Director Lim Soon-rye “Hwang Jeong-min is willing to ‘negotiate’”

Director Im Soon-rye, who directed the movie 'Negotiation', expressed his feelings about reuniting with Hwang Jung-min after 22 years.

On the morning of the 16th, director Lim Soon-rye told various stories about the upcoming movie 'Negotiation' at a cafe located in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Negotiation' is a movie depicting the negotiation operation between a diplomat and a local National Intelligence Service agent who went to Afghanistan to rescue Koreans who were taken hostage by the Taliban in the worst kidnapping incident.

Through 'negotiation', director Soon-rye Lim focuses on the sense of duty as a professional of 'those who went to rescue' and the life-threatening struggle to save their lives, rather than the provocative nature of the incident. In addition, the world of director Lim Soon-rye's work, which is about humanity and respect for life, is presented with a higher and broader thematic awareness and scale. In particular, 'Negotiation' was based on the 'Saemmul Church missionary kidnapping incident in Afghanistan' that took place in 2007.

Hwang Jung-min played the role of Jeong Jae-ho, a diplomat specializing in negotiations, Hyun Bin played Park Dae-sik, a National Intelligence Service agent specializing in the Middle East and Central Asia, and Kang Ki-young played Kassim, a weed-like Korean who survived in the back alleys of Afghanistan.

On this day, director Lim Soon-rye said, "Before that, the average work cycle was about 4 years. That's why they called me the Olympic director. I tried to narrow down the cycle after finishing 'Little Forest', but due to the coronavirus, 'Negotiation' was released after 5 years. “I did it,” he said.

He continued, "I'm worried because the audience size is shrinking due to COVID-19. I'm nervous because it's been a long time since the movie was released. 'Negotiation' is the movie with the highest budget among the movies I've done. It's been a long time since I've had to worry about breaking even. “It’s the same,” he added, causing laughter.

Director Lim Soon-rye and Hwang Jung-min reunited 22 years after 'Waikiki Brothers'. Regarding this, director Lim Soon-rye said, "As you know, Actor Hwang Jung-min appeared in commercial, action-oriented, killing and beating movies. It did not suit me. So there was no movie that I could suggest casting to Actor Hwang Jung-min. In the case of this movie, of course, Actor Hwang Jung-min plays a slick diplomat. “I thought it was a movie driven by a character named Jae-ho Jeong who led the movie from beginning to end, even though it didn’t fit the role,” he explained.

Also, "I thought it would be powerful if actor Hwang Jung-min did it. Thankfully, it is different from the roles and genres he has played before, but I am grateful that he willingly did it. Many people said that actor Hyun Bin is better suited to the role of a diplomat, and that actor Hwang Jung-min is more suited to the role of a spy-like National Intelligence Service agent. Hyun Bin "It's not that actors aren't good at such roles, but I thought the energy of actor Hwang Jung-min was focused. People who are good at acting have the mindset that they can do well even if the role is new or different," he said, expressing his affection.

Director Lim Sun-rye said, “Actor Hwang Jung-min is sought after by many directors and receives a lot of scripts. If you look at actor Hwang Jung-min’s recent actions, he often makes choices that are very commercial and guarantee box office success. ‘Negotiation’ can be difficult, but I was grateful that he was willing to do it. “He laughed.

Director Lim Soon-rye said about casting local actors, "It was very difficult. It was not easy to come and go, so I auditioned through video. Of course, I watched the movie in which the actors appeared, but I auditioned through video. I also went hunting to Jordan three times, and in my spare time, I auditioned through video. “I also did auditions. I put in a lot of effort. Jordan is a small country, so the film industry is not large, so there are not many actors,” he explained.

He added, "Our actors were friends with a lot of experience in Jordan. I was worried about how they would come out, but I was grateful that those who watched said the foreign actors acted well. In particular, the Taliban commander who confronts Hwang Jung-min is from Afghanistan. He is currently living in the United States. . He mainly auditioned through video and came to Korea to film. Also, Abdullah is a Scottish actor, and he came to Korea and then to Jordan. Those of you who have seen 'Suriname' will know, but he appeared in 'Suriname' at the recommendation of actor Hwang Jung-min. “The actors were multinational,” he said.

Meanwhile, 'Negotiation' will be released on the 18th.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr