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Son Ye Jin Aiming for Mask Girl Director’s Next Project (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Son Ye Jin, globally recognized for her role in Crash Landing on You, is now gearing up for her next big project. As per the latest update, she has been offered an exciting lead role in a new thriller drama that will be helmed by the director of Mask Girl. Jo Yu Ri, best known for her Squid Game 2 role is reportedly in talks for this drama as well.

According to Korean media outlet Xports News, Son Ye Jin has received an offer to star in Variety (literal title). The drama’s production company Cj Enm confirmed, “We did offer the role to Son Ye Jin, but as the project is still in its early stages, nothing has been finalized yet.” The production added that details about the broadcasting plans and casting are yet to be determined.

Son Ye-jin is called the “One and Only” for good reason. She became a star right with her debut and has been at the centre of public interest as an icon of melodrama ever since. She has moved between different genres, while avoiding stereotypes and fearlessly embarking on adventures to find her unique character and novelty. Successful both on cinema and TV, Son Ye-jin is one of the most iconic actresses of her generation. On the occasion of being the focus of the special spotlight at Bifan, here are ten of her best movies, in chronological order, although it is obvious, that her two best movies are “The Last Princess” and “The Truth Beneath”

1. Lover's Concerto (2002) by Lee Han

One day, Ji-hwan begins to receive letters from an unidentified person. The letters, containing black-and-white photos of happy children playing, remind Ji-hwan of his old two friends. Five years earlier, while...

“Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos will reteam with Element Pictures on a remake of South Korean fantasy comedy “Save the Green Planet,” Variety has learned.

Lanthimos — whose latest film, “Poor Things,” is nominated for 11 Oscars and just won five BAFTAs (including best actress for Emma Stone) — is expected to start shooting the movie in the U.K. and New York this summer. Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe at Element Pictures will produce the movie alongside Ari Aster’s Square Peg and Cj Enm (previously named Cj Entertainment). It will mark the sixth collaboration between Lanthimos and Element Pictures.

The long-gestated project, which seems to be a perfect Lanthimos vehicle, is an eccentric black comedy involving a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman whom he believes to be part of an alien invasion. A battle of wits ensues between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.

Devoted entertainment buffs enjoy spotting hidden messages and deciphering symbols in movies, series, and video clips. Whether it’s a director cameo, a reference to past work or a celebrity nemesis, a common object, or a background character, Easter eggs come in all forms and sizes: a shirt, an insinuation in a line, a poster slapped on a bedroom wall, a piece of jewelry… and sometimes a vehicle. Mega-star Taylor Swift comes to mind as a prime example; she is always dropping hints about her other songs, her loved ones, and those who have wronged her. It’s simply another way for any artist or creator to leave their distinctive mark, while perpetuating a tradition. And an American filmmaker as distinctive as Sam Raimi has made it a point to leave his decaying Oldsmobile, or its replica, in most of his movies.

The title that launched his career in 1981 was The Evil Dead,...

On the heels of his successful series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” on Peacock, Malcolm D. Lee has extended his first-look deal with Universal Television.

As part of the deal, he will continue to write, develop and produce new projects via his Blackmaled Productions banner for a variety of platforms.

“Malcolm is an incredibly gifted writer, director and producer with an impressive ability to tell entertaining, nuanced stories that shatter records along the way,” said Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television. “We’re overjoyed at the success of ‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters,’ and we look forward to partnering with Malcolm on many more exciting and memorable projects.”

One of the original minds behind the 1999 film, Lee served as creator, executive producer and co-showrunner of the miniseries, which was released last year. Featuring the return of the film’s iconic class, the eight-part show concludes Lee’s “Best Man” franchise.

Malcolm D. Lee is staying put at Universal Television.

The Girls Trip and Best Man franchise director has extended a first-look deal at the studio, part of Universal Studio Group. Lee’s re-upping follows the success of The Best Man: The Final Chapters at Peacock, where it became the streamer’s biggest series premiere to date and the first Peacock original to make Nielsen’s streaming top 10 chart.

Under the deal with Universal TV, Lee and his Blackmaled Productions will continue to develop and produce scripted projects for all platforms.

“The team at Utv has been incredibly supportive as I’ve been navigating my way through the television landscape,” Lee said in a statement. “Continuing our flourishing partnership made sense on so many levels. I’m gratified to know Blackmaled will keep building our robust slate at a place I can call home.”

