Journey to the Centre of the Earth director to make 3D Korean war epic
Korean war tackled by the director behind Yogi Bear
One of the anomalies of the South Korean film industry is its sheer eclecticism. Whilst Asian neighbouring territories typically are known for exporting one specific genre, for example Horror from Japan or Action from Hong Kong, Korea refuses to be tied down by any individual type. In recent years Seoul has released a torrent of films across the board – the country has excelled in thrillers (Memories of a Murder), period (The King and the Clown), romance (Il Mare), gangster (My Boss, My Hero), drama (Christmas In August) and, to the envy of the world’s film industry, war epics. With delicious detail for aesthetics and melodramatic heart, films such as Welcome to Dongmakgol and Taeguki have really pushed the boundaries of cinema forward. So it is no surprise to announce that the new year will see the production of a film centred around the Korean War reports slashfilm. However, there are a couple of twists to this project that are as confusing as they are interesting.
The film, which has yet to be named, is to be produced by Madmedia and shot in 3D. This marks quite the surprise as although the technology is developed in the country it has yet to catch on in Korea’s indigenous films. The second point of interest is that the films director is to be none other than Journey to the Centre of the Earth director Brevig; the man who is currently working on a Yogi Bear adaptation. Despite the raised eye-brows concerning an American director telling a Korean piece of history, there are many reasons the move conversely makes sense. As well as having worked in the 3D genre before, Brevig has a wealth of moviemaking experience as an FX man which may prove vital in the Tiger Nation’s attempt to branch out into this new technology. Finally the film is only set to shoot a small amount of footage actually in Asia with New Zealand acting as location for most of the shoot.
