(Following interview ④) Director Son Jae-gon of the film 'Wild Sing' shared his thoughts on the explosive interest even before its release.
Director Son Jae-gon conducted an interview on the morning of the 28th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. At that event, he met with domestic reporters and talked about his new film "Wild Sing."
"Wild Sing," which opens on June 3, is a comedy about the three-member mixed dance group "Triangle," which once swept the music scene but was disbanded overnight after being caught up in an unexpected incident, and their reckless challenge to seize a comeback opportunity that arrives 20 years later. It is a new work from the production company behind the 2019 comedy that thrilled about 16.26 million viewers, "Extreme Job," with Director Son Jae-gon at the helm.
In particular, "Wild Sing" has drawn expectations as actors Gang Dong-won, Park Ji-hyun, and Um Tae-goo play Triangle members Hyun Woo, Do-mi, and Sang-gu, respectively, and prepared the film by practicing actual dancing and singing. In addition, actor Oh Jung-se plays ballad singer Choi Seong-gon, Triangle's rival, adding to the comedy. Ahead of the release, information about Triangle and Choi Seong-gon on SNS and portal sites, as well as the music video and stage footage for Triangle's hit song "Love is" and Choi Seong-gon's perennial No. 2 hit "I Like You," which was overshadowed by it, were released early and drew intense interest.
Director Son said that the incorporation of K-pop as a subject began with the writer writing the script and working with the production company About Film. About Film and the writer had been working together previously, so they collaborated. He said he was familiar with K-pop and the subject matter through news, noting that the popular music of the generation he listened to is what the film deals with and that it is closer to K-pop for him. But he added that the K-pop of that era featured in the film had already been played frequently on broadcasts over the past decade — through shows like Infinite Challenge, the "Reply" series, and the "Sugarman" series — so it was not entirely unfamiliar to the current generation.
He added that he thought a mixed-gender group would give a variety of feelings and that, although the writer chose it first, he believed it would produce a slightly more entertaining story cinematically than a single-gender group. He said such a mixed-gender combination had memorable points in people's recollections. He went on to say that unlike before, when a love story might have been included, he no longer felt it was strictly necessary and did not see a particular need to force it.
When asked whether there were actual groups that inspired or were referenced, Director Son joked that staff warned him to be careful about mentioning specific people because even positive mentions could be received differently. He said they studied many singers of that era, and not only he but the production team conducted extensive research and suggested ideas. When it came time to write the final script or decide on styling, he said they mostly forgot those references and focused on the actors' character stories once casting was complete. He said they did a lot of study and that even without deliberate study, striking styling and other things come to mind based on each person's experiences and memories, so there were surely real singers who influenced them. He explained that they did not ultimately work by taking one style from one group and another from another singer, but they referred to many sources.
Director Son said that, as with action films, they inevitably received help, but there is a difference between actors doing some of the work and relying entirely on technology, so he demanded a certain level. He expressed both apology and gratitude to the "Wild Sing" actors, saying he felt sorry regarding dance and rap.
He said that early on, when talking with Gang Dong-won about the singing, he told him he hoped he would work really hard, and after drinking a few times Gang seemed anxious. Gang Dong-won suggested, "Since the director is anxious, let's go to a noraebang (karaoke)," and sang a few times, but Director Son said he actually doesn't remember. For other actors, he asked them to sing and send recordings via KakaoTalk before filming. He said that desire seemed to have been communicated.
The actual "Love is" has been receiving praise immediately after its release. Director Son said the song's style had to match the era and that he, too, had to study, so they had to entrust it entirely to experts. Instead, the production team as a whole monitored it, and among them were people who knew the music of that era, so he kept listening to their opinions. He credited composer Shim Eun-ji for doing well in creating the right style.
He said that before he made his choices, he listened to a lot of the music from the time. He knew most of the songs but listened again and found there were many styles then — Arabic influences, reggae, even metal. He felt it would be presumptuous to say he led the direction. He emphasized that even if a song became familiar through marketing, many viewers would hear it for the first time in theaters, so making them recognize a song in advance is a very difficult task. He worried the most whether an unfamiliar song could win over audiences with a single theater experience, so he told the music director and composer in advance that the song needed to be "good even if heard only once."
He said it was obvious that everyone wants to make that kind of song, and that was his biggest concern. Having heard several demo tracks in advance, he found it hard to speak easily and that they needed monitoring to know how audiences would respond. Just as people who make K-pop often cannot predict which songs will succeed or fail, he said nothing could be certain.
[Photo] Provided by Lotte Entertainment.
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