Actor Jung-woo's youth film "Jjanggu" finds its audience.
On the 16th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul, a press screening and press conference for the film "Jjanggu" were held. The event was attended by actor Jung-woo, Jung Soojung, Shin Seung-ho, Jo Beom-gyu, Kwon So-hyun and director Oh Seong-ho.
The film "Jjanggu" is a lively and passionate challenge drama about audition prodigy Jjanggu (Jung-woo), who endures and gets back up with the single wish of becoming an actor despite being knocked down and frustrated every time.
Director Oh Seong-ho, who co-directed the film, said, "Because this is the first time I am presenting a mainstream film, I feel excited and expectant as a director. I only hope people will look kindly on our film," and added, "The region and language of Gyeongsangdo were very important in the film. When location scouting, I wanted it to feel like the locals' living area, not a tourist spot. We prepared to recreate the original dialect rather than a caricatured dialect, and during preparation we practiced the dialect a great deal with senior Jung-woo and the other actors."
Jung-woo served as the film's lead and co-director. Jung-woo said, "Still, during my acting career I've had moments like this before, so it made me excited and nervous," adding, "There are some personal stories and wishes. It seems they started from my own experiences. So there are some unique emotions. That does not mean all the characters are real people. Min-hee (played by Jung Soojung) was projected as an emblematic, real-world barrier that men might see as a 'wannabe.' Seung-ho, So-hyun and Beom-gyu's characters were informed by direct and indirect experiences and were also inspired by actual friends."
He also mentioned an episode with "Wang Sa-nam" director Jang Hang-jun, who made a cameo appearance and is known as a "ten-million director," saying, "The film's episodes are similar. The monologue in the film was part of the free acting I did at auditions. Overall, while it includes my experiences, it was adapted in an entertaining way," and added, "One of the things I thought about during filming was that my first film audition in real life was for a work by director Jang Hang-jun. Especially since I had to play the role of auditioning before director Jang Hang-jun in a key scene of my film, I felt truly moved. It seemed I felt a complex mix of emotions."
He also shared behind-the-scenes stories about the realistic dialect acting. Jung-woo said, "I recorded everything and gave guides to the actors. What I'm grateful for at this moment is places like the nightclub and the gukbap restaurant. Actually, that nightclub normally doesn't allow hitting on people. But when they heard Jung-woo was doing it, people in Busan cooperated. I felt thankful while filming, thinking, 'I'm not dead yet; people in Busan still love me a lot.'"
He also expressed gratitude for the actors he worked with. Acting alongside Shin Seung-ho, Jo Beom-gyu and Jung Soojung as peers in the film, he said, "I wrote the script like I was talking with my friends. So I'm sorry to Seung-ho, Beom-gyu and Soojung for portraying them as peers. In filmmaking terms, it was like when we shot 'Baram.' I was a bit older then. But for this film we practiced the script more than expected beforehand. We did many group readings. Beom-gyu and Seung-ho, too. The important thing is that many people liked the film 'Baram.' In Busan and Gyeongsangdo, affection came from the dialect. We didn't cast these actors just because they used the dialect well. Their acting was excellent and fit the characters, so we offered them the roles. As expected, they were also very kind. Their personalities led to great chemistry and good acting. I'm thankful to the juniors," he said.
He said, "Actor Jo Beom-gyu was cast through auditions for our film, excluding even well-known bit players. Among them, Beom-gyu was cast in the largest role, 'Kkangnaeng-i,' and he worked very hard. He went through four rounds of auditions, and the camera test took three to four hours where he acted with me in front of the camera. In a way, I sometimes think Beom-gyu might be the true 'Jjanggu' of our film."
Jung Soojung gave a passionate performance as the mysterious woman Min-hee. On the day, Jung Soojung said about why she joined the cast, "I watched senior Jung-woo's film 'Baram' and was very curious about a sequel, and when I was offered the role I read it with interest. I also wanted to work with senior Jung-woo, so I decided to join." Min-hee was portrayed as a lover who appears wealthy yet whose true feelings for Jjanggu are unknowable. Jung Soojung said, "In fact, Min-hee is not an extremely rich daughter. On the surface she seems poised, but behind that she hides much hardship."
She continued, "When you watch the film, Min-hee might seem like she's lying or unknowable. You might not know what she's thinking, but when I acted I believed everything was real. Her feelings for Jjanggu were genuine. At first she treated Jjanggu playfully, but over time, through Jjanggu, Min-hee's feelings seemed to become sincere. I believed it was real," she said meaningfully.
Shin Seung-ho, who plays Jang-jae in the film, delivered a passionate performance as Jung-woo's friend. However, in reality there is a 14-year age gap. Regarding this, Shin Seung-ho said, "As an actor, and if not for this work called Jjanggu, when else would I call senior Jung-woo by that nickname and play his friend?" he trailed off, drawing laughter. He added, "Filming was a lot of fun. Senior always treated me very comfortably. Compared with works I've filmed, this set didn't have that many shooting days, but despite that I looked forward to each shooting day and even waited on days off. I personally think the chemistry with senior Jung-woo was very good. It was an enjoyable process."
He added, "I tend to ask directors for their opinions and want to hear answers for each project. Even when a scene was a few days away, I always went to ask. He always gave clear answers. Within some limits he said, 'Try it the way you want,' and allowed it. As a junior to a director, it's sensitive to evaluate, but he was truly warm. It was an opportunity to act and work with excitement."
Jo Beom-gyu, who plays 'Kkangnaeng-i,' said, "Senior Jung-woo passionately led the set, so nothing was difficult. He always took good care of us and even recorded guides to show how to do things, so we felt his passion," and added, "I'm still lacking and need to grow a lot. But I saw senior Jung-woo's passion a lot on set, so I felt I gained much. I really like senior Jung-woo's acting and I'm a fan of Reply; I learned so much working together. The chemistry among the three characters on screen was created by senior Jung-woo's passion and effort, so on set we just followed him."
Kwon So-hyun, who plays 'Su-young,' said, "When I first met senior Jung-woo he said he had seen the film 'Miss Baek.' He called me wanting a somewhat tough-sister vibe. The character's basic trait is toughness; her wording is rough and strong, but she is more mature than other characters and has an older-sister aura. Externally, Su-young is a character who lived in Japan for a while. So I purposely didn't apply sunscreen to add freckles and mixed in wardrobe items you don't often see in Korea."
On the points Kwon So-hyun chose, she recalled, "There are many good scenes, but I remember the nightclub scene. On that day, the actors gathered were young, and they were actors who had worked hard through auditions. Watching them act, I witnessed youth vividly alive right before my eyes, which gave me a strange feeling. Though their roles were small, thanks to the actors who created the ensemble scenes, the film felt closer to youth."
Finally, director Oh Seong-ho said, "Our film is the story of unknown actor 'Jjanggu.' It is also a story about all of us. Though the time and place differ, everyone has dreams in life and a period when they struggle to chase those dreams. There were probably more days when things didn't go well than when they did. This is a story that comforts and cheers those feelings," and actor Jung-woo urged, "Baram had a halo afterward. It was a very small film back then. Ten thousand viewers for an independent film was an enormous number. Although we didn't win awards at overseas film festivals, I thought the film received great love from audiences. After that I gained more recognition, and I think that film helped create a boom. But I don't really know if this film will reach the audience; I'm very curious," asking people to go see it.
The film "Jjanggu" opens in theaters nationwide on Wed., April 22.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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