"The King of Kings" met the audience with "Kicking Talk."
The film "The King of Kings" (directed by Jang Seong-ho, produced by Mopax Studio, distributed by D-Staiton, co-distributed by Sitess) successfully completed the GV "Kicking Talk" held at the Lotte Cinema World Tower in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 9th.
"The King of Kings" is a global box office hit K-animation depicting a journey into the greatest story from 2,000 years ago, along with British literary giant Charles Dickens and his youngest son Walter. Amid the enthusiastic response from the actual audience, the film introduced the hidden philosophy and innovative technology in its fourth week of release through GV "Kicking Talk."
Chief editor Joo Seong-cheol, who joined the GV with the audience packed into all 231 seats, first noted, "The direction of encountering 'Jesus' at the same age as 'Walter' offers a cinematic experience to the audience." In response, Director Jang Seong-ho stated, "To address concerns about the clichéd narrative found in Christian content, I decided to tell the story from the protagonist 'Walter's' perspective." He continued, "I wanted the audience to identify with Walter and experience the story through the process of 'Walter' directly participating and interacting with 'Jesus'."
Regarding the virtual studio system introduced in the film, Director of Photography Kim Woo-hyung said, "Using technology that makes the virtual space and characters operate like a real camera allowed us to control camera positions, lenses, and lighting as if shooting a live-action film, enabling us to create high-quality scenes." He humorously conveyed the advantages of the virtual studio, mentioning, "Especially in live-action films, if the sun sets, you have to wait until the next day to shoot again, which adds a high level of risk. This allowed us to comfortably create sunset scenes."
Regarding the most challenging aspects of animation production, Director Jang Seong-ho said, "There's a saying that half of directing in live-action films ends with casting. This means that as long as the director conveys their intentions, the actors express those intentions. However, in animation, the director must control every movement from a simple eye gesture to finger movements, making that process the most painful experience for me."
Efforts for a rating suitable for all audiences were also mentioned. Director Jang Seong-ho revealed, "I consulted with a retired member of the American rating committee who worked for 30 years, showing him the film beforehand to adjust the intensity." Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung explained, "We used not only methods to make the sufferings of Jesus unnoticeable with camera positioning but also T&S lens effects used in live-action films to blur the more brutal parts." To this, Director Jang Seong-ho expressed trust in his partner, stating, "Most of what looks visually good is because of the contributions of Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung."
Behind-the-scenes facts about the scene where the audience's favorite moment occurs—walking on water—were also revealed. Director Jang Seong-ho disclosed, "In fact, that scene was the first to be completed to find investors." Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung added, "We created that scene in 2016, so the full 10 years of production have been incorporated into the work."
Subsequently, Director Jang Seong-ho revealed, "Due to various circumstances, one cut was missing, but Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung kept discussing that scene until we eventually completed it." He added with a smile, "That scene is where 'Peter' steps on the water with his foot and captures 'Jesus.'" This revealed that the film's quality was achieved through their close partnership.
[Photo] Provided by D-Staiton.
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