News bites: July 12, 2015

by awcoconuts

Choi Siwon, Jo Soo-hyang

• SuJu’s Siwon is transforming himself into a producer. Together with EnterMedia Pictures, he’s secured the U.S. and Asian film rights to the 2011 webtoon Interview. EnterMedia Pictures was the company responsible for the U.S. remakes of You From Another Star and Good Doctor (though those projects were shelved or weren’t picked up) and is also adapting the American show Suits for Korean television. The webtoon is about a once-hot writer in a slump. He’d previously always refused to do interviews, but when one journalist becomes aware of an unpublished work, the author agrees to grant his first and only interview. Siwon is said to have developed a strong desire to produce the webtoon, as he enjoyed the material and the format. The film is still in the early stages and production is searching for both U.S. and Korean writers and directors to collaborate on the project. Interview is currently available in book form and the final episode is up on Daum. [Osen]
• Jo Soo-hyang (who played the deliciously evil bully in Who Are You—School 2015) has been cast in a new drama special with Lee Joon (Heard It Through The Grapevine) called What Do Ghosts Do. In contrast to her previous roles, she’ll play a sunny and warm girl–er, ghost. In the 80-minute special, she’ll play Lee Joon’s first love, and when she becomes a ghost, she’ll appear to him 8 years after their romance, demanding that her boyfriend be found. What Do Ghosts Do airs on July 31 on KBS. [FN News]


Namgoong Min, Sung Dong-il

• His turn as a psychopath in Girl Who Sees Smells caught the attention of Chinese viewers, and now Namgoong Min has been cast as the lead of Chinese film Moonlit Motive. Based on a popular novel, the plot is about a married couple and the mystery they unexpectedly get wrapped up in. Namgoong will play the husband, and there’s no word yet on who will play his wife. Production will ramp up this month, and the movie will hit theaters in China next year. [TV Report]
• Here’s a welcome casting addition to the Cha brothers’ upcoming film Because We Love: Sung Dong-il (It’s Okay It’s Love) is joining the omnibus fantasy romance that will star Cha Tae-hyun (The Producers) and will be produced by his elder brother Cha Ji-hyun. Kim Yoo-jung (Angry Mom) has also confirmed she’ll be in the movie about those who are uncomfortable with the idea of love, and filming will begin next month. [Osen]


Sandeul, Baro

• Two of the boys of idol group B1A4, Baro (Angry Mom) and Sandeul, have been cast in a web drama called Loss Time Life, which is a remake of a popular 2008 Japanese show. Like the original, the web reboot will be an omnibus drama about individuals who are facing imminent death. The title is a Japanese term about the stoppage of time during a soccer match, which sort of explains the soccer referees who appear before the people whose lives are about to end. The refs (er, reapers?) grant those individuals extra days to live, based on how much time they’ve wasted throughout their lives. Baro will play a top idol/rapper (ha, the meta) who has a reputation as a playboy but who actually has a heart of gold. In his acting debut, Sandeul will play the youngest son of Lee Il-hwa (Orange Marmalade). Her character has a famously tight grip on the purse strings, which results in Sandeul getting teased for his ragged looks and poor fashion sense. Even though his mom won’t buy him nice or trendy clothes, he’d never rebel against her. Loss Time Life began airing this past week on Naver TVCast and other portal sites. [Xports News]
• We mentioned before that Lee Jung-jae had joined Turnaround Day, and the latest is that he’ll be working with singer/actor Wallace Chung on the mystery action film (the screen is going to sizzle!). The Chinese-Korean film will be directed by Li Jun, and filming begins at the end of the month. [Dong A]


Yoo In-young, Lee Won-geun, Kim Haneul

• The triangle is finally complete: Yoo In-young (Mask) is joining the movie Teacher, taking the job of hoobae instructor to Kim Haneul. I’m super curious about her addition to the cast, as initial reports only mentioned the forbidden romance between Kim and her student, while current reports keep referencing the rippling effects of the fateful moment Yoo, Kim, and rookie Lee Won-geun (who plays the student) spend together at the all-boys school. Hmmm, how risqué is this film going to get?! CJ E&M will distribute and Teacher will begin filming before the end of the year. [TV Report]
• Filming will begin this year on a Chinese remake of Sweet 18 (also known as Little Bride) which in 2004 starred Han Ji-hye as an 18-year-old high school girl and Lee Dong-gun as a public prosecutor in a modern-day arranged marriage. The script and casting are being worked on, and the show will air for 30 episodes in China and across Asia in the first half of 2016. [Newsen]

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