I haven’t posted about any celebs recently, so here’s the latest clips I’ve come across:
1 Singers turned actors
With an eye on the success of canto-pop stars on the big screen, K-pop stars and their managers have been looking to maximise brand value and revenue streams. Uhm Jung-hwa, I only recently noticed, has been prominent both as a singer and an actor for many years, while you have to have been living a fairly secluded life recently if you hadn’t heard of Rain’s part in Park Chan-wook’s latest. So the Chosun decided to do a quick poll of the best and the worst acting talent among the former singers.
Top of the list for the boys (above) is, surprise, surprise, Rain. “He successfully appeals to the public with his ability to express feelings in a sympathetic way and by making the transition from singer to actor very naturally… He’s a jewel. It would have been such a loss if he hadn’t decided to act.” The judgement was based on his soap performances, including “Full House”, which I’m told starts with an appetising shower scene featuring the world’s most influential six-pack.
Pretty near the bottom of the list of girl singer-turned actors (pic at the bottom of this post) is Lee Hyori, with Uhm Jung-hwa near the top (Jase would agree). The full list is over at the Chosun Ilbo.
2 K-film “A”-list wedding
Two of the most talented people in K-film today are to get hitched on Christmas Eve, according to the Chosun: Moon So-ri, from Oasis and A good lawyer’s wife, and Jang Jun-hwan, director of one of the most crazy Korean films ever – Save the Green Planet. We wish them every happiness.
3 The last vampire
Everyone’s favourite hallyu star Jeon Ji-hyun is to star in a live-action version of Japanese anime film Blood – the last vampire.
This is the first big-budget Hollywood film for a Korean actress speaking English in the lead role
says the Hollywood Reporter source (HT to the Marmot). I hope she has a better English language coach than Lee Young-ae in JSA. Another example of Asian movie stars crossing national borders. I’ve got a post currently germinating on that topic.
4 Popera star joins British label
“Popera” tenor Lim Hyung-joo has signed a $1 million recording deal with top British music company, EMI Classics. Under the deal, Lim will record one classical album and two special albums. The 20-year old popera tenor caught the British recording company’s attention with his version of Ave Maria, which was included in the compilation album “Popera Star – 20 Beautiful Popera Songs.”
Read the rest of the story at KBS.
And those girl singer-actors:
