RAIN KRÓNIKA: 2009.11.11.

KBS GLOBAL

Rain on His Acting Ambitions

[2009-11-11]

Actor Chung Ji-hoon (also known as Rain) is the first Korean actor to appear in a major Hollywood movie. His second Hollywood production is "Ninja Assassin," which was produced by the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver. It is a brutal movie in the action genre. Its Japanese-style subject matter--the ninja--is unfamiliar to the Korean public.

In an interview on November 10 at the Hotel Lotte, Chung said that not everyone was going to like "Ninja Assassin." He added that fans of martial arts would definitely like it.

Chung has had three turning points in his career so far: his collaboration with music producer Park Jin-young, his Hollywood debut in the movie "Speed Racer," and his role in "Ninja Assassin." "It's yet another beginning," said Chung, looking very determined.

Following is the interview with Rain.

-- Will there be sequels to "Ninja Assassin"? 

– The terms and conditions of my deal are a secret, but it's already known that I originally signed to appear in two or three productions. If the movie proves to be a success, its sequels will be produced; otherwise, it's going to end here. I will try my best till the very end.

--It's a very brutal movie. Plus, it's subject is very strange to Koreans.

– If it were not brutal, it would have been like an ordinary martial arts movie. Both the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver had planned this movie for ten years in order to show the real essence of martial arts. People who like martial arts will like this movie.

I also thought that this movie is too "Japanese," but my opinion changed after I read books about ninjas. Ninjas killed people in order to protect kings or their masters. In that respect, they existed everywhere in the world. This movie deals with the universal subject of good and evil. I play a killer who fights against ninjas.

--You learned a lot from various martial art actors like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan... 

– Ninjas always have to hide. They have to be invisible. That's why they keep a hunched posture when dealing with their enemies. So I practiced creeping and using the horse-riding pose. I took lessons from boxing, karate, kung fu and tumbling champions from various countries as well as from the action teams of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Bruce Lee makes slow moves but they are also very accurate, while Jackie Chan is fast and decisive. We tried to produce perfect action scenes. Even when filming fistfight scenes, I tried to make it look right.

--It's a moden film about ninjas. How did you portray Raizo? 

– Larry and Andy (the Wachowski brothers) told me that the mental fight mattered most. I wanted to make my character look fresh every time he appeared on screen.

--How did you make your body so perfect?

– I became healthier by staying away from salt and sugar. I felt like my body was shrinking, like a dried squid. The only liquid that it contained was water. Once a week I ate chicken breasts marinated in wine but I avoided salt and sugar. I lifted light-weight dumbbells to make small muscles.

--You were accompanied by an English tutor all day long...

– He was a Korean living in the U.S. I felt at ease with him. I just spoke in English even when I made mistakes. I was honest with myself, because I was learning. When I didn't know something, I asked. My director also credited me for that. But my English still sounds like nonsense.

--Actor Lee Byung-hun said that he was lonely in Hollywood...

– I bonded with everyone on the film set because I'm very young. Despite my poor English skills I chatted with the director and when I didn't understand something, I took notes and looked it up later at home. Not knowing something is not a crime. Plus, I played a leading role. My needs always came first on the set. I was the first one to receive meals. I wasn't lonely at all, because I was number one (laughs).Later, I was even annoyed because people talked too much to me. I also received pocket money every week, aside from my remuneration. It was big money. I even had to open two bank accounts. It was ten times as much as my remuneration in "Speed Racer," for which I was paid 200,000 won a week.

--Do you have any plans to appear in Korean movies?

– I would want to, but every time it seems to be bad timing. When filming Hollywood movies, it takes more than half a year to prepare and shoot a movie. Once it's over, I have to prepare my new albums and concerts. In no time, three or four years pass. If I get a chance to appear in a Korean TV drama or movie, I would like it to deal with a light subject, like a melodrama. The role of a cheater also seems to be fun. Since the drama "A Love To Kill," I have played only serious roles.

--Your fans criticized your Hollywood debut...

– The criticism started when I was performing overseas. But there are ups and downs in life. If you stand still, you will be pushed out. I have made my name in Hollywood and appeared in a real Hollywood production. I am ready for praise and criticism.

--Which is more important to you - singing or acting?

– As an actor, I would like to try diverse things. To be honest, I enjoy singing on stage. But dance singers hit a limit someday. Presenting something new every time is difficult. I can't even sleep well. Some people ask me why I haven't debuted in the U.S. as an artist. But who would turn down an offer from the Wachowski brothers? In the U.S. market competition is cutthroat. You can't survive unless you destroy your rivals. To release an album in the U.S., you have to work with top-notch music producers and choreographers. Everything must be perfect.

CHARACTER MEDIA
(Former 'KoreAm' Kore Asian Media)

Hallyu hits Hollywood

Movies, Music, TV   November 11, 2009 by KoreAm Journal

The latest Newsweek talks about the Korean wave (hallyu) cresting in Hollywood.

Film producer Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment says that there now are more people of Korean descent working in Hollywood—from actors to writers to producers to set workers to talent managers—than any other Asian group.

More significant is the fact that Hollywood sees economic opportunity in opening its doors to more actors of Asian descent—and those actors’ global fans.

Like all of corporate America, Hollywood is going global. There are big bucks to be had across the way by finding roles for Korean stars with mega fan bases in Asia.

That’s all very cool, but I hope more and more Asians and Asian Americans eventually become the power brokers in crazy town because Korean American fans in the U.S. are not like the fans in Korea.

We won’t be happy just to see Rain (ripped as he is) on the big screen. We want more leading roles that portray Asians as complex human beings – not just martial arts killers or hot-looking ethnic flavoring in a mainstream film or TV series. Asian actors can do more than stare into a camera menacingly, damn it.

So I hope that the wave of Korea-mania in Hollywood does not mean that Asian American audiences are bypassed in favor of bigger dollars from rabid fans in Korea who think it’s fun to see Rain make it big in Hollywood. The fans in Korea worry less about how he is portrayed, of course; they live in Korea. They see themselves reflected in mainstream media every day.

Sadly, I think Asian Americans will be subjected to more ninja assassins before the wave of casting Asians as complex human beings smacks Hollywood in the head.

http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=16836&page=414&searchType=title&searchStr=
Zarifah

 [Nov-10-2009] Rain "album offers from US thanks to 'Ninja Assassin', targeting Billboard"

With
Rain's first Hollyoowd leading movie 'Ninja Assassin' coming soon, Rain
stated that thanks to the movie, there have been many offers for an
album from American album producers.

In Lotte Hotel, Seoul on the 10th of November, Rain
was asked the question if he was going to aim the American album market
now that he has become a leading actor in Hollywood.

To
this he smiled "if the movie receives a lot of positive responses, I'll
stick to movie." He continued "In the past nobody even took a glance at
me even if I went around. Now that I'm with Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, people are showing interest by saying 'who is that guy'".

He
added "there's a lot of offers even now but I'm looking forward to more
offers from more album producers if 'Ninja Assassin' hits big. I'll try to aim for the Billboard chart this time."

Rain
who some estimated would star a remake version of 'Enter the Dragon',
which starred Bruce Lee, for his next movie, Rain said "I'm not going
to make any comments until contracts are finalized. Even
'Ninja Assassin', was announced only after 6 months of talking back and
forth. It'll be a movie starring many protagonists which I will also
take part."

credit to Star news

http://media.daum.net/entertain/all/view.html?cateid=1005&newsid=20091110121209303&p=starnews

photo : http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=106&oid=108&aid=0002006522

Brief translation by rain bird@Rain-EU

http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=16837&page=414&searchType=title&searchStr=

ratoka

[Nov-10-2009] Rain "album offers from US thanks to 'Ninja Assassin', targeting Billboard"

With Rain's first Hollyoowd leading movie 'Ninja Assassin' coming soon, Rain stated that thanks to the movie, there have been many offers for an album from American album producers.

In Lotte Hotel, Seoul on the 10th of November, Rain was asked the question if he was going to aim the American album market now that he has become a leading actor in Hollywood.

To this he smiled "if the movie receives a lot of positive responses, I'll stick to movie." He continued "In the past nobody even took a glance at me even if I went around. Now that I'm with Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, people are showing interest by saying 'who is that guy'".

He added "there's a lot of offers even now but I'm looking forward to more offers from more album producers if 'Ninja Assassin' hits big. I'll try to aim for the Billboard chart this time."

Rain who some estimated would star a remake version of 'Enter the Dragon', which starred Bruce Lee, for his next movie, Rain said "I'm not going to make any comments until contracts are finalized. Even 'Ninja Assassin', was announced only after 6 months of talking back and forth. It'll be a movie starring many protagonists which I will also take part."

credit to Star news

http://media.daum.net/entertain/all/view.html?cateid=1005&newsid=20091110121209303&p=starnews

photo : http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=106&oid=108&aid=0002006522

Brief translation by rain bird.

http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=16838&page=414&searchType=title&searchStr=

ratoka

11.12.09 Rain at the “Ninja Assassin” Asia Junket Press Conference

11/10/2009

 

Rain’s position as an Asian superstar was re-confirmed by the slew of Asian journalists from Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and Philippines who attended the Asia Junket Press Conference for his film “Ninja Assassin”, held at Seoul’s Lotte Hotel on November 9. In the movie, shown to the media two days prior to the press conference, Rain plays a “chop-up murdering machine” — a character who endlessly cuts, slashes and slices up his enemies — but also manages to keep a warm heart. Rain’s action scenes as Raizo, the world’s best assassin who plots revenge against the Ninja organization which trained him to become a killing machine, turned out to be far more intense than seen in the teaser video. The amount of blood, meat and bone marrow splashing from the cruel chopping in the movie was worthy of a slasher movie and earned the film a no-teenagers-allowed, R-rating.

 

Scenes from the movie “Ninja Assassin” [Warner Brothers]

“Ninja” revolves so strictly around the lead actor Rain that even the producers — the famous Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski brothers who directed the “Matrix” trilogy — said that they “could not have made this movie without Rain”. Even Rain himself, who filmed his first leading role in Hollywood with industry heavyweights such as the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver, expressed his confidence in “Ninja”, stating that “this is the real deal”. Below is the Q&A session at the press conference for the movie, which opens on November 26.
Q: You showed Before & After pictures of your muscle training in the making-the-film footage released today. We thought you had a great body before you did “Ninja Assassin”, but looking at the pictures, it doesn’t even compare to the body you have now. (laugh) The training process and the filming must have been exhausting.
Rain: First of all, I have lost all the muscle that I had gained while shooting the movie. (laugh) But I really tried very hard during the training. I had always worked hard in the past too, but shooting this film was like life and death for me. Even for the wire actions, I only got enough help to balance my body and I did about 90 percent of the stunts as long as it wasn’t too dangerous. So I tried to make my body very light and, as a result, I got rid of all the fat in my body.
Q: If you did all the intense actions scenes, you must have suffered a lot of injuries.
Rain: I did get hurt a lot but it the effort was worth it and I worked hard. Luckily, nothing got broken but I still have a lot of cuts left on my body. They are like my badges of honor. (laugh)

 

Singer and actor Rain [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]
Q: With such demanding physical workouts, there must have been moments when you felt like you had reached your limit mentally. How did you overcome such moments?
Rain: Honestly, I wanted to go back to Korea every time things got hard. I wanted to go back to Asia, do a lot of concerts and shoot dramas and films in Korea. Every time I asked myself, why in the world am I living like this? But I couldn’t give up because of my pride. The crew had really teased me a lot. (laugh) When I would lift a 100-kilo dumbbell, they would say it’s too light. They would say things like, “I taught Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and you are the worst” and that really got to me. Afterwards, I would watch Hollywood action movies, like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan’s, countless times and study my action moves. Raizo needed to have a uniqueness in his action moves. And every morning, I would read newspapers clips and think to myself that I need to show them what I can do, not just tell them. I actually got more strength from misleading articles about my U.S. debut and negative fan reviews. (laugh) Even if this attempt fails, it was my responsibility to show them the outcome.

Q: Are there any similarities between your character Raizo, the perfect Ninja Assassin, and yourself?
Rain: I’m not as introverted or as cool as Raizo. (laugh) I like to talk and hang out with people, so I don’t think I could live a secluded life like Raizo did. I don’t have much in common with Raizo and I don’t think I should. Well, maybe just the fact that when we set a goal, we both work hard to achieve it. (laugh)
Q: Compared to your Hollywood debut film “Speed Racer”, you have so much more lines in this movie. Were there any difficulties in delivering your lines in English?
Rain: I went from playing a supporting role to a leading role so it’s only natural that I had more lines and I’m grateful for that. I always had a coach beside me to help with the English lines. Actually, what director James McTeigue and the Wachowski Brothers wanted was acting coming from within me more than me just delivering the lines. We used a lot of close-up shots to catch the movements of my eyebrows or facial expression in detail. It was harder to express my inner emotions through subtle facial expressions.
Q: What was it like working with the Wachowski Brothers for the second time after “Speed Racer”?
Rain: The Wachowski Brothers have incredible imagination. And they are the kind of people who can turn their imagination into reality. Of all the things that they said to me, there is nothing that hasn’t come true. They have the ability to bring out their imagination onto film, and I found it amazing that they were kind to everyone. They were producer for this film, unlike in “Speed Racer”, but to me they are the best directors.


 

 Rain in front of the movie poster [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Q: “Speed Racer” wasn’t a commercial success. How much commercial success are you expecting for “Ninja Assassin”?
Rain: “Speed Racer” hit No. 2 on the box office in its opening week, but I was disappointed that it didn’t create as huge a sensation as I had expected. But I wasn’t as ambitious back then. I was happy just getting my name on a Hollywood movie as part of the main cast. And with that one movie, people in Hollywood got to know me and I was given more opportunities and that’s how I got to do “Ninja Assassin”. I am hoping that it’s a commercial success, but you don’t always make it on the first try, do you? I think I gained a lot of things from this movie, no matter how it fares commercially. It’s an R-rated movie and a genre film, so I think it could be a massive hit among action manias. If I keep knocking on this door ten or twenty times, there will come a time someday when I’m No. 1 on the box office, right? (laugh)
Q: Like you said, the movie has so many cruel, violent scenes that it got an R-rating. The existing fans of Rain and the movie audience could collide.
Rain: From the beginning, what the Wachowski Brothers requested was, “Forget about the pop star Rain. Forget about the person Jung Ji-hoon. From now on, you are a martial arts fighter and a killer.” I lived like that for eight months. I was confident about myself whomever I met, I even felt like I should enter a martial arts competition after the movie finished. (laugh) First of all, I’m relieved that young female fans can’t watch the film and I think I’ll gain a lot of male fans. Of course, the existing female fans can watch “Ninja Assassin” and unload their stress. Rather than imagining a certain image they have of me, I think they’ll find a different appeal about me after seeing this movie. Even I couldn’t find a single scene, from beginning to end, where I was the singer Rain or the person Jung Ji-hoon. So I was satisfied.
Q: The last scene of the movie hints at a sequel, somewhat. Do you have any plans for doing sequels?
Rain: The last scene is where Raizo is looking down at the world from on top of a wall, and you can see from the look in his eyes that he is silently crying out something on the inside. But I actually don’t know anything for sure. I have signed a couple more contracts but I think it’ll depend on how this movie does. I have a good feeling about it though.
Q: Producer Joel Silver complimented that you are going to be “an actor who is enormously adored” and many of the staff members talked about your passion. What kind of expectation did you have for the film before you started shooting, and what made you work so passionately on it?
Rain: My motivation during the movie was my mother, actually. She used to work from early morning till late at night for years, and I thought it would be disrespectful if I couldn’t bear through this. When I first came to the U.S. and met people, they said that Asians had less than a 10 percent chance to succeed in Hollywood. But when I had the Wachowski Brothers on my side, people started paying attention to me, and with Joel Silver backing me as the producer, other producers started noticing me. There were three flashing turning points in my life and the first was when I met Park Jin-young, the second time when I met the Wachowski Brothers and the third was when I got to do “Ninja Assassin”. Right now, I have the best teams lined up beside me and it’s the become a game that is worth playing. Whether this movie succeeds or not, I think I can really make my name known in Hollywood. Finally, I am in for the real deal.
Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr





[한국일보] 비 11일부터 '닌자 어쌔신' 북미 홍보
비 11일부터 '닌자 어쌔신' 북미 홍보 



[중앙일보] 비 “이소룡·성룡과 다르게 보일 수 있는 점 고민했죠” [
비 “이소룡·성룡과 다르게 보일 수 있는 점 고민했죠”

할리우드 간 비 "아! 하면 보험직원등 사방서 달려와"

닌자 어쌔신’의 비 “ 한국적인 것이 꼭 세계적인 것은 아녜요” 동아일보

‘닌자 어쌔신’의 비 “ 한국적인 것이 꼭 세계적인 것은 아녜요” 헤럴드생생

 비, "처음엔 '쟤가 뭔데?' 의심 받았다" OSEN

비 "2000억짜리 블록버스터 출연 제의받았다" 

http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=16843&page=414&searchType=title&searchStr=

ratoka

[Nov-11-2009] Rain, "At first I got doubted, 'Who is he?"

I Approved. A year ago when Rain(27·Jung Ji-Hoon) debuted in Hollywood by playing a supporting role in 'Speed Racer', it looked challengeable.

There were a lot of negative views, "How much would an asian actor especially who was a singer originally succeed in Hollywood?".

In 'Ninja Assassin' coming out on the 26th, the 'Rain' counterattacks to those pessimism. Most of all, one thing is certain that he finished his role with strong sincerity and positive mind in his first Hollywood lead role.

'Ninja Assassin' was directed by the Wachowski brothers('The Matrix') and Joel Silver ('Die Hard' and 'Lethal Weapon'), and produced by James McTeigue (`V for Vendetta').

Rain played 'Laizo' who got trained in Ninja group to be an assassin since his childhood, but turned back from them because of suffering from his merciless murders. I met him in the morning on the 10th.

- It's your first lead role. Don't you have any pressure because this film is a cruel action?

"If it's not cruel, then it wouldn't be different from other action films. I bet this kind of action film didn't exist after 'Kill Bill' directed by Quentin Tarantino.

To show a totally new character and actions which had never seen before was the Wachowski brothers' ambition. We considered how I could look different from other action stars like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.

We tried taking advantage of my tall height(6.1 feet), getting more muscles, using new weapons like a chain or lance.

I became the 'murdering machine', 'Laizo' by practicing not only Taekwondo, but boxing, Karade, Kung Fu, Ushu, yamakasi, trampoline, and so on. I also learned Acrobatic.

Now I know where I should hit to make the opponent not breathe and hurt most. After I saw the complete version of this film, the actions were so cool that I couldn't believe the actor was me." (smile)

- Why Ninja? There are some views that the character is a bit plain.

"The Wachowski brothers told me: 'Let's make a character of which feeling is varying whenever we see him', 'I will focus more on close-ups than on full shots.'

They asked me to keep expressing anger and revolt in any hard action scenes. I also had a specialized coach to teach me a facial acting. I agree on that I didn't show my internal-acting much.

However 'Ninja Assassin' is an entertaining film for enjoying the spectacular action. It could be boring if we only enjoy a dance singer's splendid appearance and dance. It is hard to show both."

In the beginning of the movie, there is a scene which shows that he pushed up with handstand on a panel where nails were stuck crowdedly.

For him, it was an 'Infinite Challenge' for 8 months. "At first I couldn't even make it once. I complained wondering why they asked me to. 4 after a month, 10 after two months, and then I did 20 times after three months.

-Didn't you feel lonely on the set? Did you feel any differences between a lead role and a supporting role?

"Everyone was so nice to me that I couldn't feel it. Because I am young, I didn't feel any pressure when I asked something I didn't know. When I heard a new word that I hadn't known before, I wrote it down in my phone and then later I looked into it with a dictionary.

Because Hollywood system is so systematic, actors and actresses are divided by 10 groups depending on their importance. No.1 is a lead role. I was 10 in 'Speed Racer', but 1 in this film.

I got served a meal earliest. 'Do you want pepper or not in a fish dish?' 'Want a basil(a kind of Herb)?', 'Are you hungry much now?' It is even annoying to ask me those many questions.

When shooting, even when I said 'Ah!', an insurance staff, a massager, a physician approached me immediately. How much would they be sensitive because if a lead role actor gets an injury, that means exceeding the budget."(smile)

- What is a lesson you learned from the two Hollywood experience?

"Global stage is like a rough wave. If we stay conveniently or do what we want to do, then we float away soon. In Hollywood, we wouldn't succeed unless we kill any others.

Rain of Korea, or Rain of Asia don't work here. Someone in the medium has to work to connect Rain and Hollywood. Who would refuse the Wachowski brothers of 'The Matrix', the famous producer Joel Silver?

First I'm satisfied that 'Rain' will be known as 'Ninja Assassin' in the global market. A box office success is next. I'm still young. Being young is my weapon"(smile)

credit to

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=106&oid=025&aid=0002042240  (article)

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=106&oid=109&aid=0002063432 (photo)

Brief translation y rain bird.

 비 “할리우드, 결코 여기가 끝이 아니다” (인터뷰)

비-정지훈-레인 중 "가장 소중한 이름은 비!"