Korean Filmmakers Turn to International Co-Production

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

While Korea film enjoyed a period of prosperity during the late 1990s, it is no secret that today the industry is barely managing to keep its head above water. Between 2001 and 2008, Korean movies were in the red for six of those years and in the black for just two. And profits have been dipping even further into negative territory since 2006.

As a means to counter this trend, studios are increasingly turning to international co-productions.

The Korea Film Council, which has been at the forefront of joint production, recently launched a new business team to support domestic filmmakers joining hands with overseas producers.

By organizing regular meetings throughout Europe and Asia, the film council's goal is to bring producers from around the globe to share ideas and, most importantly, discuss working together on joint projects.

As seen here over the years the box office has grown to capture most of the profits, trumping DVD sales, which have been significantly reduced by illegal file sharing and bootlegs sold on the street.

If the solution is to engage in international co-production, what is keeping domestic film producers from jumping on the bandwagon? Lee Joon-dong, CEO of Nowfilm Entertainment says, "Coming up with the plot is the hardest part and probably the most important part. In the case of international co-production, you need a story that integrates both cultures and appeals to both audiences."

Although this is tricky, producers say that European and Asian studios have been proposing co-production projects with Korea because of the country's creativity and strong storylines.

Source

Comments

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

In the case of international co-production, you need a story that integrates both cultures and appeals to both audiences."

Hum I don't know. Good stories are welcomed anywhere no matter the cultural background. Asian movies are really doing well in France (and I suppose in Europe by extension) for example and sometimes they are totally different from whatever we have usually.
Being an asian movie is already prestigious in a way so they sell it pretty quickly. Like I remember the tagline for The Chaser being "last corean bomb movie" (and it was a great bomb indeed ^^).

So yeah the more collaboration they make, the better XD.

[kayleen-san.livejournal.com]

I would much prefer collaborations than the horrible American re-makes some studios have been hashing out. They just don't even compare!