Friend 2: The Legacy. - Press Kit

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1 Friend 2: The Legacy - Press Kit

2 GENERAL INFORMATION Title: Genre: Language: Running Time: Rating: Director: Cast: Presented by: Produced by: Distributed by: Original Release: Friend 2: The Legacy Action, Gangster, Drama Korean with English subtitles 124 min. NR KWAK Kyung-taek YOO Oh-seong (as LEE Joon-seok) JOO Jin-mo (as LEE Cheol-joo) KIM Woo-bin (as CHOI Seong-hoon) Michigan Venture Capital, Lotte Entertainment Trinity Entertainment CJ Entertainment November 14th, 2013 US Release: December 13th, 2013 SYNOPSIS The long-awaited sequel to Korea s cultural phenomenon of 2001, Friend 2: The Legacy opens with LEE Joon-seok (YOO Oh-seong) preparing to complete his 17-year prison sentence for ordering the hit on his best friend turned rival gang boss. Joon-seok still has the affection of the crime boss and is the rightful heir, but must face the reality that the intervening period has significantly eroded his mentor s health and power as well as his own standing. To regain power he starts to round up his old lieutenants but also turns to his protégé Seong-hoon (KIM Woo-bin), who considers Joon-seok a father-figure for his protection while in prison. Merging gangster wisdom with fresh blood, the two are on track to take over leadership of Busan s most powerful crime organization if their bond can survive the knowledge that Joon-seok had a role in the death of Seong-hoon s father. Exploring the relationships of fathers and sons, Friend 2: The Legacy delivers an enlightening prequel and hard-boiled coda to an iconic gangster film that changed the meaning of the word Friend in Korea.

3 PRODUCTION NOTES THE RETURN OF THE FRIEND SYNDROME In 2001, after having made two little-seen films, one a farcical bathhouse comedy and the other a medical mystery, Director KWAK Kyung-taek made a film about 4 childhood friends and their very divergent paths in life based on some of his own experiences growing up in Busan. Despite the film s R rating and violence, Friend became the biggest domestic movie of all time in Korea with over 8.2 million admissions and was declared an immediate classic, while making Director Kwak a household name in the process. This cultural phenomenon which was named the Friend Syndrome, elicited commentators of all stripes examining the sociological influence of the film and its musings on friendship, men, the gangster code, Korea s post-war history, fashion and whatever else the film even touched upon. After 12 years, Kwak has finally brought Friend 2: The Legacy to the big screen. He says that the story came to him on his way traveling to the Busan International Film Festival a few years ago and that he actually wrote most of the script during those hectic festival days. Friend 2 provides a richer picture of the two main protagonists from the original film, exploring the stories behind each of the individual characters as well as placing them in the larger wheel of history. Having opened to immediate box office success in Korea in 2013, Friend 2 slakes the audience s thirst about the characters while issuing a new point of view in the annals of gangster filmdom.

4 CHARACTERS & CAST LEE Joon-seok Looming over Friend 2 is the murder of childhood friend and rival gang leader Dong-soo (JANG Dong-gun), precipitated by the relationship fall-out from the imprisonment of Joon-seok s crime boss and mentor caused by Dong-soo. Cutting across loyalty and friendship, Joon-seok told Dong-soo to lay low in Hawaii until things cooled down, however Dong-soo refused and found himself betrayed and stabbed to death. Joon-seok went to trial for the murder and pleads guilty to ordering the assassination. 17 years later, Joon-seok is discharged from prison to a world that has dramatically changed and his gang effectively taken over by a treacherous new leader. Joon-seok plans to reclaim his leadership of the gang established by his father Cheol-joo (JOO Jin-mo) with the help of his young protégé Seong-hoon. YOO Oh-seong YOO Oh-seong made his stage debut in 1992, became familiar to audiences as a young gangster in the hit movie Beat (1997). The year 1999 was somewhat of a breakthrough for Yoo, as he took the lead role in Jang Jin's acclaimed cult comedy The Spy (1999) and also starred in Kim Sang-jin's hugely successful Attack the Gas Station (1999). His career reached a peak in 2001, when he appeared as JANG Dong-gun's co-star in the smash hit Friend, which sold over an unprecedented 8 million tickets. Yoo received critical praise for his hard-edged performance as a ruthless gangster struggling to live by his own code of loyalty. FILMOGRAPHY Don t Cry Mommy (2012), Faith (2012), Champ (2011), Happy Murderer (2010), Potato Symphony (2009), Invisible Man (2006), Thomas Ahn Jung-Geun (2004), Jang Gil-san (2004), Star (2003), Champion (2002), Friend (2001), Attack the Gas Station (1999), The Spy (1999), Beat (1997), and I Wish For What Is Forbidden To Me (1994).

