CHARACTER MEDIA
(Former 'KoreAm' Kore Asian Media)
Rain’s Starry, Starry Night
Music ‖By Sophia Kim
Photograph by Elizabeth Kim
Throngs of giddy fans lined Hollywood Boulevard across from the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Nov. 19, hoping to catch a glimpse, and maybe press the flesh, of the South Korean pop idol, Rain. It was a night that many die-hard Clouds (as Rain fans are called) had been anticipating for months—the Los Angeles premiere of Ninja Assassin, a martial arts action film in which “Bi,” as he is called in Korean, plays the lead role.
Paulina Yeung, one of the artist’s many international fans, said she flew in from Hong Kong just for the premiere. “I want to support Rain, to be here for him,” said Yeung, a retired government worker who wouldn’t give her age, but revealed she has a college-aged daughter. “Him being Asian, I am so proud.”
In Ninja Assassin, Rain plays Raizo, an orphan who is trained by the secret-society Ozunu Clan to become a deadly assassin. He later seeks revenge against the clan when his female friend is executed by the group’s leader, played by legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi. Produced by the Wachowski brothers of The Matrix triology and directed by James McTeigue, who directed V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin opened nationwide and around the world on Nov. 25.
Over the holiday weekend, the film—competing against The Twilight Saga: New Moon—ranked in sixth place, earning $13.1 million over three days. Two days later, it‘d brought in a total of $21 million.
The film also features several Korean American actors, including Rick Yune, Sung Kang and Randall Duk Kim.
At Ninja Assassin’s Los Angeles premiere, two long banners congratulating Rain on his first lead role in a Hollywood movie were placed on the sidewalk where fans congregated. One banner from Rain’s South American fans read, “Rain, Your Fans Around the World Are Always With You.”
“Isilbalie,” who asked to be identified by her online screen name because she took a day off of work to attend the premiere, said she brought the banner from Seattle, Washington. “We’d promised the South American fans that we’d carry it to the premiere. We’ll give it to Rain’s company as a gift,” said the white middle-aged woman who became a Rain fan after watching his popular Korean drama, Full House.
At about 6:30 p.m., she and hundreds of other Clouds let out high-pitched screams as Rain stepped out of his car, looking quite debonair in a dark gray pin-striped suit over a black shirt and a solid magenta-colored tie. His short hair stylishly tousled at the top, the superstar took off his shades and broke into a broad smile. Much to the delight of his fans, he walked across the street to shake hands and sign autographs.
Inside the theater, a group of young female fans sitting in the front cried out, “Oppa!” (“big brother”) when he entered. And after the lights went out, female voices let out intermittent “aahs” when Rain bared his chest and performed his acrobatic slice-‘em-dice-‘em stunts with chains, knives, swords, and flying stars.
Jinny Shim, from Los Angeles Koreatown, said Rain’s performance left her “speechless.” Not only were his eyes “very charismatic,” said the 22-year-old, but she loved all the scenes where Rain was shirtless and doing push-ups.
Outside the theater, Kiki Smith, showed off her autographed poster of Rain, calling him “my hero.” The 20-year-old African American woman said she got hooked on Rain’s music and TV dramas, adding, “Rain deserves all the success that this movie will bring him because you could see he worked so hard.”
Rain was granted the lead role in Ninja Assassin after he impressed the Wachowski brothers in his supporting role in their earlier film, Speed Racer. Rain is hoping this latest film could be his Hollywood starmaking vehicle. As of press time, early reviews were mixed. “Implausible on countless levels … thinly plotted,” wrote the Daily Variety’s Rob Nelson. But Kam Williams, a syndicated film critic from New York, wrote that Rain “cuts a very charismatic screen presence” and has “immense crossover appeal.”
Those who worked on the film stand by their man.
“Rain has the potential to become a big star,” said producer Joel Silver, who also worked on Speed Racer, during a media roundtable at Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood two days after the premiere. “Once he gets an audience to know him, Rain can do anything he wants. He has this Clint Eastwood quality about him.”
McTeigue, the movie’s director, noted that Rain’s exceptional dancing ability enabled the martial arts trainers to challenge him to go above and beyond, more so than with other actors. The 27-year-old did 90 percent of his own stunts, learning kung fu, kickboxing, tai chi and fighting with double swords and chains. “I had to make my body fit like Bruce Lee,” Rain said. “I trained for eight months, eight hours a day, five days a week. No sugar or salt. I love kimchi, but I made it—I ate only chicken breasts and vegetables.”
The singer/actor, whose real name is Jeong Ji-Hoon, has seen a meteoric rise to stardom. He struggled for years as a backup dancer before his music career took off in 2000, and then his appearance in Korean dramas transformed him into a bonafide star across Asia. Time magazine called him “the next face of globalism.” The performer has also hit some rough terrain in recent years, such as when a Hawaii federal court ordered him and his manager to pay $8 million to a concert promoter for canceling performances.
But Rain hopes his luck has changed, with the high-profile new film and upcoming Asian concerts, as well as two in Las Vegas on Dec. 24 and 25.
Rain has long said his late mother, who died before witnessing her son’s success, is his motivating force. “I feel as though she is by my side,” he told KoreAm last month. “Because of her, I have bigger dreams and I want to try harder.”
He also said that, as a Hollywood newcomer, he empathizes with Korean immigrants who “must have struggled so hard” to find their place in the United States. When he first came to Hollywood, people just saw him as “another Asian” and downplayed his abilities. If he succeeds in Hollywood, Rain said, not only will “Koreans win,” but more opportunities will open up for Asian actors.
[아츠뉴스]
'닌자 어쌔신' 관객반응 폭발! 여심 사로잡았다!
[단신 종합]
데니스 강 "닌자 어쌔신 재밌네요"
[뉴스엔]
‘닌자어쌔신’ 북미 박스오피스 4위 ‘재진입’ 인기몰이 여전
패리스힐튼, 비에 푹 빠졌다! ‘닌자 어쌔신 봐라’ 눈길 뉴스엔
비, 이번에는 패리스 힐튼 마음 사로 잡았다 한국일보
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=17111&page=396&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
12.02.09 South Korean Heartthrob Rain to Perform in Jakarta
Korean pop icon Jeong Ji Hoon, aka Rain, at a news conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. He is scheduled to perform at a concert in the Indonesian capital on Thursday. (Photo: Rosa Panggabean, Antara)
South Korean Heartthrob Rain to Perform in Jakarta
He goes by the name of Rain, and he is one of the hottest stars Asia currently has to offer — a singer, actor, dancer, designer, model and style icon all at once.
The celebrity status of Jeong Ji Hoon, better known as Rain, was more than obvious during a news conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Kuningan on Tuesday afternoon, where the South Korean entertainer was scheduled to appear and talk about tonight’s concert in Jakarta, part of an Asian tour that has already taken him to Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The ballroom was filled with the excited chattering of mostly female reporters who discussed Rain’s music and his new movie, “Ninja Assassin,” which is currently playing in local theaters. A large poster depicting Rain wearing an unbuttoned black jacket that revealed his six-pack abs dominated the ballroom, and had to serve as eye candy for most of the afternoon, as the star took his time to appear in front of the media.
After a wait of more than an hour, a female MC finally stepped up to the podium, giggling like a schoolgirl as she announced that she would love to wear clothes from Rain’s fashion line, and then rattled off the entertainer’s CV, adding “that’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” at the end of almost every sentence.
Then, finally: enter Rain. The reporters who grabbed seats at the back were the unfortunate losers, as they had to get out of their seats so they could rush to the front for a better view of the 27-year-old star.
Dressed in an elegant suit and sporting a trendy hairstyle, Rain stood still for a couple of minutes, enduring the flurry of camera flashes with a boyish smile, before sitting down to answer questions.
It took a while before anybody asked anything, as most of the women in the room were still trying to deal with the fact that he was actually sitting in front of them – “Oh my God, I can’t believe he’s so close,” was the most heard exclamation of the day.
It didn’t get any better when the heartthrob said, with a low, soft voice: “Hello everybody. This is Rain. I am so happy to be here. Apa kabar?” Those few words were enough to fill the room with heart-wrenching sighs and numerous “aaaahs” and “ooooohs.”
Rain released his first album in 2002 to great success and, almost at the same time, started an acting career. He has recorded five Korean albums and one in Japanese, and has starred in several TV series, as well as three feature films.
