Interview with director Jang Hang-jun of the movie 'Rebound'
Director Jang Hang-jun, who directed the movie 'Rebound', mentioned Cheon Ki-beom.
On the morning of the 31st, director Jang Hang-jun told various stories related to the upcoming movie 'Rebound' at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
'Rebound' is a miraculous story of 8 days during the 2012 National High School Basketball Tournament, when a new coach and 6 players of the weakest basketball team that no one paid attention to ran tirelessly. It is based on the true story of Busan Jungang High School's success in the 2012 Korea Basketball Association Long National Middle and High School Basketball Tournament.
Director Jang Hang-jun, who was in charge of directing, returned to the screen six years after the movie 'A Night of Remembrance'. Through 'Rebound', he conveys a message of empathy and hope bying the brilliant growth story of a youth who falls and gets back up again with passion and spirit for loving basketball, with laughter and warm humanity.
On this day, director Jang Hang-jun said, "I'm working hard because I don't know when it will be my last film. There aren't many colleagues who made movies with me when I was young and are on set. now. At my age, their lifespan is over. When I think about it, I survived without a big hit. 'As expected, Jang Hang-jun.' "It's nice to be able to do movies again. It's different from when I'm doing other works because I'm thinking about whether it's going to be a posthumous film or if I'm going to do another one," he said. He continued, "After 'A Night to Remember' , it became a habit to check my smartphone. Yesterday, I woke up after sleeping for two hours. I was looking to see if there were any comments. My mother-in-law said, 'What should I do because my son-in-law's face has become haggard?' “He's so skinny,” he added, causing laughter.
Cheon Ki-beom, a real-life character played by former 'rebound' crank Lee Shin-young, retired in disgrace from the Korea Basketball League (KBL) due to controversy over drunk driving and false statements. After being caught drunk driving on a road in Yeongjong Island, Incheon in January 2022, Ki-beom Cheon attempted to change the driver by lying to the police officer who was dispatched. Accordingly, he was booked on charges of drunk driving and obstruction of official duties under the Road Traffic Act. The blood alcohol content was 0.03%, which is the level of license suspension.
KBL held a financial committee and suspended him from playing in 54 games, fined him 10 million won, and imposed 120 hours of community service. However, Cheon Ki-beom chose to retire in order to take moral responsibility for the drunk driving incident. Currently, he has signed a contract with the Fukushima Firebones of Japan's B.2 League and is playing on the court in Japan, not Korea.
Director Jang Hang-jun mentioned Cheon Ki-beom. He said, "The staff who were preparing had a mental breakdown. In my life, there have been many crises before starting a movie. I also thought that a crisis was coming. I am a stubborn person. I prepared because I thought it would. be possible to make it mentally strong. So I encouraged (the staff),” he said.
Director Jang Hang-jun said, "There was a crisis when making the drama 'Sign'. It wasn't even scheduled. (Cheon Ki-beom's case) was a very cautious part, so the reason I was able to calm down was “I wondered if it could be possible. He said it was a story about a 25-year-old young man who used to be a player but gave up basketball and travels with six neglected boys who no one pays attention to.”
In addition, director Jang Hang-jun said, "I couldn't avoid the obvious fact. I can know it with just a phone call, so how can I avoid it? Avoiding it doesn't mean I can avoid it. It's clear .I didn't even live my life avoiding it."
Meanwhile, 'Rebound', directed by director Jang Hang-jun, will be released on April 5.
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr