"Everything was perfect except the shopping. Four and a half stars" (PD Na Young-seok)
On the 24th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the Netflix variety show 'Lee Seo-jin's Dalla Dalla' production presentation was attended by PD Na Young-seok, PD Kim Ye-seul and Lee Seo-jin, who talked together.
'Lee Seo-jin's Dalla Dalla' is an unscripted American wandering variety show with no plans between Lee Seo-jin and PD Na Young-seok, and will deliver pleasant laughter through the chaotic travels of Lee Seo-jin, a "Texas fan" who considers Texas his second hometown, and Na Young-seok's party who followed him closely.
Following 'Three Idiots in Kenya,' expectations are high as Na Young-seok's team presents their second variety show on Netflix. The "wandering trip that goes its own way," whose direction is unpredictable, is the core point unique to 'Lee Seo-jin's Dalla Dalla.' It may be a bit eccentric and hard to predict, which can be disconcerting, but Lee Seo-jin's "Texas fan" style travel course, impossible to experience elsewhere, guarantees a fresh kind of fun.
When told that the meeting was a reliable pairing, PD Na Young-seok opened his mouth and said, "I think Lee Seo-jin's unpretentious charm is the biggest. Unpretentious charm, natural charm. It's a show where he goes to places he likes, sees what he likes and eats what he likes, so I think people can comfortably follow along."
Because the trip was led by Lee Seo-jin, PD Kim Ye-seul said, "As a producer, this was the first time I wasn't the one leading and was just following on a travel program. It was a very unfamiliar experience, but on the other hand I could see various sides of my senior. Seeing Lee Seo-jin senior's tough exterior and soft interior made me understand how great Texas is."
Regarding the fact that the 'New York New York' series has entered Netflix through 'Dalla Dalla,' Lee Seo-jin said, "Actually, 'Dalla Dalla' started from 'New York New York.' 'New York New York 2' was filmed for YouTube, but for the third one they said they would do it with Netflix, so I thought I had to work hard," and added, "When it was on YouTube I planned to be casual, but with Netflix I felt I had to try harder."
The PDs likely felt similarly. PD Na Young-seok explained, "It would be a lie to say there was no pressure. The project started as something for us to enjoy filming for YouTube when Lee Seo-jin had free time between big programs." Na PD said, "When the name Netflix came in, it was a bit of a burden, but on the other hand I was curious how Lee Seo-jin's travel content would be received on Netflix. It was stressful, but we filmed happily."
PD Kim Ye-seul said with a laugh, "'New York New York' was also a series filmed with a phone, shot simply. I was worried explaining this shooting style to Netflix. But they provided the latest model phones to raise quality and such. I thought, this is a global platform."
When asked how Lee Seo-jin's guide proceeded, PD Na Young-seok said, "He goes where he wants to go. We followed because he was into Texas," and explained, "Basically we did what he wanted. Since some places were first-time visits, when I, the head writer Daeju, PD Ye-seul and Lee Seo-jin picked five places, one was something we insisted on. We would complain about why we were going there, but in the end we took him. There were a few places forced in like that where we wanted to go. He drove, explained and took us; because he's a warm brother, he had a tsundere yet grumbling-but-warm side that was nice."
When asked why he grumbled, Lee Seo-jin said firmly, "I really don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. Don't ask me to do it." Watching this, PD Kim Ye-seul expressed appreciation, saying, "Although senior said he didn't want to, he put care into setting things up. At those times I felt he thought of us from deep inside. There's a big difference between exterior and interior. I wish the exterior matched the interior more often."
When asked what he focused most on in directing, PD Kim Ye-seul said, "What we worried about most was following whatever Senior Seojin wanted to do in its raw form. I thought we should show the standard parts, but this show is a lifestyle variety so we decided to entrust it completely. When we suggested things we wanted to do, we could see him dislike them or see the chemistry with Senior Young-seok. I thought it would be good to go in tune with each other."