5 CHARACTERS & CAST CHOI Seong-hoon Seong-hoon was raised in a troubled family environment, growing up most of his life with a single mother who had a series of abusive boyfriends. He first finds himself arrested for assaulting his stepfather which marks the beginning of his brushes with the law. Later, as a young adult, Seong-hoon goes to prison for his involvement in leading a gang fight and has also lost his best friend. Angry and bewildered, Seong-hoon meets Joon-seok in prison, when the latter offers to help him out as a favor to his mother. Seong-hoon slowly comes to see the gang leader as the only man of his word and decides to support Joon-seok in reclaiming his mantle in Busan. Seong-hoon s loyalty is severely tested, however, when he finds out that Joon-seok was involved in the murder of his father. KIM Woo-bin Runway model turned super-star TV actor KIM Woo-bin makes his major film debut in Friend 2: The Legacy. Kim began acting in 2011 starring in mystery drama White Christmas and hit cable sitcom Vampire Idol. After a supporting role in 2012 romantic comedy A Gentleman s Dignity, Kim joined the ensemble cast of up-and-coming actors in the popular teen drama School He currently has a starring role in KIM Eun-sook s high-profile drama The Heirs. FILMOGRAPHY The Heirs (2013), School 2013 (2012), A Gentleman s Dignity (2012), Runway Cop (2012), To the Beautiful You (2012), White Christmas (2011), and The Heirs (2013)

6 CHARACTERS & CAST LEE Cheol-joo Legendary Busan gang leader LEE Cheol-ju rose to power negotiating the chaotic aftermath of the post-colonial post-korean War era where Japanese and Korean underworld interests fought to determine the new order. By smartly taking his own counsel and dramatically killing a Yakuza head, Cheol-joo gains the respect of both the Korean and Japanese gangsters and precipitates the evolution from small-time turf war to control over the trade of the powerful port in Busan by buying political power. Joon-seok s father had paved a new era for gangs in Busan where money was more powerful than the fist. JOO Jin-mo JOO Jin-mo began his acting career in TV dramas and some minor roles in film. After taking the lead in KIM Ki-duk s experimental Real Fiction (shot in 3.5 hours without any retakes), JOO got his first major role in the much-touted Musa, set in 14th century China and starring Zhang Ziyi. Later JOO moved took on a controversial role of a homosexual king in A Frozen Flower, which revolved around the love triangle between a king, his queen, and his royal guard. The role landed Joo the Best Actor award at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards. JOO now reunites with director KWAK Kyung-taek (from A Love) with Friend 2: The Legacy playing the predecessor of Joon-seok in 1960s Busan. FILMOGRAPHY Gabi (2012), A Better Tomorrow (2010), Dream (2009), A Frozen Flower (2008), A Love (2007), Queen of the Game (2006), Puzzle (2006), 200 Pound Beauty (2006), Bichunmoo (2005), Fashion 70 s (2005), Punch (2003), Wanee & Junah (2001), Musa: The Warrior (2001), Happy End (1999), and Dance Dance (1999).

7 ABOUT THE DIRECTOR The Director who created the Friend Syndrome in South Korea - KWAK Kyung-taek KWAK Kyung-taek is best known for portraying the cityscape of Busan - the film capital of Korea - with main characters who symbolize traditional Korean male values of brotherhood and camaraderie, perseverance, and loyalty. Kwak made his directorial debut with the small-budget feature 3PM Paradise Bath House (1997) and afterwards gained national fame with the huge success of Friend (2001), both set in his hometown of Busan. Despite the fact most South Korean theaters then were single screen venues and the film s R rating, Kwak s Friend scored over 8.2 million viewers and set a new box office record as the most popular Korean film of all time. The film still holds its place in the top 20 highest-grossing South Korean films. Set in Busan, Friend followed the upbringing and friendship of two leading local gangsters and their childhood friends.the gruesome and violent scenes and vulgar language (all in Busan dialect) were considered controversial at the time the original film was released. Much like The Godfather did in Hollywood, the success of Friend triggered a new genre of gangster movies and changed the Korean film landscape. Unlike what his earthy films would suggest, Kwak comes from a family of doctors and abandoned medical school to become a filmmaker. One of the first Korean directors to study formally abroad, Kwak studied filmmaking abroad at New York University, which in turn he says gave him the courage to look more closely at home and the highly specific world of Busan. Follow-ups to Friend included films such as Champion (2002), Mutt Boy (2003), and A Love (2007), just few examples of his unique production capability.

8 FILMOGRAPHY Friend 2: The Legacy (2013), The Ugly Duckling (2012), Pained (2011), Eye For An Eye (2008), A Love (2007), Typhoon (2005), Mutt Boy (2003), Champion (2002), Friend (2001), Doctor K (1999), and 3PM Paradise Bath House (1997). AWARDS 2007 The 27 th Hawaii International Film Festival Directing Award 2001 The 9 th Icheon Chunsa Film Festival Directing Award 2001 The 9 th Icheon Chunsa Film Festival Chunsa Award 2001 Today s Young Artist Award 2001 The 22 th Blue Dragon Film Awards Most Admission Award 1995 The 2 th Seoul Short Film Festival Best Film Award 1995 Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival Official Competition

GENERAL INFORMATION SYNOPSIS. Sci-Fi, Thriller. Korean with English subtitles. Rating: JUNG Jae-young, CHOI Daniel, KIM Ok-bin

GENERAL INFORMATION SYNOPSIS. Sci-Fi, Thriller. Korean with English subtitles. Rating: JUNG Jae-young, CHOI Daniel, KIM Ok-bin 11 A.M. - Press Kit GENERAL INFORMATION Title: Genre: Language: Running Time: Rating: Director: Cast: Presented by: Produced by: Distributed by: 11 A.M. Sci-Fi, Thriller Korean with English subtitles 95