Many questions centered on his role in “Ninja Assassin” — and yes, he worked out on a daily basis and followed a tight program to get in shape, and yes, of course, he’d liked to keep that condition, but wasn’t quite able to after the movie wrapped. Then Rain, who starred in the popular South Korean TV drama “Full House” in 2004, which was a big hit in Indonesia, eventually had the chance to talk about his concert.
“I came to Indonesia to give the best possible performance to my fans,” he said, politely and appearing almost shy. “It took me one year to prepare this tour, so I am sure you won’t be disappointed.”
He assured the crowd that he would do his very best to entertain and that he felt very blessed to be in Indonesia, and to have a successful career as both a singer and actor.
The concert tonight in Jakarta is the last stop on his Asian tour and as of Wednesday there were only standing room tickets still available.
“We had planned to bring Rain to Indonesia since last year,” said Sean Sudwikatmono, the managing director of promoter W Productions.
“But he was still busy shooting ‘Ninja Assassin’ at the time, so we had to wait until now, and of course we’re very happy to have him here.”
If Wednesday’s news conference was any indication of how the concert might be, expect a loud, smitten crowd, consisting mainly of female fans, and a focused Rain, eager to entertain and performing songs from his new album as well as favorites from previous ones, and smiling relentlessly to make the girls’ hearts race.
Rain Asia Tour 2009 ‘Legend of Rainism’
Thursday, Dec. 3, from 8 p.m.
Tickets Rp 750,000 to Rp 3 million
Gd. Mangga 2 Square,Lt.2 – Blok A No.45
Jalan Gunung Sahari Raya No.1
North Jakarta
Tel. 021 6231 1377
http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/south-korean-heartthrob-rain-to-perform-in-jakarta/345055
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=17112&page=396&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
Interview with Ninja Assassin Writers (Rain mentioned)
Ninja Assassin – Writers J Michael Straczynski and Matthew Sand
Usually press conferences take place in either a hotel room at a round table, or in a large convention room, so it was a nice breath of fresh air for this one to take place at the Yamashiro Restaurant, nestled in the Hollywood Hills. Before it began, I went took photos of the historical site which, another journalist told me, served as the Japanese Consulate before World War II.
Participating in the press day were the screenwriters of the movie, J Michael Straczynski (Changeling, Babylon 5) and Matthew Sand (The Red Star, Brothers in Arms). They were our last interview of the day – and afterwards the studio provided a wonderful buffet of Japanese dishes. Sorry I can’t share the food with you, but I can share the interview.
What you were hoping to achieve with this movie?
Michael : All of us grew up on martial arts films, ninja movies, kung fu movies, and you want to, a) give back to that form, but b) interpret it through your own cultural lens. It’s like in the 60s and 70s where Italian filmmakers who fell in love with westerns and they applied their own interpretation to it.
Similarly seeing these films as we were growing up we wanted to present it in our American cultural way. Also we wanted to show the ninjas being serious, to leave the joke of them over the last 20 years, and we wanted to make them scary again. That’s why in the opening scene [the characters] are making fun of it, and you learn, no, you don’t make fun of it or your head will be in half.
It’s very violent, did you write the methods people died in the script or did you leave that to the special effects people?
Matthew: Every person that dies you have to indicate what happens to that person, in terms of living, dying or how they go down, but the specifics of it are left to the choreographer. It’s an action movie and ideally you want to have your lead character’s character revealed through the action. I think Rain does an incredible job of showing who he is by how he moves.
It’s also a love story, was that important to the scenario?
Matthew: Early on in the drafting process we decided that it couldn’t just be flashbacks to him being a kid, there had to be a narrative there, and a love story is an obvious thing. But on a fundamental basis, and like most stories, it’s about a person finding out who he really is. And so having Rain come to terms with the fact that he’s in love with someone and that love was never fully realized, that’s a very classic and powerful story, I think.
Did you come in after Rain came onto it?
Matthew: Rain was there before there was an idea. Rain was the idea.
So we wrote it around him.
Michael : We met Rain when he was shooting Speed Racer, and so we wrote the movie around him.
Does it help you to write it when you know who the star of the movie is?
Michael : Yeah, it helps me. It depends on the actor, if it’s someone who’s a terrible actor it’s very difficult, you’re writing around that the whole time. But with someone like Rain it’s a privilege.
There are nine clans – is that something you researched or made up?
Matthew: I did a lot of research, and I had a great time doing it. There certainly are myths and legends and actual facts around the Ozunu clan and the other ninja clans; I took a number at liberties and made a number of things up.
One of the things that I learned doing research on the ninjas was that they’ve been making things up about ninjas almost ever since the time they entered into the language. In medieval Japan there were practically ninja theme parks.
Is there an actual historical basis for the ninjas? Definitely, did I take liberties with those and amplify those, absolutely.
I loved the bit where the ninjas looked like shadows – was that in the script?
Matthew: That was an early idea, having someone crawl out of a shadow. The metaphor I always imagined was a shark coming out of deep water. It’s spooky and exciting and I think they did a great job with that. It makes the dark almost a character.
Did you write in the supernatural abilities they have?
Matthew: There’s always been a supernatural element to the ninja. They’ve always been credited with superhuman abilities. So we were taking that and amplifying that.
I don’t think the script got lost in the technology, what’s your opinion?
Michael : It’s hard to carve the screenplay out from the movie. I love the movie. Do I love how much the screenplay I wrote is in the movie, yes, but I don’t think of it that way. It’s the finished product that I’m proud to be associated with.
Matthew: That’s why working with the Wachowskis, with James McTeigue and Joel Silver is such a privilege; they don’t lose sight of the story ever.
Are you hoping there might be a sequel?
Michael : Yes, Ninja 8: I’m Still Pissed.
비*본명 정지훈( 주연의 할리우드 액션영화 '닌자 어쌔신'이 실제관객 평점 8.43점으로 평점순위 1위에 올랐다.
맥스무비 실제관객평점은 해당 영화를 예매한 후 관람까지 시스템상으로 확인된 관객들의 평점만을 집계한다. 관람여부가 확인되지 않는 일반적인 네티즌 평점과 달리 관객의 성향을 반영하는 것으로 신뢰도가 높다. 이 같은 방식에서는 단순한 ‘팬’의 몰표로 해석할 수 없다. 실제로 비의 전작들은 낮은 평점을 받아왔다.
맥스무비 김형호 실장은 “'닌자 어쌔신'의 실제관객평점 1위 등극은 이례적이다”면서 “액션 장르는 관객들에게 다른 장르에 비해 낮은 점수를 받는 장르이기 때문”이라고 분석했다. 또 “영상 부문이 주연배우 비보다 더 높은 점수를 받은 것으로 보면, 잔인한 액션 장면이 오히려 19금 액션영화답다는 평가로 이어지는 것”이라고 분석했다.
우선 '닌자 어쌔신'의 평점 8.43점(10점 만점)은 그 자체가 높다. 액션 장르는 일반적으로 7점대 이상만 기록해도 호평에 속할 정도로 낮은 평가를 받는 장르이다.
또한 평점을 매긴 관객의 성별을 분석하면, 액션장르가 남성관객 선호 장르인데 반해 여성이 남성보다 더 높은 평점을 주고 있다. 여성은 8.37점, 남성은 7.93점을 주고 있다. 물론 남성의 평점도 액션장르를 고려하면 낮은 점수는 아니다.
연령별 분석에서도 마찬가지이다. 액션이나 잔인한 장면의 강도가 강할수록 높은 연령층의 평점은 낮아지는 게 일반적이다. 하지만 '닌자 어쌔신'은 20대는 7.67점, 30대는 8.29점, 40대 이상은 9.16점으로 연령대가 높아질수록 평점도 오히려 높다.
그렇다면 관객이 평점 1위로 <닌자 어쌔신>을 꼽은 이유는 무엇일까?
항목별 평점에서 확인할 수 있다. 배우에 대한 평점은 8.77점, 영상에 대한 평점은 8.80점으로'닌자 어쌔신'의 영상이 주연배우 ‘비’에 대한 평가보다 더 높다. 즉 '닌자 어쌔신'의 영상 부문이 관객이 꼽는 가장 큰 매력포인트인 셈이다.
3일 국내 웹하드 사이트 등에는 '닌자 어쌔신'의 불법 동영상이 유통되고 있다. 이 동영상은 극장에서 관객이 캠코더로 몰래 촬영한 이른바 '캠버전'으로 영상에 한글 자막이 없는 것으로 보아 미국 등 영어권 국가에서 촬영된 뒤 국내 사이트로 유입된 것으로 추측된다.
캠버전 동영상인만큼 조악한 화질이지만 '닌자 어쌔신' 측은 흥행에 적신호가 켜질 것을 우려하고 있다. '닌자 어쌔신'은 국내 박스오피스에서는 화제작 '뉴 문' 개봉에도 3위를 지키고 있고 북미 박스오피스에서도 개봉 첫 주말보다 높은 4위를 유지하고 있다. '해운대' '2012' 등 최근 불법 동영상이 유포된 영화들이 하나같인 관객 감소라는 직격탄을 맞은만큼 '닌자 어쌔신'도 피해를 최소화하기 위해 신경을 곤두세우고 있는 상황.
'닌자 어쌔신'의 국내 직배사인 워너브라더스 코리아 관계자는 "'닌자 어쌔신'의 불법 동영상이 유포되고 있어 웹하드 사이트와 공조해 일일이 삭제하고 있는중"이라고 밝혔다.
[사진 = 영화 '닌자 어쌔신']
강지훈 기자 jhoon@mydaily.co.kr
출저:네이버 뉴스
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=7&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=4&seq=17115&page=396&searchType=title&searchStr=
yuumi
美の人気歌手オマリオン、ツイーターに"私の友人の雨'忍者'てみると昔考えナネ"
http://news.nate.com/view/20091203n15425
パリスヒルトンに続き、人気歌手のオマリオンまでのRain（本名チョンジフン）の魅力にすっかり落ちた。
オマリオンは、12月3日（韩国时间）、自分のツイーターで、"ただ私の友人（bro）雨が出てくる'忍者アサシン』を見た"とし、"彼が英語を懸命に学びだとしていた時の記憶ない"と記している。オマリオンは、2006年の雨デュエット曲を録音するなど、一緒に作業している。
オマリオンは、ヒップホップグループB2Kメンバーだった、2005年のソロ独立して大きな成功を収めたの人気ヒップホップアルエンビアーティストとして韓国でも大きな人気を集めている。ビッグバン太陽など多くの歌手がヨルヒョルペンであることを自任したりする実力派アチストゥダ。
一方、雨が初主演したハリウッド映画『忍者アサシン』は、アメリカのボックスオフィス4位に浮上した。'忍者アサシン』は、11月26日、全世界に公開された後、米国公開初週ボックスオフィス5位を占めており、順調なスタートを見せたことがある。
'忍者アサシン』は、公開初日の25日、米ボックスオフィス4位、イトゥトナルイン26日3位に浮上したが3日目再び6位に下がった。しかし、北米興行収入専門集約サイトボックスオフィスラインドットコムの1日の集計によると、『忍者アサシン』の11月30日1日の興行成績は、全体の封切り映画の中で4位となった。
この日、93万7,232ドルの興行収入を加えた'忍者アサシン』は、累積的な収入2,213万797ドルを記録し、4位を走っている。北米兴行成绩1位は『ニュムン』が、2位は『ブラインドサイド』が、3位は'2012'がそれぞれ占めた。
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46179&page=529&searchType=title&searchStr=
blueberry
091126 Hong Kong Milk Magazine Issue 436
képek
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46181&page=529&searchType=title&searchStr=
Tanya21Rain
New pic Tous Le Jours
1 kép
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46182&page=528&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
Rain Bi @ Juanira CINEMANIA magazine in Spain
Credit//only u rain
1 kép
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46183&page=528&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
more Rain pices at the press concference in Jakarta
3 kép
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46184&page=528&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
12.2009 [SCANS] Rain – Ninja Assassin on Newspaper
credit//pluie625
4 kép
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46185&page=528&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
Latin America present in Lenged of Rainism HK Concert
credits: Li Ya@RainPeruFans
5 kép
http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=46186&page=528&searchType=title&searchStr=
ratoka
Rain Bi wearing DOLCE&GABBANA
Credit//team jihoon 625
Re-posted@ memo rain blog
3 kép
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése