Walking Dead's Steven "Glen Rhee" Yeun to Produce and Star in "Aquariums of Pyongyang"

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Based on the memoir by Kang Chol-hwan, Aquariums of Pyongyang tells the story of the Kang family's 10-year imprisonment in North Korea's Yodok concentration camp.


From Wikipedia:

"Kang's family, while of Korean ethnicity, originally lived in Japan before emigrating to the DPRK at the behest of his communist grandmother. When Kang was nine years old, his grandfather was imprisoned for suspected activity against the State. As the policy at the time was to incarcerate the immediate family of political prisoners, Kang Chol-Hwan, his grandmother, father, uncle and younger sister Miho were all imprisoned at the Yodok concentration camp #2915. There they suffered and viewed many atrocities over a period of ten years including disease, starvation, torturous punishments and public execution.

Following his family's release (presumably upon the death of his grandfather, the original offender against the State) Kang worked in assigned occupations before becoming at risk of again being sent to a concentration camp. The end of the book details his subsequent escape to China and attempts to seek asylum before escaping to South Korea."

Yeun will star as Chol-hwan as well as co-executive producing the film. Radar Pictures, the studio that brought us Riddick and Spring Breakers, will be distributing.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

I think I did it right this time, mods. OTL

Comments

[tiddlywinks103.livejournal.com]

Dammmmn, sounds amazing.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

Yesss, get it done Steven.
A bit off topic, but It looks like poc in Hollywood have to get a bunch of stuff done themselves. Lupita is also producing and I think starring in a book adaptation (this one fiction--Americanah--I am really hooked to it right now). It's great but at the same time, kind of wish Hollywood could tap into these stories on their own, too.

Best of luck to this project. I'll keep an eye out for it. I don't know if I would be able to read the book, though. ):

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

i feel u. even tho i am THRILLED that lupita is in americanah (which is an EXCELLENT book) i am pissed hollywood refuses to fund these kinds of projects.

[canxi.livejournal.com]

Exactly. There are other stories to tell and they don't seem to want to tell them unless someone gets attached and brings it to their attention. :/

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

This sounds super interesting. I'll definitely be on the look out for it.

[moozles.livejournal.com]

This is exciting. Steven Yeun is one of my faves, so I'm interested to see him in this kind of role.

[itsnvrcldinhell.livejournal.com]

he can do it, I believe in you Glen i meant Steven

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

I read this book some time ago and am really excited to see how this ends up.