Ads for a film might brag that the production has been "years in the making" but with Jo In Sung's new film, "Kwon Bob," that statement will not be an exaggeration. The actor, who was released from his military service in 2011, decided to make the film's leading character Kwon Bob his comeback role. Unexpectedly, the film's production plans ground to a halt and Jo In Sung decided to wait for them to resume.
It took two long years.
In the time that it took the film's production to be fully financed, the actor mostly busied himself with shooting commercials. He filmed up to ten commercials in that period, earning millions of dollars, but until last fall refused to sign on for any dramas or films. Finally, he felt he could wait no longer and he agreed to play the con man Oh Soo in "That Winter, The Wind Blows" with co-star Song Hye Kyo. The drama was a hit and now, fortunately, his wait for the film is over. "Kwon Bob" has finally gotten the go-ahead to start production.
It's an international collaboration. Chinese production companies are providing up to 30 percent of the film's financing with a view to showing the film in China. Production is being managed by Korea's CJ Group, which has long sought to bridge the Korean and Chinese entertainment markets.
"The film is receiving worldwide attention," said Jung Tae Sung of CJ Group. "It's a sign that there is a widespread demand for Korean movies."
Jung says the film will provide a new model for the Korean global film market.
Such collaborations have been profitable before. The film, "The Parting, which was a recent Chinese-Korean collaboration, earned a profit of more than $29 million. It set a record for collaborated movies that "Kwon Bob" hopes to improve on.
The film, which will star Jo and actress Lee Yeon Hee, is a futuristic science fiction thriller. It's about a man whose hatred of injustice prompts him to develop super powers. He falls in love with a woman and has to save the village she lives in.
Before appearing in "That Winter The Wind Blows," Jo In Sung was best known for his work in the films, "A Frozen Flower" and "A Dirty Carnival." His "Kwon Bob" co-star Lee Yeon Hee appears in "Gu Family Book" as Yun Seo Hwa. She played Yoo Kang Mi in the drama "Phantom."
Park Kwang Hyun, who directed the 2005 hit film, "Welcome to Dongmakgol" will direct "Kwon Bob."
