'Bulhandang', 'Gil Bok-soon' director Byun Sung-hyun returns with Sul KyungGu once again in Netflix's new film 'Good News'. New-face actors Ryu Seung-beom and Hong Kyung also join.
Netflix held a production briefing for the new film 'Good News' (director Byun Sung-hyun) on the morning of the 14th at the JW Marriott Hotel Dongdaemun in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Director Byun Sung-hyun, who directed the work, and lead actors Ryu Seung-beom, Hong Kyung, and Sul KyungGu attended and, under the moderation of broadcaster Park Kyung-rim, talked about the film and their recent activities.
'Good News' is a film about a suspicious operation by people gathered in one place in the 1970s determined to land a hijacked domestic flight by any means. It was officially invited to the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and the 30th Busan International Film Festival, drawing a strong response even before its release.
To this end, trusted actor Ryu Seung-beom plays Park Sang-hyun, Hong Kyung plays the elite ambitious Seo Go-myung. Also, Sul KyungGu, who worked with director Byun Sung-hyun on the films 'Bulhandang', 'Kingmaker', and 'Gil Bok-soon', plays the role of Amogae and once again becomes the director's persona. Japanese actors Yamada Takayuki, Shiina Gitpei, Kasamatsu Sho, and Yamamoto Nairu also appear in large numbers. Also, Kim Sung-oh, who also worked on 'Bulhandang', 'Kingmaker', and 'Gil Bok-soon', joins to add charm.
Regarding the praise at the Toronto Film Festival, director Byun Sung-hyun said, "Especially in Toronto, North American and English-speaking audiences are the main attendees, so I was most worried about whether they would understand, but they responded from the start. That was the best part, and it was good."
Sul KyungGu said, "This is my third time going to the Toronto Film Festival. From before, the Toronto Film Festival has felt friendly, so I remembered good responses. So I somehow felt confident about Toronto. The response was good. The problem was the Busan Film Festival. I wanted to see the audience reaction in Busan once more, so I watched it with Hong Kyung, and although the start was a bit slow in Busan, the response was good, so it was very good," he said with a laugh.
Hong Kyung said, "Because there are cultural differences between East and West, I was worried whether the humor or the director's various codes would land appropriately. Unexpectedly, there was much more response, and people could freely enjoy it without worrying about impressions, so I had a great time. It was also my first international film festival, so I have meaningful memories," he said.
Ryu Seung-beom, who showed the style most suited to an international film festival, said, "I'm very happy. I'm grateful as an actor who took part in the project. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't seen the film yet. My anticipation grows. My personal expectations are rising," he said with a laugh.
The film is inspired by a domestic flight hijacking incident that occurred in Japan in the 1970s. Director Byun Sung-hyun said, "I did not follow the true story completely; within that I worked on what I could and wanted to tell, and I thought parts of it could resonate in the present era. Rather than real people, I recreated characters and worked with the actors to breathe life into them."
Sul KyungGu said, "The director just threw it at me and said 'Shall we do it?' and I said 'Okay.' The name is 'Amogae'—it was neither this nor that, so I was a bit embarrassed when I first saw the book. It didn't seem like a figure who would be in that era or scene; it felt like a character casually tossed in. No matter how many times I looked, it didn't blend. So my first question to the director was, 'Should it blend or not?' He said, 'Let's not blend for now.' I had concerns about the character being strange," he revealed.
Hong Kyung said, "I was captivated by the script without a doubt. The main thing is that when I first read Seo Go-myung, whom I play, he felt like a very hot-blooded guy. His drive to move forward, to achieve something, ambition—it showed youthful impulsiveness, and I was greatly captivated by that."
Ryu Seung-beom explained his reason for joining, saying, "When I read the script I was captivated by the black comedy. I had never done that genre before. The things described in the script had duality, different outer and inner aspects, funny yet with substance, and the director's hidden intentions were depicted through humor and genre expression, which was very alluring. It was very cinematic yet used genre characteristics rather than being strictly realistic, allowing the director to cautiously project his voice into the world. I thought it was a very interesting and powerful script."
