Netflix movie 'Jungi' released on January 20th
Yeon Sang-ho "Kang Soo-yeon, I really liked the movie and the junior actors."
Hyunjoo Kim "Action, I did the best I could"
Ryu Kyung-soo "Raises tension while listening to Michael Jackson's songs"
Yeon Sang-ho "Kang Soo-yeon, I really liked the movie and the junior actors."
Hyunjoo Kim "Action, I did the best I could"
Ryu Kyung-soo "Raises tension while listening to Michael Jackson's songs"
The late Kang Soo-yeon's new and posthumous Netflix film 'Jeong-i' is ready to meet viewers around the world. Director Yeon Sang-ho said that Kang Soo-yeon was the driving force behind the creation of this film.
On the 12th, a production briefing session for the Netflix movie 'Jeong-i' was held at the Lotte Cinema Konkuk University entrance in Jayang-dong, Seoul. Director Yeon Sang-ho and actors Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo attended.
'Jeong-i' is a science fiction film that tells the story of people who try to develop the best combat AI by cloning the brain of the legendary mercenary 'Jeong-i' in order to end the war that broke out in the shelter where they migrated away from the Earth devastated by climate change.
Regarding the reason for choosing Jeong-i, which is also the main character's name, as the title of the movie, director Yeon Sang-ho said, "I thought Jeong-i was a story about a character called 'Yun Jeong-i' who was considered an icon. I thought the entire story was about Jeong-i. So, the title of the movie was naturally decided to be 'Jeong.' And I thought it would be fun to title a novel science fiction movie with the name Jeong, which is familiar to Koreans.”
Director Yeon Sang-ho explained, "I believe that Jeong-i has lived as a character who has been objectified by various ideologies. As a hero and a mother of a child, I planned the film by imagining a story in which Jeong-i is completely liberated from the ideologies that surrounded her." did. He continued, “I thought that the process could be implemented with science fiction imagination.”
Kim Hyun-joo played the role of Jeong-i, a subject for brain cloning to develop the best combat AI. Jeongi is a former elite leader of the Allied Forces and a legendary mercenary who participated in numerous operations and led them to victory. He participated in the final bombing operation that could have ended the civil war that had lasted for decades, but the operation failed and he fell into a vegetative state. He becomes the subject of brain cloning to develop a combat AI that contains all of Jeongi's strategies, combat skills, strong loyalty and will.
Kim Hyun-joo, who previously appeared as a lawyer in director Yeon Sang-ho's 'Hell', said, "I had faith in the director who entrusted me with roles I had never played before. I am satisfied with the result because everyone liked it. it." He then said, "This time, there was a lot to do in 'Jeongi' not only in the action but also in the emotional aspect. The genre itself is also a rare work. The specialness of the genre alone was enough to stimulate curiosity. ," he said as the reason for his appearance.
Director Yeon Sang-ho said that the reason for casting Kim Hyun-joo was, "It matched the drawing style I had in mind while planning 'Jeong-i'. Isn't Kim Hyun-joo good-looking? It is only good for making a movie when the main character's drawing style matches." He continued, "Action is action, but I also thought about how to put emotion into the action. There were situations where I had to stop while doing an action. It was different from human acting. Then, when it started again, I had to pour out my emotions. While doing 'Hell', “I saw a lot of emotion being drawn out in an instant," he said. He also said, "It is said that I did action for the first time in 'Hell' , but I am basically good at it. I did a lot of action training during 'Hell'. I felt like I was not able to show much (Kim Hyun-joo's action) during 'Hell' and it was a bit of a waste, so I suggested it." “I also feel like we are a good match," he said , praising Kim Hyun-joo.
Regarding action acting, Kim Hyun-joo said, "I wonder if I can do it again in the future. I did my best as much as I could." He continued, "It had to be a moderate and powerful action. The weight of the suit was also considerable. I also had to exercise hard because I had to improve my physical strength."
Regarding acting as an AI character, Kim Hyun-joo confessed, "I was scared at first. I had never done or imagined acting like this in the past or having to stop in the middle. I had a lot of worries about that." He continued, "I had to distinguish between when I was acting as an experiment and when I was a human, so I paid attention to that as well. The AI acting was both natural and unnatural, so I created it by discussing it in detail. with the director on set."
Ryu Kyung-soo played Sang-hoon, the head of a research center who must succeed in developing combat AI. Ryu Kyung-soo also worked with director Yeon Sang-ho once again following 'Hell'. Ryu Kyung-soo said, "Director told me about it when I was recording the after-effects of 'Hell'. The subject matter was also interesting. The result is important, but I tend to think the process is more important. Director Yeon Sang-ho's filming set makes me happy about the process. I'm happy." “I think I can go to work,” he said. Kim Hyun-joo also added, "There are times when it's serious, but the director also tries to fill it with laughter."
Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "Sang-hoon's character can turn out to be strange overall if the design is wrong, but Ryu Kyung-soo had a plan for what to do. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the most talkative character in the movie and drives the movie. Ryu Kyung-soo designed it well and did it." praised.
