought the scene would be fun."
Jonathan, played by Lee Sun-kyun, falls in love with Tathagata after a fateful meeting on Kuala Island. Seon-kyun Lee transforms into Jonathan Na, an icon of madness and obsession full of self-love, and shows off his style from hairstyle to fake mustache and training clothes with colorful patterns. It is completely different from the image that Lee Sun-kyun has acted and shown so far. Lee Seon-kyun also confessed that he was an awkward character and had a lot of worries.
"At first, there were some awkward parts about Jonathan's character. I also worried. It was easy to act because he was an exaggerated character, as if he was playing a mask. There will definitely be likes and dislikes, but I think a good sequence came out. So, I played with characters who were a bit embarrassing and had a sense of trust. “I think you can enjoy it if you watch the first 15 to 20 minutes of the movie with an open mind about the plot. Our movie is not a movie with probability.”
When the teaser poster for 'Killing Romance' was released, it attracted a lot of attention in online communities and social media. The reaction of Lee Seon-gyun's acquaintances was also explosive. He said, "People around me said they were curious about the movie after seeing this poster. There are many people around me who like director Lee Won-seok's colors, and they knew it was unique, so they had high expectations. Director Bong Joon-ho took a screenshot of the poster and contacted me." “He said, ‘I’m curious about this combination,’ and said, ‘I’ll see it in the theater.’”
Jonathan's English name is 'JOHN NA'. Lee Sun-kyun made people laugh by saying, "Rather than feeling pressured to be funny, I wanted 'JONH NA' in the title of the movie. The original title of the movie was 'Killing Romance'. I thought it would be funnier if the title was 'JONH NA Killing Romance'." .
Also, "It took a long time to attach my hair. I wanted the back of my hair, so I tried David Bowie's hair. But my hair ended up like 'John Wick'. It's going to be a battle between 'John Wick' and 'JOHN NA'. The eyeliner was also done by the makeup director. “I tried to attach a beard, but since it is a cartoon-like character, I decided to use it as a prop. I put the beard in the case and attached and removed a different one each time,” he explained.
Lee Sun-kyun's unconventional transformation also attracts attention, but his chemistry with Lee Ha-nui, who reunited 13 years after the drama 'Pasta', also stands out. Lee Seon-gyun said, "There are many people on our team who are very tense. Even though it was a difficult situation to film at the time of 'Pasta', (Lee Honey) did well. After a while, I thought, 'She will become a big actor?'. She became a bigger actor than I expected. He expressed his affection by saying, “Hani set the atmosphere of the scene well with her good energy.”
Gong Myung, who worked with Lee Ha-nui, is currently serving in the military. Gong Myung went on vacation to coincide with the premiere of ‘Killing Romance’ and watched the movie. Lee Seon-kyun said, "If there is a wish, I hope that our movie will be loved and screened until people are discharged from the military. Even if the coffin is lowered, we are talking about renting a theater and saying hello on stage when people come out."
Currently, the Korean film industry is in a recession. Lee Seon-gyun also knew. Currently, the Japanese animation ‘Suzume’s Door Break’ has been holding the top spot at the box office for 35 consecutive days. The number of visitors to theaters has also decreased. Seon-kyun Lee was hoping to increase interest in Korean films and theaters.
“Audiences have shown so much love for Korean films so far. I think it is because of the audiences that Korean films have achieved great success. Many things have changed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As there is more interesting content, there may be more entertainment for the consuming audience. I think it's a good environment. It's a pity that not only Korean movies but also the feeling that theaters give is being forgotten. I hope people can have fun with the different level of comfort felt in theaters. Starting this year, the good movies that missed their release due to the aftermath of COVID-19 will begin in earnest. “I know there are a lot of movies. I think it will get better than it is now if they are released one by one.”
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr