"Inrang" Trailer and Cast Photoshoot + Netflix Pick Up

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

(click CC for subs)

Acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon's long-anticipated sci-fi thriller "Inrang" was partly unveiled to media on Monday. Set in 2029 with the two Koreas having agreed to launch a unified government, South Korean police launches a special unit to stop an anti-reunification terrorist group called "Sect." Feeling threatened by the growing influence of the formidable police unit, the state intelligence agency plots to destroy it. As they engage in a veiled battle, rumors that the unit has secret human weapons called "wolves" spread quickly across the country.

"The title 'Inrang' comes from the Korean word meaning 'werewolf.' In the movie, you can see a man who is raised to be a human weapon but is torn between conflicting values inside of him through the main character named Im Joong-kyung," Kim said during a press conference to promote the forthcoming film at a Seoul theater.

It is a Korean live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film masterpiece "The Wolf Brigade" by Hiroyuki Okiura. Kim said it was a "reckless decision" to remake the animated work but he made every effort not to disappoint the original movie's fans.

"The fans probably had both anticipation and anxiety for the live-action version of the film. I felt the same way. I was more anxious because I was the one who made the film and thought it was too much of a reckless decision. I knew the film is going to be criticized whether it is good or not. But this situation made me work harder than ever," he recalled.

"I never thought I would do films like this kind after 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird.' I was very sick while making the new movie and am still sick. It is the title that hurt my health the most."

Gang Dong-won plays Im Joong-kyung, a highly-trained member of a special police unit assigned to quell the terrorists. After "a girl in a red cape" detonated herself right in front of his eyes while on a mission to secretly carry a bomb, Im visits the girl's elder sister, Lee Yoon-hee (played by Han Hyo-joo), to deliver her belongings. After the encounter, he sways between his mission that forces him to be a beast and his feelings toward her.

It marks Gang's second work with the director after the 30-minute short film "The X," made for ScreenX immersive screening system.

"I received a call from Kim's assistant director about 2012," Gang answered when asked how he came to take the role. "I accepted the offer at that time and it took six years for the film to come out."

For the warrior role, Gang had to adapt himself to a power suit that weighs more than 40 kilograms.

"I couldn't even walk in the outfit at first, but my body felt comfortable with it after a week. And then the director asked me to run, so I ran. He later made me fight hand-to-hand with the suit on," he said.

Han Hyo-joo said playing Lee Yoon-hee was a big challenge for her as an actress.

"It was the most difficult role that I have ever delivered. I agonized a lot over how to carry out the role well from the very beginning because it was a very complicated character," she said. "But I gradually felt comfortable and friendly with the character, coming to understand what the director meant to express and feel the atmosphere of the set."

The film also stars Jung Woo-sung as Jang Jin-tae, chief of the training camp for the police unit, and SHINee's Choi Min-ho as Jang's right-armed man and leading member of the special police unit.

Presented by Warner Bros. Pictures, "Inrang" opens in local theaters on July 25.

---

Netflix has acquired nearly global rights to “Inrang: The Wolf Brigade,” a new action thriller from leading South Korean director Kim Jee-woon.

The film is a live action adaptation of 1999 Japanese-made animation “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.” Set in 2029, it follows the actions of a special forces squad set up to quell a terrorist sect which opposes the formation of a joint government between North and South Korea.

The streaming giant is understood to have picked up all rights outside Korea, but it has not yet revealed a release date. Its holdback is likely to take into account both the Korean theatrical release, through Warner Bros. starting on July 25, and the film’s recent selection to play at the San Sebastian festival in September.

“Inrang” was produced by Lewis Pictures on a budget reported by Korean media as $18 million. Production was announced in 2013, but a lensing debut was repeatedly stalled. Filming, largely in studios in Seoul, ran a lengthy six months from August 2017 to March this year, and was accompanied by extensive VFX work.

Kim’s “Shadows,” which was selected as Korea’s foreign language Oscars contender, was also previously backed and distributed in Korea by Warner Bros.

Netflix has a growing roster of Korean films and original series. It recently confirmed two seasons of “Kingdom,” a period, alien series, from writer Kim Eun-hee, and Kim Seong-hun, director of hit film “Tunnel.” The company previously backed another top Korean director Bong Joon-ho in making feature “Okja” which premiered at Cannes in 2017.

Sources: The Movie Beat | Variety | Cine21 1 2 3 4 5 | Yonhap News