(Interview② continued) Director Yeon Sang-ho of the film
On the morning of the 26th, director Yeon Sang-ho conducted an interview at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. At the event, he spoke with domestic reporters about his recently released new film
"
In particular, director Yeon Sang-ho visited Cannes after the film was invited to the midnight screening section at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival. It was his fourth time attending Cannes following Train to Busan, Peninsula and the Netflix original series
Through that, Jun Ji-hyun, who starred in the film, drew attention by receiving her first official invitation to the Cannes Film Festival. How was working with Jun Ji-hyun? Director Yeon Sang-ho described Jun Ji-hyun as a "completely professional actor."
He added, "I had the impression she is typically an open person. In exchanging acting with actor Koo Kyo-hwan, it could have been difficult because Koo Kyo-hwan's performance is so original that it might not always be received well. But she acted with an open attitude as if none of that mattered," and said, "She is also unexpectedly down-to-earth. For example, action scenes can have tough parts, but she tried to do as much as possible herself."
He also revealed a casting anecdote, saying, "I wondered if Jun Ji-hyun would even be cast. But I thought she fit the role of a guide who leads the audience through the story. It seemed she liked the story. I think she decided almost immediately. I gave her the script and had a meeting very quickly, and the decision was made at that meeting."
Jun Ji-hyun's casting was greatly helped by actor Gang Dong-won, who had worked with her on the previous film Peninsula. Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "I needed to give Jun Ji-hyun a book, but I had never met her. Gang Dong-won was filming Tempest with Jun Ji-hyun, so when I contacted him he said she happened to be nearby and asked him to give it to her discreetly. Tempest stunt director Heo Myung-haeng was also the stunt director for Gunche. Throughout filming, she might have wondered why people kept talking about Gunche. People around her subtly pressed the matter," he said with a laugh.
So why did it have to be Jun Ji-hyun? Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "When thinking of women in genre films, I couldn't help but think of Jun Ji-hyun. She fits genre films so well. She has a Charlize Theron-like vibe. She was exactly the right Jun Ji-hyun," he said emphatically.
He said, "I also wanted to do an action film seriously with Jun Ji-hyun. She uses her body really well. She has poise. Even when she just walks, you can see it," adding, "Looking at the makeup, the character Jun Ji-hyun plays doesn't roll in filth. But the other actors' faces are also clean. Koo Kyo-hwan even looks clean. Jun Ji-hyun's makeup is at the same level," he said.
Among audiences who actually saw Gunche, netizens jokingly praised Jun Ji-hyun for giving the impression of being unusually neat and like a fashion spread even in a zombie film, asking whether a separate reflector was used just for her. Director Yeon Sang-ho laughed and said, "I wondered if we had shown favoritism, but no. What can you do if someone is born like that. Some wonder if anything special was done only for Jun Ji-hyun, but there was nothing like that. It's innate."
He went on, "I was thinking that for the ending scene she would wear only a white T-shirt and jeans, and I worried whether the protagonist could look so plain. But when we shot it, it seemed that no matter what she wore she carried herself. I really worried a lot. But it wasn't that. The person was what mattered," he added, drawing laughter.
(Continued from interview④)<
[Photo] Provided by SHOWBOX.
[OSEN]