"I just like senior. Yes, I like him." Director Byun Sung-hyun drew laughs with a confession of love for actor Sul KyungGu at the 30th Busan International Film Festival.
On the morning of the 19th at the Busan Cinema Center, a press conference was held for the film Good News (director Byun Sung-hyun), which was invited to the gala presentation of the 30th Busan International Film Festival. Director Byun Sung-hyun and lead actors Sul KyungGu, Hong Kyung, and Yamada Takayuki attended and discussed the film.
Good News is a film about a suspicious plan by a group of people who gather to do whatever it takes to force a hijacked plane to land in the 1970s. Director Byun Sung-hyun used the March 1970 hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351, known as the Yodo-go incident, as a motif and added cinematic imagination. After its world premiere in the special presentation section at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, the film has drawn attention and raised expectations with its immersive story, distinctive characters and unique direction.
Besides its sensitive subject matter and the fact that it is the new work of Byun Sung-hyun, a rising figure in Chungmuro receiving love calls from overseas festivals, Good News draws attention as a reunion between director Byun Sung-hyun and Sul KyungGu. It is their fourth collaboration following the films The Merciless, The Kingmaker and Gil Bok-soon. In the meantime, Sul KyungGu has continued to appear in works such as The Moon, Boys, Ordinary Family and the Disney+ original series Hyper Knife. But director Byun Sung-hyun has cast Sul KyungGu as the lead in four consecutive films since The Merciless. No persona is like this persona.
Although the trust between them runs deep, getting four consecutive love calls gave Sul KyungGu pause. He said, "It wasn't that I didn't worry about doing four in a row; I worried even more." He said, "I thought viewers might feel burdened seeing someone appear in director Byun Sung-hyun's films four times in a row, so I seriously wondered whether I should do it."
Despite that, Sul KyungGu showed unchanged trust in meeting director Byun Sung-hyun again. He said, "I started working with director Byun Sung-hyun on The Merciless, and at first I felt a little resistance. But after that I found this style very enjoyable. I was also curious about what style I could show in a large-scale film like Good News."
Above all, he emphasized, "With The Merciless they said they would make me stiff, but this time they said they'd crumple me again, so I'm curious how they'll crumple me." In fact, Sul KyungGu gained great love after being called the "ji-cheon-myeong idol" through The Merciless. He joked, "They said they crumpled me in this movie," and added, "I'm grateful that they try hard to change me somehow."
Director Byun Sung-hyun still did not hide his affection for Sul KyungGu. When asked why he cast Sul KyungGu four times in a row, he answered, "Simply, I like senior Sul KyungGu." He said, "I like him as an actor, and I like him as an older brother and senior." Repeating his affection, he added, "I really like him," which drew laughter from the audience.
Since The Merciless, director Byun Sung-hyun has earned a reputation for making any material stylish. Beginning with the noir bromance The Merciless starring Sul KyungGu and Yim Siwan, he followed with The Kingmaker, which depicted political maneuvering and friendship between Sul KyungGu and the late Lee Sun-kyun, and Gil Bok-soon, which dramatically portrayed killer action with Sul KyungGu and Jeon Do-yeon. This time, can he be praised as stylish for a black comedy that deploys Japanese actors including Sul KyungGu, Hong Kyung, Ryu Seung-beom and Yamada Takayuki? I hope his repeated affection for subjects will be revealed in Good News. Good News will be released on Netflix on Oct. 17.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Lee Seok-woo, provided by Netflix.
[OSEN]