Actors actively offered opinions for their characters. First, Sul KyungGu laughed, "Originally I marked dots, I had three then removed some and left one. There wasn't a hat during the test shoot, but I think the director put it on to make it look more incongruous." He emphasized about the enigmatic Amogae, who resolves national affairs despite being shrouded in mystery, "He could be unidentified, someone who is everywhere and nowhere. Ultimately he is consumed and disappears, but he was a person who wanted at least his name in print."
Regarding working with director Byun Sung-hyun for the fourth time, Sul KyungGu said, "I worried. Is this the right thing to do? I even sent a simple text. But in the end I thought it was good to do it together. It's the fourth film, but each story is different. It feels like a completely different story; I'm curious how it will be styled, and the staff have been with me since 'Bulhandang'. Director Byun's works always have a charm that makes you curious. At the Busan International Film Festival in the morning he confessed his love saying 'because I like you' as a reason to work together, then had a confusing afternoon of 'breakup'—it was a confusing day," he said with a laugh.
He continued, "At the costume fitting I lost a lot of weight to go. Then they told me to stop losing weight. They said I shouldn't lose too much because I'd look too gaunt. I remember gaining a little weight there. I 고민ed about how not to blend with the other characters. I exaggerated my manner of speaking from the appearance onward. There were moments when I couldn't decide the instant when the person's true expression might appear. The conductor named Byun Sung-hyun makes even simple instruments come in at precise points so the ensemble doesn't fall apart. He makes even very active actors hit their mark precisely when they appear briefly," he emphasized.
Director Byun Sung-hyun said, "When you work on four consecutive films with the same actors, worries inevitably accumulate, and I really had too many thoughts. In fact, Senior KyungGu and I talked about whether it was right to do this. After some hesitation, I think I gained some hints I could use while writing 'Amogae'. And visually, Senior KyungGu kept appearing in a suit in my films; after 'Bulhandang' he kept coming out in suits. That was somewhat displeasing because that's not really who he is. I wanted to draw that out. I referenced some of his earlier works. During the test shoot I asked him to walk, and while talking about the character and he took a few steps I thought, 'That's enough, senior.'"
About the elite air force Seo Go-myung, Hong Kyung said, "He is a figure with great ambition and desire. It's somewhat expressed in the film, and briefly his family background and inner circumstances are shown, which may be the driving force—he's a guy with a desire to move forward and achieve something."
Hong Kyung, who speaks three languages in the film, said, "During the free period I tried to learn many basic terms and elements that a controller needs to know. While I may be familiar with English, Japanese was new to me, so I took sufficient time to learn it slowly. I tried to memorize hiragana and katakana. When I previously worked on a film that used sign language it was similar—delivering lines alone is difficult, but I didn't want to miss opportunities to explore, and the production company gave me enough time to work on it."
Director Byun Sung-hyun praised working with Hong Kyung, saying, "It was very exhausting. He had a lot of questions, and I had to prepare answers. So even though I wrote the script, I had to study more. I jokingly say it was tiring, but I learned a lot. Not only with questions but when he voiced his thoughts, if they made sense the scene structure sometimes changed. I laid the initial groundwork, but it would be good to say we created the finished product together."
Ryu Seung-beom plays Park Sang-hyeok, director general of the Central Intelligence Agency at the center of power. He described the character: "As a person he has a childlike temperament. He is a character who does not lose that temperament. He holds the position of intelligence chief in the 1970s; I didn't live in that era, so I don't know, but from stories around me I thought it's a very distinctive position. I felt he has charms arising from the duality and conflict between his traits and his position. As I kept studying the script, like all characters, I thought the director had definitely hidden intentions. I want to hear the director's intentions about the character."
Ryu Seung-beom also suggested using the Chungcheong dialect for the character. Director Byun Sung-hyun added, "Intuitively the Chungcheong dialect came to mind. The characteristics of that dialect—the duality of seeming different outside and inside—felt very similar to the film's tone, so I thought it would make a good ensemble."
