For Rain, 'Cyborg' may prove a stepping stone to world fame

By Kim HyunSEOUL, Dec. 6 (Yonhap) -- Rain may be taking a gamble playing a psychiatric patient for his big-screen debut, but the Korean singer-actor, currently on a world tour, is steadily reinventing himself as he prepares to flood the world stage.

"This will be a new image of me," he told Yonhap News Agency at a downtown cafe in Seoul."If I had to pick one, the image of me in the movie is closer to who I really am than the Rain you see on the singing stage."Rain will debut in "I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay," directed by Park Chan-wook and set for local release on Thursday.

In light of Park's success with "Old Boy," which picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes two years ago, the movie is almost certain to get a worldwide release, something Rain hopes will raise his standing in global terms."Now I feel that I have taken the first step," he said. "To me, the issue was that the director was Park Chan-wook. He was the director I liked as a fan, and with whom so many actors wanted to work.

I thought there would definitely be things he could teach me (as an actor)."Ranked among Time's 100 most influential figures this year, Rain has been a superstar in Asia with four albums and three hit TV dramas under his belt, but his star quality hasn't translated into global appeal.

kim rae won new movie"sunflower"

Starring:Kim Rae WonKim
Hae-sook Heo In-jae
Release Date: November 23, 2006
Synopsis:
Tae-shik wants nothing more than to forget about his checkered past and live the rest of his life quietly and at peace with the world. However, the world is not quite yet ready to let him do that. Tae-shik is played by Kim Rae-won (Mr Socrates, My Little Bride) and he is joined in the cast by veteran actress Kim Hae-sook (The Ghost, My Brother) and Heo In-jae (A Dirty Carnival). Writing and directing the film is Kang Seok-beom who also wrote and directed Mr Handy. His writing credits also included last year's financial success My Boss My Teacher. This Eye Vision Entertainment action-drama will be ready to hit the theaters via Showbox on November

My Wife is a Gangster 3”c

The Korean comic action film “My Wife is a Gangster 3” will be shown at theaters in Hong Kong next February.

The film’s producer Hyunjin Cinema said Tuesday that it has decided to release the film in Hong Kong right before Chinese New Year in February considering the high expectations for the film there. It had planned to release it as soon as in January, but concerns over illegal copying made it decide on February, it added.

“My Wife is a Gangster,” the first in the series released in 2001 in Korea, garnered some 5.3 million viewers locally, and topped the box offices of Asian nations including Hong Kong and Vietnam upon its overseas release in 2002. In Hong Kong particularly, it ranked fourth among all the movies released in 2002.

“Shu Qi and Lung Ti, who starred in the movie, are very curious because they have not seen the completed film yet,” Hyunjin Cinema president Lee Sun-yeol said. “They viewed the trailers when they came to Korea to promote the film and expressed satisfaction. They are now looking forward to the film’s release in Hong Kong.

” The third installment of the series has already attracted much attention from Asian nations such as Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam as well as Germany by being sold for a total of 660,000 US dollars (620 million won) at the American Film Market held in L.A. in early November.

The producer said that because the series has high brand recognition in Asian nations and Shu Qi is popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia (her birthplace), it expects that the third installment will also become successful in those countries.

My Wife is a Gangster 3”

The Korean comic action film “My Wife is a Gangster 3” will be shown at theaters in Hong Kong next February.

The film’s producer Hyunjin Cinema said Tuesday that it has decided to release the film in Hong Kong right before Chinese New Year in February considering the high expectations for the film there. It had planned to release it as soon as in January, but concerns over illegal copying made it decide on February, it added.

“My Wife is a Gangster,” the first in the series released in 2001 in Korea, garnered some 5.3 million viewers locally, and topped the box offices of Asian nations including Hong Kong and Vietnam upon its overseas release in 2002. In Hong Kong particularly, it ranked fourth among all the movies released in 2002.

“Shu Qi and Lung Ti, who starred in the movie, are very curious because they have not seen the completed film yet,” Hyunjin Cinema president Lee Sun-yeol said. “They viewed the trailers when they came to Korea to promote the film and expressed satisfaction. They are now looking forward to the film’s release in Hong Kong.

” The third installment of the series has already attracted much attention from Asian nations such as Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam as well as Germany by being sold for a total of 660,000 US dollars (620 million won) at the American Film Market held in L.A. in early November.

The producer said that because the series has high brand recognition in Asian nations and Shu Qi is popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia (her birthplace), it expects that the third installment will also become successful in those countries.