Actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, and Yeom Hye-ran expressed their feelings after receiving a love call from director Park Chan-wook for the film 'No Other Choice'.
On the 29th (local time), an official press conference for the 82nd Venice Film Festival was held at the Palazzo del Casino on the Lido Island in Venice, Italy. Present at the event were director Park Chan-wook, who made it to the competition institutional sector with 'No Other Choice', and the film's leading actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, and Yeom Hye-ran, who also attended and answered questions from the foreign press while discussing the film.
Lee Byung-hun, after 25 years since the release of the film 'Joint Security Area (JSA)' in 2000, is showcasing a new work with director Park Chan-wook. He said, "I think the answer to why I ended up working with director Park Chan-wook is quite obvious, but collaborating with him is perhaps one of the biggest bucket list items for actors in our country. Naturally, regardless of the scenes or stories proposed, everyone dreams of collaborating with director Park Chan-wook at least once. I also wanted to participate, no matter what the story was. Besides, I felt that this story would be such an interesting one that there wouldn't be any commercial movie like it among the director's works, so I decided to participate with great excitement."
Son Ye-jin also noted, "I was thinking similarly about when the director would call me to work together. I believe this is something every actor thinks at least once. Putting everything else aside, the story the film holds is so powerful yet so funny, beautiful, tragic, and everything is encapsulated. When I closed the script, I thought it would be an incredible film. That's why I had a strong desire to participate in this movie. And I am incredibly happy to be able to work with the director I respect so much and senior actor Lee Byung-hun, as I have learned a lot from this experience."
Park Hee-soon also said, "I am a huge fan of the director, so I was always expecting when he would invite me, and when he did this time, I finally felt a sense of fulfillment. I even told my manager to contact me quickly before I changed my mind without reading the script first. The moment I read the script, I found it very enjoyable. It was a work highlighting black comedy, so I approached it with a feeling of returning to my original intentions. I was eagerly awaiting to be on set, which was a very happy moment for me."
Lee Sung-min cleverly responded to director Park Chan-wook's earlier comment that it took him 20 years to decide to film 'No Other Choice', saying, "I didn't participate because of money," which drew laughter. He added, "I had already decided before reading the script that I had to do this film, no matter what the role was. Collaborating with the director is something every actor considers an honor, and I believe all actors think that way. I hope to be called by the director for the next project as well."
On the other hand, Yeom Hye-ran smiled and said, "If the director made this film 20 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to participate. So, I consider it a stroke of luck."
'No Other Choice' tells the story of a company employee, Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), who felt that he had "achieved it all" but is suddenly fired. To protect his wife and two children and to keep the difficult home he has acquired, he prepares for his own war for re-employment. It will be released on Sept. 24.
[Photo] Source: YouTube, provided by CJ ENM.
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