'Assassin(s)' director Heo Jin-ho said he paid close attention to a "balanced perspective" since the film is motivated by the assassination attempt on the late First Lady Yuk Young-soo.
On the morning of the 10th at CGV Yongsan iPark Mall in Guro-gu, Seoul, a production briefing was held for the film 'Assassin(s)' (directed by Heo Jin-ho). Actors Yoo Hai Jin, Park Hae-il, Lee Minho and director Heo Jin-ho attended the production briefing and spoke.
The film 'Assassin(s)', set to open this Chuseok, is a story that tracks the suspicions and backers of the assassination attempt on the first lady that shocked Korea on Aug. 15, 1974. In particular, this film is a work based on the late First Lady Yuk Young-soo's assassination attempt. Asked what he considered important, director Heo Jin-ho explained, "Because this is a film motivated by an actual incident, I tried to balance the perspectives on that event. While reviewing documents and interviews, I tried not to hold preconceived notions on either side and aimed for a balanced perspective. As the assassins were made into a film, I tried to make it tense and fast-paced to fit the mystery-pursuit drama form."
When asked what aspects of an already-solved case attracted him and how much it differs from reality, director Heo Jin-ho admitted, "It's been about 10 years since I first thought of this work. It was not an easy story. It was an actual and tragic incident, and there are real people still alive. I kept worrying about how to approach it."
He added, "One reason this story interested me and I wanted to try it is that these stories have often been treated in documentary form by various broadcasters, and there were questions and mysterious aspects in the actual case. I thought it was cinematic material. Over 10 years of unfolding them, what I considered important was a balanced perspective, trying not to be biased to one side. Because it's a film, in some ways it inevitably becomes dramatized and needs parts that can be made entertaining, so we adopted the mystery-pursuit drama format. The actual actors are not specific individual figures from that era but were on the scene, and the characters were created by synthesizing several real people who existed."
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon
[OSEN]