When the KBS drama "Shark ends its run, it will not be the end of the onscreen chemistry between actors Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil, The co-stars of the dark revenge story will take their chemistry as a couple to the big screen in the film "Pirates."
The film, already being called the Korean version of "Pirates of the Caribbean," will begin shooting at the end of July and film into August.
But it's not quite the same story. Kim Nam Gil will not play the Johnny Depp role of Jack Sparrow. Rumors have it that the roles will be reversed with Son Ye Jin being a pirate and Kim Nam Gil playing a thief who does his stealing on dry land.
The film is about a group of Joseon-era pirates who hunt for a ghost whale that is filled with treasure because it swallowed a ship. Kim Nam Gil's character teams up with Son Ye Jin's character to hunt the whale and in the process they must fight off other pirates. Their characters will have to learn how to work together.
Before "Shark" began filming, Son Ye Jin was asked how she felt about working with Kim Nam Gil. She confessed that she was pleasantly surprised when she met him.
"It might be because of his previous dramas but my image of Kim Nam Gil before I met him was that of a bad guy," said Son Ye Jin. "But his real personality is cute and he is adorable."
Kim Nam Gil said that his being adorable had to do with her.
"Son Ye Jin brings it out in all of us," he said at the pre-drama press conference. "A competition has started between the male actors."
Son Ye Jin has indeed had some adorable roles in the seven dramas and dozen films she appeared in. Maybe the most adorable was Park Gae In the clumsy carpenter in "Personal Taste." But the actress is also talented at melodrama. She played the tragic Alzheimer's patient in the film "A Moment To Remember" and is the haunted prosecutor Jo Hae Woo in "Shark."
Kim Nam Gil has been in 16 dramas, including the one that underlined his bad boy image, "Bad Guy." He has also been in a dozen films. He plays Han Yi Soo, a man consumed by revenge, in "Shark."
He and Son Ye Jin actually worked on the same drama once. He had a cameo in "Personal Taste" as a man sitting in a bar, but it is not known if they even saw each other on set.
Chun Sung Il, who wrote "Chuno" and "Level 7 Civil Servant," created the script for "Pirates." Lee Suk Hoon, who directed "Dancing Queen" and "Two Faces Of My Girlfriend" will direct. The film has been described as a blockbuster because of the almost $9 million invested in it.
