'Hope' director Na Hong-jin mentioned the casting process and appearance fees for Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and others.
On the afternoon of the 7th, an interview with Na Hong-jin about the film 'Hope' was held at a cafe on Samcheong-ro in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
'Hope' (writer-director Na Hong-jin, produced by Forged Films, co-produced by Plus M Entertainment·West World Co., distributed by Plus M Entertainment) begins when Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min), the branch office head at Hopohang, who is arrogant but highly responsible, hears from local youths that a tiger has appeared, and the whole village goes on high alert as they confront an unbelievable reality. Director Na Hong-jin, who rose to the ranks of master filmmakers with films such as The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing, has released a new work after 10 years. It is an SF genre film reported to have the largest production cost in Korean film history. Reports say the budget is at least 70 billion won and, when late-stage marketing and promotion costs are added, could be as high as the 100 billion won range.
Hwang Jung-min passionately plays Beom-seok, the branch office head of Hopohang who is arrogant but strongly responsible; Zo In-sung plays Seong-gi, a village youth who passes time by hunting and fishing; and Jung Ho-yeon gives a strong performance as Hopohang police officer Seong-ae, who does her duty in any situation. In addition, the all-time casting lineup including Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton generated buzz even before release.
Ahead of its domestic release, it was officially invited to compete in the 79th Cannes Film Festival and received much praise from foreign media after its world premiere. According to the Korea Film Council (KOFIC) ticketing network, 'Hope' is already generating explosive anticipation, nearly reaching a real-time reservation rate of 45% and ranking overwhelmingly No. 1 even with more than a week until release.
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, who married in 2017, appear together in 'Hope,' drawing attention as the two actors appear as extraterrestrials.
Na Hong-jin said, "We are relatively familiar with their faces, but ordinary audiences probably won't recognize them," adding, "We tried to recreate the actual actors' features, and we scanned Michael's face and reproduced his facial features (on the alien face)."
He said he had been acquaintances with Alicia Vikander for some time, "We had talked repeatedly about working together before, but that project ultimately didn't happen. Later I sent a new film story, and the protagonist was an extraterrestrial. I asked, 'There is this project, want to try it?' Alicia said she liked it, so she did it. Michael apparently told her to do it, too," drawing laughter.
He continued, "If another story continuing 'Hope' comes out, it seems the aliens' story will really begin. In that sense, I thought they were absolutely necessary," and said, "People are curious about appearance fees, but our film budget is a lot of money in Korea, yet in Hollywood it is independent-film-level money. We paid them appearance fees appropriately as honoraria in line with that."
Meanwhile, 'Hope' opens on the 15th.<
[Photo] Provided by Plus M Entertainment
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