Compared with the earlier 'New York New York' series, the platform and locations have changed. Asked what else is different in 'Dalla Dalla' aside from those two changes, PD Na Young-seok said, "There isn't much that changed, so platform and location are the biggest differences. This time we received support through Netflix for production, but the parts we planned tried not to change simply because the platform changed. Those who originally liked the program seemed to prefer the simple, casual, shoot-as-you-feel approach."
He added, "We thought a lot about making sure the change of platform didn't damage it. It would be good to evolve and show new sides, but there are viewers who want certain programs to remain unchanged," and said, "The series with Lee Seo-jin was filmed to maintain as unchanged a feeling as possible."
With the 15-year friendship between Lee Seo-jin and PD Na Young-seok drawing attention, curiosity continued about other chemistry in 'Dalla Dalla.' PD Na Young-seok said, "It was the same. I've filmed traveling in the U.S. with this brother many times. He seems to grumble at us as usual but he led us, found what he wanted to eat, and there was forced shopping, but it was great. Traveling together, his embarrassed expressions are so funny. Every time he was at a loss because I kept talking nonsense to him, it was enjoyable, and I hope viewers can feel that fun too."
PD Kim Ye-seul, who observed the two, said, "While working on postproduction I felt it was like a bubbly female lead and a cynical male lead. On set they had a quick back-and-forth and seemed well matched, but watching it again in postproduction I felt their breathing matched well. Lee Seo-jin senior would say, 'Why do I have to do this?' yet when he saw what Senior Young-seok liked he smiled contentedly. It felt like a typical romantic comedy where the male lead grumbles and then smiles when he looks at the female lead."
PD Na Young-seok will participate in 'Dalla Dalla' as both a cast member and director. About that, Na Young-seok said, "After filming and reviewing during editing, I felt I may have misjudged. The concept of this trip was that it was a trip among close colleagues; colleagues who have worked together for a long time follow Lee Seo-jin on the trip."
Na PD said, "Previously, because I was filming I didn't appear, but since a junior directed this time I appeared a lot and felt embarrassed. The intent was to show the chemistry of enjoying the trip together without filtering, but I think I appeared more than usual, so I'm reflecting on that. If a next season is made, I'll cut back a lot. It looked bad," previewing the production direction for a potential next season.
When asked to review the Texas trip, PD Na Young-seok expressed admiration, saying, "Everything was perfect except the shopping. Four and a half stars." Shortly after, PD Kim Ye-seul gave five stars and praised the trip as perfect.
Lee Seo-jin also won the top excellence award at last year's year-end SBS Entertainment Awards. Asked about his changed mindset afterward, he said, "These days I'm living the hard life of a stage actor, so I don't think about winning at the entertainment awards at all. Two weeks after the entertainment awards it's forgotten. I don't think about it much," and added firmly, "Even if I don't know who will get the grand prize, the top excellence award just passes by."
Finally, when asked about expectations for global performance through Netflix, PD Na Young-seok said, "I'm not expecting strong results. This content grew well from what we made playfully on YouTube and has gone to Netflix to be shown to global viewers," adding, "This morning I met Netflix representatives and confessed our burdens, and they said, 'It's okay, production costs weren't high.' They said think of it as cost-effective, so we hope people view it as an easy-to-watch piece of content."
Lee Seo-jin said, "I hope it does well. Production costs aren't something I worry about. Though it started with 'New York New York,' if 'Dalla Dalla' does well there are countless cities I have in mind. We'll sell a lot of merchandise there. If Netflix says no, we'll move to another platform. The U.S. is such a big country and every place has a different vibe."
Lee Seo-jin also emphasized, "If it does well, I have no intention of doing other previous projects again. There's no 'Bi Seo-jin.' I want to keep this program's concept to myself."
Meanwhile, the Netflix variety show 'Na Young-seok's Dalla Dalla' premieres today (24th).
[Photo] Netflix
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