Said Universal TV president Erin Underhill, “Malcolm is an incredibly gifted writer,...

Multi-starrer Christmas films have been being released around the holiday season for a while now and the fad seems to have finally reached South Korean shores. After “New Year Blues” last year, this year sees director Kwak Jae-yong, who is no stranger to the mushy romance genre after having made such classics as “My Sassy Girl”, “Windstuck” and “The Classic”, take on a similar project, with a massive star-cast boasting of impressive talents both young and young-at-heart.

Synopsis

The story of people who met each other at Hotel Emros during the New Year holidays, each with their own stories and creating relationships in their own ways.

As expected from the storyline, the characters are divided in both the staff and guests working in the Hotel. The staff comprises of Han Ji-min (“Miss Baek”), who plays the hotel manager, Lee Dong-wook (“The Beauty Inside”) as the hotel’s CEO, Yoona (“Exit”) as the receptionist,...

Producer and broadcaster Jtbc has such a strong track record of making attractive and successful Korean TV drama series from tales of everyday lives that almost everything it does is likely to attract attention. Adding the presence of Son Ye-jin, star of Studio Dragon and Netflix hit “Crash Landing on You,” makes “Thirty-Nine” potentially one of the hottest Korean series of 2022.

The title is a reference to the age of three female friends who are only just the right side of forty. The 12-part romantic drama depicts them juggling life, work and relationships as they approach mid-life.

Son, who had the starring role in early 2000s blockbuster films “The Classic” and “April Snow” but in recent years has focused more on TV, plays the head of a dermatology clinic in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district. She is joined by co-stars Jeon Mi Do (tvN’s “Hospital Playlist”) as a drama...

International and indie film distributor Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Korean film Escape From Mogadishu. It will open in theaters in the U.S. and Canada August 6 following a July 28 release in Korea.

The film is based on true events and chronicles the harrowing experience of bitterly opposed North and South Korean diplomats trapped in the city of Mogadishu at the advent of the Somalian civil war in 1991. The dramatic years-long conflict, which exploded following the rebel-led ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, was introduced to American audiences through blockbuster film Black Hawk Down, which picks up the narrative in war-torn Mogadishu in 1993.

“The film portrays this almost unfathomable event that throws the horrors of war into sharp relief,” said Well Go CEO Doris Pfardrescher. She noted the production team’s careful study of surviving embassy records and historical accounts to create the most realistic possible depiction.

The cast of “The Best Man” film franchise is reuniting for a limited series that has been ordered at Peacock.

“The Best Man: Final Chapters” will feature returning cast members Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, and Harold Perrineau.

Peacock has ordered 10 episodes, with Malcolm D. Lee and Dayna Lynne North onboard to write and executive produce. Lee previously directed and wrote the two films in the franchise — “The Best Man” and “The Best Man Holiday.”

“Here we go! The band is back together!” Lee said. “I am very excited to bring these iconic characters back to the fans who have supported us through this franchise. We are thrilled to deliver everything one would expect from this group of friends in ‘The Best Man’ universe and take them through their final chapters. We can’t wait! I told you it wouldn’t be 14 more years.

Exclusive: Universal’s hit The Best Man movie franchise is getting a new installment as a streaming series. Peacock has ordered a 10-episode limited dramedy series The Best Man: The Final Chapters from the movies’ writer and director Malcolm D. Lee and former Insecure executive producer Dayna Lynne North.

The core star-studded original cast from the movies are set to return, including Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau. I hear the actors all recently closed significant seven-figure deals to reprise their roles in the series, which is eying a September start. The only missing original Best Man cast member is Monica Calhoun whose character died in the sequel, The Best Man Holiday, which was released more than seven years ago.

“We’re excited to reunite this beloved cast for a limited series run of The Best Man for Peacock,...

Golden Anniversaries, which is co-presented by Cinema St. Louis (Csl) and the St. Louis Public Library, features classic films celebrating their 50th anniversaries. This fourth edition of the event will highlight films from 1971.

Because in-person screenings remain problematic during the pandemic, Cinema St. Louis will hold free online conversations on the films, with people watching the films on their own but gathering virtually to discuss them.

Film critics, film academics, and filmmakers will offer introductory remarks and then participate in discussions about the films. In addition to a fine selection of St. Louis critics, Golden Anniversaries will feature several experts from elsewhere.

The conversations will be offered as free livestreams at 7:30 Pm on the second Monday of every month in 2021 except November, when the St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) hopes to feature several in-person Golden Anniversaries selections.

The first four discussions are already scheduled:

Jan. 11: Peter Bogdanovich...

Exclusive: Malcolm D. Lee’s Blackmaled Productions has hired Sheila Walcott to be Head of Film and Television.

Walcott moves from Warner Bros where she was Director of Development and worked on such films as Just Mercy, A Star is Born, Ocean’s 8 and the upcoming adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony winning musical In The Heights. Walcott will be based out of Blackmaled’s Los Angeles office, where Director of Development Adam Haiken will report to her. Walcott started her career in TV development at Overbrook and then consulted for HBO Films where she worked on such films as Bessie, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Wizard of Lies.

“As a massive fan of Malcolm’s talent, I’m thrilled to be taking on this role at Blackmaled Productions,” says Walcott. “Malcolm’s unique eye for compelling content that crosses all genres is unparalleled, and I look forward...

Roosevelt High School head football coach Javier Cid calls East Los Angeles (known locally as “East Los” or simply “East L.A.”) the “Ellis Island of the West,” as it was once home to a variety of immigrant groups — Russian, Jewish and Japanese, to name a few. However, in recent years, it’s become home to the United States’ largest Latino population, with over 96% of its residents identifying as Latino or Latin-American.

And despite the fact that over 70% of its Latino community are U.S. citizens, they are still not seen as American, a point driven home in the narration from conservative and far-right commentators during the opening sequence of writer-director-producer Billy McMillin’s feature film debut, “The All-Americans.”

McMillin offers an insight into two East L.A. High schools, Roosevelt and Garfield, and their respective football coaches and team players in the nine months leading up to the annual...

South Korean conglomerate Cj Entertainment is moving forward with a Thai remake of the 2003 Korean hit romance The Classic, directed by first-time helmer Thatchaphong Suphasri for a late 2019 release.

Titled Classic Again, the new version stars actor Thitipoom Techaapaikhun, known for his work on Thai TV, and model and rising actress Ranchrawee Uakoolwarawat. The remake is solely produced by Cj Major Entertainment with no co-producing partners.

A tearjerking romance, The Classic was Korean director Kwak Jae-yong’s follow-up to his smash hit My Sassy Girl (2001). The film took in $6.9 million and turned Son Ye-jin, who played both mother and ...

South Korean conglomerate Cj Entertainment is moving forward with a Thai remake of the 2003 Korean hit romance The Classic, directed by first-time helmer Thatchaphong Suphasri for a late 2019 release.

Titled Classic Again, the new version stars actor Thitipoom Techaapaikhun, known for his work on Thai TV, and model and rising actress Ranchrawee Uakoolwarawat. The remake is solely produced by Cj Major Entertainment with no co-producing partners.

A tearjerking romance, The Classic was Korean director Kwak Jae-yong’s follow-up to his smash hit My Sassy Girl (2001). The film took in $6.9 million and turned Son Ye-jin, who played both mother and ...

Korean entertainment powerhouse Cj Entertainment has amped up its overseas filmmaking efforts to the point that it is now producing more movies outside Korea than at home.

At FilMart in Hong Kong, Cj unveiled a slate of 13 new titles hailing from the U.S., Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“Our aim is to find hidden gem-like creators in local industries, and support them … by producing quality local films together,” said Jerry Ko, Cj’s head of international.

“We are not just passive investors. In Thailand and Vietnam we are working with partners but are also fully involved in packaging, casting, distributing and selling,” said Choi Yeonu, chief producer within Cj’s international production team. “And we have strong IP.”

The company’s “Miss Granny” has been remade in seven countries, while its “Sunny” has been made in Korea, Vietnam and Japan. A fourth, in Indonesia, was unveiled earlier this month.

“Hot Ones,” the online web series created and produced by First We Feast, is coming back for its seventh season.

The new season is set to premiere Thursday at 8 a.m. Et on First We Feast’s YouTube channel, which recently crossed the 4 million subscriber mark.

Hosted by Sean Evans, “Hot Ones” is an interview-style series that involves Evans and his guest eating 10 chicken wings, each smothered with a progressively hotter sauce. Evans revealed the new hot sauce lineup for the season last week, which now includes a new “Hot Ones” branded sauce called “The Classic,” which will be available for purchase next month.

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The first chicken wing in the series is usually covered in something fairly mild such as Sriracha, which has a rating of 2,200 Scoville units (a measurement of the...