SAI
08-30-2006, 01:48 PM
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I've said a bit of this under the front page news item, but frankly I'm so pissed it bears repeating.
I LOVED the south-korean film Addicted. It's cleverly written and has tremendous performances from leads Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon.
I understand why remakes of Asian films are in fashion; the stories are great but mainstream audiences just don't do subtitles but I reaally fear for this one.
There's two reasons really. First off there's a fantastic twist in the tale, one which turns the whole set of events on it's head in a way I really can't see Hollywood going for, which would leave the film not just poorer but as something we've already seen a million and three times. Second is the casting announcement today that Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed on for a lead role. I assume this is the role played by Lee Mi-yeon in the original and if this is the case it's an unspeakably poor choice. Now I'm a HUGE Buffy fan and while Gellar's often good in that (anyone who thinks she can't act should see season 5 ep The Body) she's never been able to translate it to movies, never giving anything approaching a decent performance. The role of (to use the original name) Eun-su demands a strong actress, there's complex emotion and progression to be communicated and evidence from her film career thus far says that Gellar isn't interested in stretching her acting muscles this far. In adittion Eun-su is slightly older, perhaps in her mid 30's. This matters both for the character and for the casting because Gellar, though she'll be 30 next year, looks much younger. It's not like there's a lack of good actresses in their mid to late 30's, why not get one of them in?
I've said a bit of this under the front page news item, but frankly I'm so pissed it bears repeating.
I LOVED the south-korean film Addicted. It's cleverly written and has tremendous performances from leads Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon.
I understand why remakes of Asian films are in fashion; the stories are great but mainstream audiences just don't do subtitles but I reaally fear for this one.
There's two reasons really. First off there's a fantastic twist in the tale, one which turns the whole set of events on it's head in a way I really can't see Hollywood going for, which would leave the film not just poorer but as something we've already seen a million and three times. Second is the casting announcement today that Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed on for a lead role. I assume this is the role played by Lee Mi-yeon in the original and if this is the case it's an unspeakably poor choice. Now I'm a HUGE Buffy fan and while Gellar's often good in that (anyone who thinks she can't act should see season 5 ep The Body) she's never been able to translate it to movies, never giving anything approaching a decent performance. The role of (to use the original name) Eun-su demands a strong actress, there's complex emotion and progression to be communicated and evidence from her film career thus far says that Gellar isn't interested in stretching her acting muscles this far. In adittion Eun-su is slightly older, perhaps in her mid 30's. This matters both for the character and for the casting because Gellar, though she'll be 30 next year, looks much younger. It's not like there's a lack of good actresses in their mid to late 30's, why not get one of them in?