Complex Blog » Steven Spielberg http://www.complex.com/blogs Buy. Collect. Obsess. The original buyer's guide for men. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:35:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 When Hollywood Rips Off South Korea http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/11/10/when-hollywood-rips-off-south-korea/ http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/11/10/when-hollywood-rips-off-south-korea/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:13:28 +0000 donniek http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/11/10/when-hollywood-rips-off-south-korea/ koreanlead.jpg
So Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in talks to remake South Korean film Oldboy, a.k.a. the greatest mind-fuck movie ever. We’ve already shown you how Korea’s fast becoming the new Japan for cars, girls and tech, so it should be no surprise that Hollywood’s pilfering ideas from the Land of the Morning Calm.

The rumored Oldboy project won’t be the first (or last) time that a Korean flick has gotten the ol’ Hollywood whitewash. Luckily for you, we at Complex are certified Korean cinema experts. Here’s a look at American remakes of Korean movies from the past, present and future.

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Korean Movie: Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo (2001) (a.k.a. “My Sassy Girl”),
dir. Kwak Jae-young
Plot: A hapless college student falls in love with a pretty psycho-bitch with a traumatic past.
Remake: My Sassy Girl (2008), dir. Yann Samuell
Starring: Jesse Bradford and Elisha Cuthbert
Verdict: The O.G. broke South Korean box office records; the American adaptation was a straight-to-DVD brick, apparently because U.S. audiences couldn’t buy the concept of a loser emasculating himself to win a girl’s heart. Maybe they should’ve kept the female lead as Korean?

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Korean Movie: Siworae (2000) (a.k.a. “Il Mare”), dir. Lee Hyun-seung
Plot: Two would-be lovers communicate through a magical mailbox.
Remake: The Lake House (2006), dir. Alejandro Agresti
Starring: Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock
Verdict: Koreans are experts at melodrama and the carbon-copy U.S. remake is no more cheesy or manipulative than the O.G. Still, replacing sexy “Sassy Girl” starlet Jeon Ji-hyun with Sandra Bullock definitely kills the mood.

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Korean Movie: Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003) (a.k.a. “A Tale of Two Sisters”),
dir. Kim Ji-woon
Plot: Two sisters rebel against their wicked stepmother in this ghost story.
Remake: The Uninvited (out 1/30/2009), dir. Charles and Thomas Guard
Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel and Elizabeth Banks
Verdict: The trailer for the remake features none of the O.G.’s atmospheric horror and creepiness, instead looking like a straightforward scarefest. Boo.

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Korean Movie: J.S.A: Joint Security Area (2000), dir. Park Chan-wook
Plot: When a South Korean patrol guard kills two North Korean soldiers in the DMZ, an international official is sent in to investigate.
Remake: Joint Security America (no release date), dir. David Franzoni
Starring: May we suggest: Gael Garcia Bernal, Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman
Verdict: The remake, which plans to substitute the U.S.-Mexico border for the DMZ zone, actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. But the fact that the script has been on ice for so long is not a good sign. The O.G., which is Oldboy director Park’s first major film, is definitely worth Netflixing.

]]> http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/11/10/when-hollywood-rips-off-south-korea/feed/ 12 Steven Spielberg Goes 3-D With Ghost In The Shell http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/04/15/steven-spielberg-goes-3-d-with-ghost-in-the-shell/ http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/04/15/steven-spielberg-goes-3-d-with-ghost-in-the-shell/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:37:51 +0000 bfred http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/04/15/steven-spielberg-goes-3-d-with-ghost-in-the-shell/ ghostinthespielberg.jpg
Looks like Steven Spielberg might be ready to jump on the anime wagon. Not long after Leo DiCaprio announced his intention to produce Akira, Li'l Stevie has convinced Dreamworks to nab the movie rights to classic cyberpunk manga Ghost In the Shell'and adapt it as a 3-D live-action joint.

The original anime adaptation had a huge stylistic influence on the Matrix trilogy, so we can only imagine what double-S has in store with a 3-D version. In a perfect world, it'll be like Minority Report, but with more hot Japanese lady cyborgs and with less Cruisiness. Of course, it likely has to wait for Tintin and the Abraham Lincoln biopic he's got lined up, but never underestimate the fast-tracking power of nerds with discretionary income. After the jump, check out the opening sequence to the original Ghost In The Shell movie.

RELATED: Meet The Star Of Spielberg’s Tintin

[Variety]

]]> http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/04/15/steven-spielberg-goes-3-d-with-ghost-in-the-shell/feed/ 4 Meet The Man (Boy) Who Will Play Tintin http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/03/31/meet-the-man-boy-who-will-play-tintin/ http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/03/31/meet-the-man-boy-who-will-play-tintin/#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:56:02 +0000 bfred http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/03/31/meet-the-man-boy-who-will-play-tintin/ tintincasting.jpg
If you grew up reading Tintin comics like us, then you’ve probably been following rumors about the classic Hergé adventure stories coming to the big screen. In case this is new to you, here’s the deal: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are directing the trilogy, which will be filmed entirely in motion-captured computer animation. And now, according to a new report, the lead role has finally been cast: Thomas Sangster.

That name probably means nothing to you, but you might recognize this British chap from his role in Love, Actually, where he played Liam Neeson’s son. He looks damn young to be playing Tintin, a 20-something reporter, but all sources swear that young Thomas is now actually 17 years old. After the jump, check out the classic cartoon version of “The Crab With The Golden Claws,” the Tintin book that the first movie is rumored to be based on…

PART 1:

PART 2:

PART 3:

PART 4:

PART 5:

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