Director Byun Sung-hyun said, "Ryu Seung-beom said he enjoyed the script, and I also heard he found it fun after reading it. But at first he refused. I should have left saying 'you're already aware' and gone, but I stayed until he just sat down and agreed. I went to have a cup of coffee and ended up staying for 12 hours together. He eventually agreed and went home," he said, adding surprise.
"Also, I mentioned I have a childlike side, and at first he worried about that. While in Slovakia he thought about it, and every time he returned to Korea we met. He read the script until it turned black. I instinctively thought he was acting on instinct, but I realized he prepares very meticulously. Still, I'm not fond of ad-libbing, but I opened up ad-lib for Ryu Seung-beom. I even asked him, 'Anything?' Each take was new, and although we've been friends since we were young, I've been a fan since childhood, so it was a surprising experience," he replied.
Ryu Seung-beom said, "It's not that I said 'no' to the project. After my previous work ended I wanted a rest before the next work, and the proposed schedule required immediate preparation. I wondered if that would help. Because of those reasons, but not because of doubt about 'Good News'—I couldn't leave that place, so the decision was made," he said with a laugh.
Regarding working with new actors, director Byun Sung-hyun said, "All three actors are people I am a fan of. It was very fun. Each actor has different characteristics, and the clashes when they come together made me study them. Sometimes harmony formed naturally rather than through directing. Seeing that made me happy when directing," he expressed satisfaction.
He also talked about working with Japanese actors: "I was very worried about working with actors who speak another language. Fortunately, we received a lot of help. I asked many questions. I asked whether my directing approach matched Japanese emotional expression. If I was told it didn't, we'd revise lines together to adjust nuances. We received a lot of help, and I think the actors felt the same. We gained a lot of energy. They have a slightly different, somewhat incongruous energy compared with Korean actors."
Sul KyungGu said, "I drank less. I restrained myself a lot. I felt so much pressure that I felt the weight of having to carry this project. Early on he couldn't even eat. Until he gained confidence he struggled with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We watched Director Byun from behind; at lunch everyone went to eat but he couldn't do anything alone. It was pitiful, but in the end he did well. Once he gained some confidence he began to eat a little," he added.
Director Byun Sung-hyun, who again recreated the 1970s following 'Kingmaker', said, "We aimed to keep historical accuracy but not follow it like a documentary. We used plausible designs and within that our production designer created many innovations. Our film can be seen as slightly more elevated than 'Kingmaker' in tone. In that respect we tried a new reinterpretation."
Hong Kyung said, "My role moves through many spaces, and production designer Han Areum's production design was truly something I'd never experienced before. When you enter the space there's overwhelming energy. Beyond that, detailed manipulations—when controlling things you had to operate buttons or small props—those parts moved realistically and were very helpful."
Ryu Seung-beom added, "I was surprised too. I heard director Byun and the art team had been continuously collaborating and that the director's aesthetic sense in previous works was excellent, and it was an honor to see that directly while working on this film."
Sul KyungGu said, "We built many temporary partitions and structures in the open spaces both in the control room and at the airfield we shot in Gunsan. They even brought in a plane from abroad, matching a 1970s Japanese domestic flight, using the interior as a set and placing the exterior at Gunsan Airport—an odd experience. Beyond the set, after working on four films in a row I felt that staff like cinematographer Cho Hyung-rae and production designer Han Areum gather around the monitor whenever there's a 'cut'. They hold meetings there, shoot again, and gather once more. I've never seen staff devote themselves to one shot like that. I think there was pressure and a sense of responsibility to make 'Good News' well. It was a work with tremendous effort," he emphasized.
In addition, the chapter-style structure and direction that breaks the fourth wall drew attention. Director Byun Sung-hyun said, "The structure itself aligns with the film's theme—what this film wants to say. I tried to make the structure itself a theme. The setting of breaking the fourth wall—if this film were meant for the audience to actually experience and absorb and feel it personally, my intent in writing and directing was for the audience to observe the commotion. Rather than identifying with a character, I placed devices to create distance during filming."
[Photo] OSEN reporter Cho Eun-jung, provided by Netflix.
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