(Following Interview ②) Director Jang Seong-ho of The King of Kings shared his thoughts on overseas acclaim.
The King of Kings is an animated film that depicts a journey into the greatest story of 2,000 years ago, taken by Britain's renowned author Charles Dickens and his youngest son, Walter.
In particular, after its initial release in North America in April, it surpassed a cumulative revenue of $60.3 million, setting a new record as the highest-grossing Korean film ever and the second-highest-grossing Asian film, exceeding the North American cumulative revenue of Parasite. Additionally, it achieved a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 98% and a CinemaScore of A+, proving overwhelming support.
Director Jang Seong-ho noted in a recent interview at a café in Palpan-dong, Seoul, regarding the mention of Parasite, "It is an honor just to be compared and to be mentioned together in articles. While it is true that the figures have surpassed them, in terms of artistic merit and achievement, we cannot compare. I think the nature and character of the works are quite different."
Director Jang, who prepared this work for ten years, reflected, "I originally thought of this as a wide-release project, including the screenplay. It was my goal to make it enjoyable enough for the general public. I didn't create it with the intention of only having Christians watch it. It seems that the intent worked well in the U.S."
Regarding the North American release, he said, "At that time, I was somewhat calm. (Before the release) The box office indicators in the U.S. are well-structured, so anticipated figures were roughly reported beforehand. Even for blind screenings and distribution previews, there were some indicators. However, prediction sites had anticipated 12 million views, and I felt relieved that it exceeded that number."
He continued, "In fact, despite being a country with many Christian contents, a major mainstream film has not come out since The Prince of Egypt 27 years ago. This is the first time something this big has hit, and it garnered a lot of interest. In that context, there has been introspective feedback in North America, with reactions like, 'We should have made this ourselves.' It seems like the U.S. had some thirst for this."
Also, when asked about his next project, Director Jang responded, "(Unlike before) Now, after The King of Kings' success, if I express the willingness to direct another project, I think meetings will be set up anywhere. In fact, I've been contacted by several studios, including major ones, saying, 'It would be great to work on any project together.'"
However, he said, "I had a scenario written before, but I became a bit scared. I told myself not to think about anything throughout this project and just to focus on it. So, there's no plan. There is a story based on the Bible, but I can't do it in succession. I feel mentally burned out." He added, "So, if I do my next project, I want it to be something I find fun. I also think that live-action films are possible. As a film enthusiast, I've never thought of live-action and animated films as separate. So, I believe I can excel in both, but under the current circumstances, I think it would be more meaningful to continue making animations."
[Photo] Provided by MoPack Studio.
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