April Snow

SAMCHOK, Kangwon Province - The normally peaceful and quiet park Chuksoru in Samchok was crowded on Thursday with unusual visitors. Some 400 international and domestic reporters along with about a hundred of tourists flocked to the park to see popular local actor Bae Yong-joon, a leading figure in “hallyu,'’ or Korean Wave, in neighboring countries.

“I really appreciate it, but it’s a little stressful for me to see that so many people showed up here to see me,'’ said Bae, who seemed overwhelmed by the number of reporters and fans, during a news conference held later on the same day. “But I believe that their affection and support have made me who I am now and encourage me to do my best.'’

Bae, who is affectionately known as “Yonsama'’ by his Japanese fans, is currently shooting his next film “April Snow'’ in Kangwon Province, a main location of the film. Although the press was only allowed to enter the park under tight security by the film crew, a number of international tourists wandered around the area and stayed in the hotel where the news conference was held in hope of seeing the star.

Directed by Heo Jin-ho and co-starring Son Ye-jin from “A Moment to Remember,'’ the film tells the story of a man and woman who fall in love with each other after they find their spouses have betrayed them. The scene they filmed on Thursday involved the two main characters realizing the chemistry between them.

“I chose this film from among others because I’ve wanted to work with Hur for a long time and have strong confidence in him. So even before I read the scenario, I decided to star in the movie, which was very unusual and took a lot of courage,'’ Bae said.

Hur also said he wanted to work with Bae since he needed an actor like Bae who portrays an image of both “tenderness and roughness inside.'’ Hur made melodramas such as “Christmas in August'’ and “One Fine Spring Day.'’

Well known for successfully changing his image by going through intensive physical training, as shown in a recently released photo album, Bae found this movie to be a chance to learn new skills and styles of acting from the director.

“The most difficult part of working with Hur was coping with his unique working style,'’ Bae said with a big smile of his face. “He always tries to come up with lines on the spot. He is very impromptu, emphasizing the expression of real feelings rather than using logic. That’s very interesting and something I can learn.'’

Since Bae is popular throughout Asia, the movie will be released simultaneously in 10 different Asian countries for fans as a way to help minimize illegal downloading and pirating of DVDs throughout the nations.

As the actor has been enjoying immense popularity in Japan since the runaway success of local hit drama “Winter Sonata,'’ Bae and the film company were careful to avoid talking about the conflict between Seoul and Tokyo over the controversial Tokto issue.

“I’m also very concerned about the issue as a Korean, but I don’t think this is the proper place and occasion to talk about that,'’ Bae said.

The Korea Times 17th March 2005 By Kim Tae-jong

April Snow, directed by Hur Jin-ho was completed on 18th June after five months of filming.

The last day of filming took place on Joongbu Highway. It was the scene where In-su (Bae Yong-joon) was driving on the highway heading to Samcheok hospital in the early morning after he received news that his wife has had an accident. In order to finish the shoot within the scheduled time, all the crew members were kept busy the entire night spraying artificial snow for this scene. It was not easy as the artificial snow stuck strongly to the windscreen of the car and they had to work through the night till 4am to make the scene right.

Bae Yong-joon is looking forward to seeing how the movie will turn out now that the filming has ended. In his previous projects, he felt relieved after the filming process was completed. For April Snow, he felt like filming was never going to end as he bears even greater expectations for this film than any of his previous projects.

On 16th June, two days prior to the completion of the movie, Bae Yong-joon had personally prepared gifts and autographed photos for over 80 of the crew members to thank them for their hard work and their sincere devotion towards April Snow. He said that he felt as if the crew members were like his own family.

The lead actress of April Snow, Son Ye-jin (Seo-young), finished her scenes a few days earlier than Bae Yong-joon. Her last scene was where In-su sends Seo-young home after a date in Seoul. At the end of filming, as much as she was happy, she also felt sad.

The hottest romantic couple on screen, Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin are presently taking a short break after shooting April Snow. However, it will not be a long break due to the hectic schedule coming up ahead for the preparation of the theatrical release of April Snow.

The most anticipated Korean film of 2005, April Snow, will open in Singapore cinemas on 13 October.

The news article was published at movieXclusive on June 2005.

Singapore, 3 March 2005 — United International Pictures and Encore Films are pleased to announce their joint-theatrical distribution of the Korean film APRIL SNOW , starring BAE Yong-joon (”Untold Scandal”) and SON Ye-jin (”A Moment to Remember”, “The Classic”), in Singapore and Malaysia.

APRIL SNOW tells the heart-wrenching story of a man and a woman who are betrayed by their respective partners and who later fall dangerously in love with each other. The movie marks BAE Yong-joon’s return to the big screen after his maiden film “Untold Scandal”, which was released in Singapore last year. BAE’s publicity tour for “Untold Scandal” in Singapore caused a frenzy not seen here since Tom Cruise’s tour in 2001.

Production for APRIL SNOW started on 4 February this year in Samcheok of Gangwon Province. Long before the film’s start of photography, APRIL SNOW, the new project by acclaimed director HUR Jin-ho, has received tremendous interest from the media. Director HUR Jin-ho has become a well known figure in the European market ever since his movies and were presented at the Cannes Film Festival’s “Critic’s Week” in 1988 and at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2002 respectively.

After it became known that BAE Yong-joon, one of the biggest stars in Asia, had accepted the lead role in APRIL SNOW, buyers from all over Europe and Asia vied for the distribution rights for the movie. Among them, Japanese buyers showed the biggest interest, with seven major distributors competing for the deal which was eventually given to Universal Japan for their precise marketing strategy and strong distribution channels.

A Southeast Asian-wide simultaneous release in September across countries like Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore is now in the pipeline, with plans for a possible pre-opening publicity tour as well. The exact release date of the film will be announced later.

Source: UIP Singapore