'West 32nd' Opens in Seoul Theaters November 15th
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The film opens on NOV 15through CGV Theaters in Seoul. It will be opening in limited release inKorea with 6 screens in Seoul so hopefully one of those screens is nearsomeone you know.
OPENING IN KOREA NOVEMBER 15
WEST 32nd (웨스트32번가)
a film by
Michael Kang
featuring John Cho, Jun Kim, Grace Park, Jane Kim and Jun Ho Jeong
http://www.w32nd.com
http://www.maxmovie.com/movie_info/detail.asp?m_id=M000043036
Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHrBfx718s
SYNOPSIS:
WhenJohn Kim, an ambitious young lawyer, takes on a pro bono case toexonerate a fourteen-year-old boy from a first degree murder charge, hefinds a world he never knew existed in the underbelly of Manhattan -the Korean underworld. Infiltrating the knotty and complex realm ofKorean organized crime to search for clues, he meets his match, MikeJuhn, a rising soldier in the syndicate. Recognizing John'sdetermination and daring, Mike brings John into his confidence,furtively drawing him into his scheme to re-shuffle the Koreanunderworld. Though they become fast friends, they just as quickly endup trying to outfox each other as they discover they'll both doanything to win.
당신이 믿는 순간 진실은 거짓이 된다
차가운 밤공기를 가르는 세발의 총성!
뉴욕한인타운 에서 한 건의 살인사건이 발생한다
용의자는 14세의 한국계소녠
이 사건을 통해 자신의 입지를 확고히 하려는 변호사 존 김은
소년의 무죄를 증명하기 위해 뉴욕의 지하세계로 파고들고 그곳에서 마이크를 만난다.
죽은 전진호의 뒤를 이어 룸싸룽의 영업이사가 된 마이크.
둘 사이에는 팽팽한 긴장감이 흐르고
어느새 둘은 하나의 목적을 향해 달려가기 시작한다.
그리고 진실과 거짓 사이의 경계는
점점 희미해지기 시작 하는데...
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:
Thishas been an incredible labor of love for me. It was a dream that tookyears in the making come true. I had first started writing the scrīptfor "West 32nd" with my partner Edmund Lee back in 1998. To see thefilm in finished form is truly surreal. I am still amazed that we wereable to make a film starring a predominately Korean American cast abouta subculture of New York that most people don't even know exists. Thisfilm has been an uphill battle on many levels, but a battle well worthit. And the final product is something I am very proud of.
Weare about to open the film in Korea and I am nervous to say the least.I am nervous because I don't know if people in Korea are aware of thefilm's existence. I am also nervous because I don't know how a massKorean audience is going to react to the film. And I am mostly nervousbecause I know that the success or failure of this film in the theaterscould not only effect my career but potentially Asian and AsianAmerican co-productions in the future.
Regardless of all thestress, this is a great moment for me. Having the film play here islike getting to send a love letter back home.
My hope inmaking this film has always been to bridge the gap between KoreanCinema and Hollywood. From the reactions we have gotten from the filmso far, I believe we succeeded in that goal. We had to turn hundreds ofpeople away from our world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and wehad an immensely positive response when we played the film at The PusanInternational Film Festival. Critical and festival accolades at thispoint are meaningless though. The moment of truth is this theatricalrun of the film where the movie will be seen by regular movie-goingaudiences. I hope you can help me now make sure as many people aspossible come out and support it.
This film is a bold experimenton the part of CJ Entertainment (if you aren't familiar, CJEntertainment is one of the largest studios in Korea -- CJ distributesmost of the big Korean and Hollywood films in Korea); this is the firsttime they have fully financed and distributed an U.S. production. Thisis also the first time they have decided to take a chance on investingin a Korean American filmmaker. Right now, they are hoping that theexperiment is a success, but it is truly uncharted territory for them.
Thisintimate personal story in the form of a crime drama is not the type offilm CJ Entertainment is used to marketing. American-style independentfilmmaking is new to them. Korean American stories are new to them. Forthose of you that don't know, "West 32nd" is a gritty New York crimestory much in the vein of films like "Dog Day Afternoon" or "Serpico"from the 70's while also trying to capture the aesthetic slickness ofcontemporary Korean cinema -- films like "Oldboy" and "BittersweetLife." It is not an easy film for anyone to market.
In theU.S., we may know who John Cho (Harold And Kumar) and Grace Park(Battlestar Galactica) are, but in Korea those names have very littlemarquee value. We luckily have a cameo from Jun Ho Jeong (My Hero, MyBoss) and the film also stars a rising talent Jun Kim (The Lobbyist).But regardless, this is no "D-War" and we don't have the ad dollarsbehind us to make it a huge blockbuster release... Nor does it make anysense to try to be that. While "West 32nd" is a crime genre movie thatappeals universally, at its heart the film is a personal story aboutKoreans in America and explores the relationships between 2nd, 1.5 and1st generation Korean Americans.
CJ Entertainment is hopingthat the film can generate word-of-mouth buzz. The only way for that tohappen of course is if we can get people to come out and see it first.My biggest fear is that because I don't live in Seoul and have no wayto directly reach out to folks, people may not aware of the film'srelease. We are starting our run on 15 screens in Korea (6 in Seoul).The internet is my only real hope for getting the word out to people.Please take a moment to pass this along to any friends and family youmay have in Korea. It could make all the difference.
Thank you in advance.
FIGHTING!
-Mike Kang
dir West 32nd
