The CGI tiger in the film 'The King and the Man' (directed by Jang Hang-jun) is set to be revised following audience feedback.
On the 11th, Im Eun-jung, the producer of 'The King and the Man' and CEO of Onda Works, was interviewed at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
'The King and the Man' tells the story of the deposed King Danjong and the village chief Eom Heung-do in exile in Yeongwol. The film reached the milestone of 10 million viewers on the 6th and has attracted 11.88 million viewers as of the 10th.
Despite the film's success, the CGI of the tiger has been criticized for its lack of quality. Producer Im acknowledged the shortcomings, stating, "It's a classic case of 'growing pains.' It's embarrassing as a producer." She explained, "The director joked about it, but we had to prioritize what to focus on within the given timeframe. We couldn't do everything. With the release scheduled two weeks before the Lunar New Year, we needed a word-of-mouth strategy through large-scale screenings. It wasn't feasible to enhance the CGI quality and abandon that strategy." She added, "The production and distribution companies prioritized the film's success over perfection. We regret the CGI quality and apologize to the CGI team."
The tiger, mockingly nicknamed 'Bamti Tiger' for its unattractive appearance, became a meme. Im admitted, "I was a bit embarrassed. If given the chance, I'd like to revise and improve it."
Fortunately, the decision has been made to revise the 'flawed' tiger CGI. Im expressed her relief, saying, "It's something we can do because the film is successful. The controversy allowed us to address it, and I'm grateful." When asked if the revised version would be available in theaters, she replied, "It might be difficult. We have a meeting this week to discuss it." Im thanked the audience for embracing the flawed CGI as a meme, saying, "It seems they appreciated the film's message. I'm touched by the audience's generosity in turning it into a joke."
By Kim Ji-won, TenAsia Reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr