Bong Joon-ho’s latest film, MOTHER, is getting a release in the United States, and with that comes a bunch of publicity. The Wall Street Journal has a nice blog entry about Bong here. And the Harvard Crimson here.
Will post more as I find them.
Month: March 2010 (Page 2 of 2)
The long, slow suicide by Hollywood’s trade magazines continues, as Variety just axed their best movie reviewers, including their top Asia reviewer Derek Elley.
Now, I can see getting rid of some expensive reviewers, especially in Hollywood (where, let’s face it, reviewing the latest blockbuster means pretty close to nothing). But for less well known markets, like Asia, having reviewers who know the countries, the creatives and the history is pretty important. And Derek has long been one of the smartest and more important reviewers of Asian films.
Perhaps the modern economics of media just do not include a place for reviewers anymore. Film companies have other ways of getting out word about their movies. And just about anyone can blog their opinions, no matter how facile (hello!). But I still think Variety is losing more than they are saving by getting rid of someone like Derek.
This is just the latest in a long line of moves the movie trade magazines have made to eviscerate their publications. Variety created Variety Asia Online, then shut it down. The Hollywood Reporter had THR-Asia, then shut it down. Screen still has an Asia presence (the strongest of the three), but for how long? Film Business Asia is off to a promising start, but is still just that, a start — and it does not have reviews.
Movies in Asia pull in over $6 billion a year, in theatrical revenue alone. Maybe nearing $7 billion, depending on how you measure these things. I find it hard to believe that there is not room for or need for a decent publication (online or offline) about the Asian film industry.
The long, slow suicide by Hollywood’s trade magazines continues, as Variety just axed their best movie reviewers, including their top Asia reviewer Derek Elley.
Now, I can see getting rid of some expensive reviewers, especially in Hollywood (where, let’s face it, reviewing the latest blockbuster means pretty close to nothing). But for less well known markets, like Asia, having reviewers who know the countries, the creatives and the history is pretty important. And Derek has long been one of the smartest and more important reviewers of Asian films.
Perhaps the modern economics of media just do not include a place for reviewers anymore. Film companies have other ways of getting out word about their movies. And just about anyone can blog their opinions, no matter how facile (hello!). But I still think Variety is losing more than they are saving by getting rid of someone like Derek.
This is just the latest in a long line of moves the movie trade magazines have made to eviscerate their publications. Variety created Variety Asia Online, then shut it down. The Hollywood Reporter had THR-Asia, then shut it down. Screen still has an Asia presence (the strongest of the three), but for how long? Film Business Asia is off to a promising start, but is still just that, a start — and it does not have reviews.
Movies in Asia pull in over $6 billion a year, in theatrical revenue alone. Maybe nearing $7 billion, depending on how you measure these things. I find it hard to believe that there is not room for or need for a decent publication (online or offline) about the Asian film industry.
Hard to believe that Fantasporto is nearly over already. But it has been a very fun five days so far. Rumor has it (from the Portuguese websites) that HEARTLESS is the big winning of the competitive section … And I think it was the best film I saw in the festival, so I am quite pleased with that result. It is not a perfect film (I especially dislike a few of the music choices), but overall is quite inventive, creepy and well done. You can see the trailer here.
I also had the chance to see SERBIAN MOVIE (not in the festival, but privately). And I must say, it really is as transgressive and disturbing as people are saying. It is also very smart, cynical and well made. It reminded me of a 1980s David Cronenberg film, in a lot of ways.
SERBIAN MOVIE is the story of a former porn star who comes out of retirement for one last, extreme film, the plot of which the crazy director refuses to reveal. But it is obviously quite metaphorical, and is a statement about what has happened to Serbia over the past few years. Anti-capitalist, perhaps? Anti-something, for sure. It is a very graphic, brutal tale, but not like those dumb torture films, like SAW or HOSTEL.
(I am not sure if I would recommend watching the NSFW trailers, short or long, because I think they might give away too much. But they certainly give you a sense of how graphic and brutal this film is).
The rhythms of Fantasporto are very different from the film festivals I am used to in Asia. At PIFF or PiFan, the first films of the day typically start around 11am, and they run every two hours or so until the last screening around 9pm.
But here, first screenings are at 3pm, and the last screening is around 11, so they whole day is much later. Which is quite nice, actually. It gives you time to sleep in, do some sightseeing, and then make your way to the theater in a very leisurely manner.
(This is the theater where all the movies are screened)
The oddest thing about this schedule, however, is when the Fantasporto organizers want to have some sort of event. Because the afternoon and evening are filled with movies, we end up having cocktail receptions at 11am. This morning, we gathered at the Porto Town Hall at 11am for some port wine and a little hobnobbing with local dignitaries. All very nice (and the Porto Town Hall is quite majestic), but it is a little odd drinking port before noon. Not that anyone was forcing us to drink, I guess.
(Porto City Hall)
(Beatrice, one of the festival bosses, speaking at City Hall)
(And this is the infamous Mario, also at City Hall)
And then there is Portuguese food, which thus far has been incredibly rich, even compared to the food in Spain that I have gotten used to. Most notably so far has been a chicken-rice stew, with the broth made from red wine and chicken blood. Complete with heady goodness.
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* I should mention that this is just day 3 of Fantasporto for me. The festival actually runs Feb. 26 to March 6, but I arrived halfway through.
Now that I am not living in Korea and POP GOES KOREA has been published, I have been wondering how much sense it makes to continue a blog called Korea Pop Wars. So I have been slowly developing a new blog, that is more general and reflects the things I am working these days — www.markjamesrussell.com.
If you are interested, feel free to check it out. If you are only interested in Korea things … Well, I might cross-post Korea-related content here, at least for a while. Or I might not. I am not sure yet.
Many thanks, though, to everyone who lent their eyeballs here over the years. When I started this blog, it was primarily done to work up interest for the book (then titled Pop Wars: The Koreans Strike Back, which is why this blog is called Korea Pop Wars). I thought about talking about the latest Korean celebrity news, but around the same time all those K-Pop blogs got started, and no need to be redundant, so that idea fell by the wayside.
I also thought about talking about some of the more fun things I saw and heard about from the Korean entertainment scene, but I was a journalist back then, and if I talked about all the off-the-record stuff, it would not be long before no one told me anything anymore. So that idea did not go anywhere. So eventually the blog became what it was. Maybe not as dynamic as I hoped for, but judging by the traffic, there were a few of you out there who liked it. Thanks much.
Anyhow, I am currently in Porto, Portugal, at the Fantasporto Film Festival. So far, it has been great fun, and I hope to talk more about it over at the new blog.
I just arrived in Porto, Portugal, to attend my first Fantasporto, aka the Oporto International Film Festival. Fantasporto is the biggest film festival held in Portugal, and at 30 years old, it is something of an icon. And because it is a film festival that concentrates on fantasy and science fiction movies, it should be a lot of fun and interesting.
Fantasporto founder Mario Dorminsky has been attending the Pucheon International Film Festival (Korea’s main fantasy film festival) for years, which is where I first met him. Mario is a very fun and usually unshaven man, although I suspect that he will be somewhat more cleaned up and a lot more stressed here than he usually is when I meet him in July in Korea (not sure since I have not seen him yet).
Not sure why Fantasporto does not have a higher profile. I have found almost nothing on the Internet about the festival in English (or French or anything but Portuguese and Spanish). It has a great lineup of movies and Porto/Oporto is a beautiful city. Very old and very green. And so far, great food.
Anyhow, I am very happy to be here. And hopefully I can provide some updates and pictures over the rest of my stay.
Young-hee and the Pullocho
Young-hee stumbles into a magical world, where the fairy stories of her childhood are real and all the frustrations of her everyday life fade away — until her little brother is kidnapped by a goblin. The only way Young-hee can save him is by finding a magical plant called a pullocho, but little does she realize the fate of a whole world hangs in the balance.
On sale now at:
Amazon
Pop Goes Korea
Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music and Internet Culture (2nd edition) is the only English-language book to examine the whole of Korea's entertainment industry and how it became such a powerhouse over the past 20 years. With profiles of many of Korea's top stars (including Lee Byung-hun and Rain), Pop Goes Korea features chapters on movies, music, television, comic books, the Internet, and more.
On sale now at:
Amazon.com
Kobo eBooks
And hopefully more ebooks stores very soon.
The original edition of Pop Goes Korea is now out of print.
K-Pop Now!
K-Pop Now! takes a fun look at Korea’s high-energy pop music, and is written for its growing legions of fans. It features all the famous groups and singers, and takes an insider’s look at how they have made it to the top.
You can buy at:
Amazon.com
Chapters Indigo
Tuttle (my publisher)
Kyobo Books (in Korea)
Goodreads (not for buying, but still a good link)