Ryu Kyung-soo said to have acted thinking that Sang-hoon's MBTI was ENFP. He said, "I thought I should express it boldly. As a human being, when you go to work early in the morning, your tension is bound to drop. So, to raise your tension, I often listened to songs with fast tempos. Normally, I don't listen to songs with fast tempos. And director Yeon Sang-ho's “The jokes also helped. Michael Jackson's songs helped,” he said. Director Yeon Sang-ho made everyone laugh by saying, "I ran laps around. the set to get my adrenaline up." Kim Hyun-joo laughed, saying, “It's amazing to me that MBTI is now applied when creating characters.”
Regarding the CG filming, Ryu Kyung-soo said, "There were a lot of unfamiliar visuals. You like to experience scenery you haven't seen personally and food you haven't tried before. So it was interesting to try it in Green Bag. ." Regarding the differences between himself and the character, Ryu Kyung-soo made people laugh by saying, "I use high-level humor. Sang-hoon uses humor that makes the atmosphere cold."
Kim Hyun-joo praised her chemistry with Ryu Kyung-soo, saying, "I wonder if I was that good at acting even when I was that age. He's really good like a fox." Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "I monopolized the love of my two older sisters. Senior Kang Soo-yeon was especially cute."
Ryu Kyung-soo said, "I felt stable even though I wasn't on set with my senior. I received a lot of help. In the Netflix interview, I said I wanted to work with my senior three or four more times." When asked if he wanted to be together in the future, he answered, “About 90%.”
This work is also the posthumous work of the late Kang Soo-yeon. Kang Soo-yeon takes on the role of Yoon Seo-hyeon, a team leader at a research lab that develops brain cloning and AI technology. Seohyun is also the daughter of the human Jeongi.
Director Yeon Sang-ho talked about the process of casting Kang Soo-yeon. He said, "I like writing things like stories. When I wrote 'Jeong-i', I didn't write it with the intention of turning it into a movie. I was skeptical about the script. Science fiction movies are rare in Korea and have a considerable budget. In Korea, “It should be a comprehensive entertainment story, but I thought 'Jeong-i' was the personal story of a character named Yoon Seo-hyun. I was not obsessed with making it into a movie because I thought about whether the film industry could make this," he said. He continued, "I wondered who could play Yoon Seo-hyun if I were to make a movie, but suddenly Kang Soo-yeon came to mind. From then on, my desire to make 'Jeong-i' into a movie became stronger. I think it was while filming 'Hell'. I decided to make 'Jeong-i' into a movie. “I didn't plan on doing it, but on set, I asked Kim Hyun-joo what she thought about Kang Soo-yeon.” He then emphasized, “Senior Kang Soo-yeon is the driving force that brought this movie to this point.”
Kim Hyun-joo said, "When my senior first told me that I would be working with him, I asked, 'Does this make sense?' and 'Is this someone I can meet?' “I did it. I've never seen him before. I was scared, wondering if I could do it. I wondered how I could act while looking into his eyes." He continued, "I remember the day I first saw you. He greeted me warmly. On set, he was just a 'colleague'. He was more serious and passionate than anyone else. Now that I think about it, I think he must have had a lot to worry about. He cared for me a lot outside of the set as well." He said. He then got emotional and said, "If my senior wasn't there, I don't think I would have been able to get these two people. "I'm grateful to my senior."
Ryu Kyung-soo said, "In the drama, 'Wishing for the Chairman', I think my respect for my senior was reflected a lot. I want to become an adult like my senior. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the director for allowing me to play 'Jeong-i'." He said he misses Kang Soo-yeon. did.
Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "I didn't know how to give the script to him, so I got his contact information from Yang Ik-jun, who I worked with on 'Hell', and sent him a long text. At first, I was 'sold out' and wondered what to do with this. I was able to get it through someone who used to do programming at the Busan Film Festival. “I even contacted them,” he said, explaining the recruitment process. He continued, “The phone rang and it said 'Actress Kang Soo-yeon.' “We talked for about 30 minutes. When I hung up, my short-sleeved t-shirt was wet from arm sweat.” He also said, "I felt that he liked filming at movie sets, and he really liked the younger actors. My senior arranged a lot of meetings. I remember meeting in a comfortable space. It felt like I was gathering and talking in a movie club that I liked when I was a student. “He confessed.
As a point of observation, Kim Hyun-joo said, "I was skeptical when working on set. I think the visuals, set, and lighting were done perfectly. In addition, the actors' ensemble seemed to be freshly done." Ryu Kyung-soo said, "The story of the future world may have some unfamiliar aspects and visuals, but it will be interesting and fresh. I wonder if I will be able to encounter this type of material again during my acting career." He also said, “I was grateful to be able to act with director Sang-ho Yeon and senior Hyun-joo Kim, and being able to act with senior Soo-yeon Kang was the best opportunity of my life.”
Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "When I didn't even know what science fiction was, I read a book called Human Science Fiction Masterpieces. It was strange and fun. It made me feel like I was making a movie out of a science fiction short story I had seen before. The feeling that 'boy Yeon Sang-ho,' who encountered science fiction for the first time, had. I hope that even people who are unfamiliar with science fiction can feel that (fun) feeling.”
'Jeong-i' will be released on the 20th.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr