The veil of actor Lee Byung Hun in his first historical work, film 'Masquerade,' has been uncovered.
'Masquerade' is a film about Chosun's King Kwang Hae on the brink of being poisoned and the episodes that follow low-class Ha Sun disguising himself as the king. It is the hidden story of a 15-day period that has vanished from history.
In addition to the film being his first historical genre attempt, Lee Byung Hun will play two roles. 'Masquerade' is currently attracting attention for its grave tension and dramatic story, as the main trailer portrays the overwhelming charisma of Korea's representative actors.
The main trailer begins with the image of King Kwang Hae, and followed by the meeting of Heo Kyun and Ha Sun, as the music becomes louder and the speed intensifies. Ha Sun enters the palace and appears in front of the king as a splitting image.
'A man who shouldn't be a king becomes the king of Chosun,' film 'Masquerade' stars Lee Byung Hun, Han Hyo Joo, Kim In Kwon, and Shim Eun Kyung. Audiences can anticipate a spectacular synergy created by the stars' acting abilities as well as a strong story line.
"Masquerade" couple Lee Byung-hun, Han Hyo-joo pose at presser Reporter : Lucia Hong KStar10
Actress Han Hyo-joo (left) and actor Lee Byung-hun (right) link arms and pose in front of reporters at the press conference for their 1st historical film "Masquerade" held in Seoul, South Korea on August 13, 2012. [Lee Ki-won/10Asia]
Hallyu actor Lee Byung-hun and actress Han Hyo-joo were in attendance for the press conference for their upcoming historical film "Masquerade" held at a movie theater in Seoul, South Korea on August 13, 2012.
With director Choo Chang-min at the mic, "Masquerade" focuses on the story the episodes that a low class man goes through in order to become king of the country.
Lee plays the double role of Gwanghae, the 15th King of the Joseon Dynasty, and Ha-sun, a man born into low class.
Unlike the other historical figures in Korean history, King Gwanghae is known to be one of the misfortunate figures in the Joseon Dynasty's history. As he was deposed by the Westerners faction in a coup, historians did not give him a temple name like Taejo or Sejong.
Meanwhile, Han plays the queen and actor Ryu Seung-ryeong helps Ha-sun rise to sit on the King's throne.
Both Lee and Han's first historical film, "Masquerade" is slated to open in local theaters over the Korean Thanksgiving holidays.
Prince-pauper tale gets election-year twist in 'Gwanghae' By Kwaak Je-yup The Korea Times
This film image released by CJ E&M shows actor Lee Byung-hun as king Gwanghaegun,
right, and his commoner double Ha-sun in “Gwanghae: the Man Who Became King.”
The movie by Choo Chang-min is slated for a late September release. / Courtesy of CJ E&M
With the presidential election only a few months away, “Gwanghae: the Man Who Became King” could not be released at a better time.
Inspired by Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” the historical drama about switched royal identities challenges the audience to think about the system of the government today, specifically the way we see the role of the nation’s top job, according to Lee Byung-hun, the lead actor who plays the two protagonists.
“There are plenty of movies which offer vicarious satisfaction but Gwanghae portrays a real king in history and how he (the commoner replacement) learns to govern a country from zero,” said Lee at Monday’s promotional event for the media. “It asks the question: what would you do if you were king?”
The new movie by Choo Chang-min (“Mapado: Island of Fortunes,” 2004) revolves around Gwanghaegun, the 15th ruler of Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) and little-known figure commonly mistaken as a tyrant today. The suffix “gun” denoting a prince rather than a king, he was one of two sovereigns unable to secure posthumous temple names (ending with jo or jong), after being overthrown by a coup. His notoriety comes from the association to the other “prince” Yeonsangun, the 10th king, considered the worst oppressor of the people during a five-century-long history.
After having acceded to the throne in a time of political turmoil, with the court embroiled in fights for influence between different alliances, Gwanghaegun fears assassination. From here the film takes the creative turn as the king switching places with a commoner Ha-sun temporarily with the help from a confidante, Heo-gyun (Ryu Seung-ryong).
Things get complicated when others start noticing the sudden change in the ruler’s personality, including the queen (Han Hyo-ju), who prefers the new, more affectionate husband, and his loyal guard (Kim In-kwon). Further problems arise when the stand-in goes rogue, expressing his true thoughts about the social problems and court corruption.
At the media event, Ryu talked up the film and mentioned his personal recollections.
“It was the first time I felt so much tension on the set, with Lee Byung-hun and with the director,” he said. “Even the guys in the crew were tiptoeing around us because of this.”
To him, this stiff atmosphere only added to the performance: “The one-on-one scenes between Gwanghaegun and my character were filmed at the beginning. That emotional distance, some of it definitely intentional, helped us maintain that tension between our on-screen characters.”
Choo spoke of another realistic aspect in his film: the set design.
“I visited a lot of palaces before the shoot,” said Choo. “What struck me about all the other period dramas and movies made up until now was that they were quite modest in scale. So I decided to build the palace set from scratch — worthy of a true royal palace.”
Lee, claiming to have natural instinct for comedy that is “dying to be let out,” said the commoner role gripped him right away.
“It was when I was in New Orleans, on the set of G.I. Joe 2,” said Lee. “I wanted to give myself a month or two to think (the role) over, but it was that uncultured and impish character that really pulled me towards it from the beginning.”
“Gwanghae: the Man Who Became King” (international release title: “Masquerade”) is slated for a late September release in nationwide theaters. It is not yet rated as it is still in the editing process. Distributed by CJ E&M.
Rumors of marriage between Lee Byung Hun and Lee Min Jung reported as false by elliefilet allkpop.com
Rumors that have been circulating about a November wedding between actors Lee Byung Hun and Lee Min Jung have been reported to be false.
Lee Byung Hun’s representatives stated on the 14th KST, “There’s no truth to the marriage rumors,” while Lee Min Jung’s side commented, “We don’t understand [how these rumors came about].”
On the afternoon of the same day, rumors of an alleged wedding between the two stars began circulating on social networking sites. However, both sides have agreed that that they’re not sure why they started in the first place.
Talk of Lee Byung Hun and Lee Min Jung’s supposed romantic relationship started this past April.
Coming September 2012 From CJ Entertainment Source: Hancinema.net
Coming this fall with the first ever day-and-date Korea and U.S. theatrical release for a Korean film is the hotly anticipated historical drama "Masquerade", starring Korea's world star Lee Byeong-Heon and written by "Old Boy" co-writer, Hwang Jo-yoon. The versatile actor LEE (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and A Bittersweet Life) plays the dual lead as both the tragic King Gwanghae and that of the commoner who shares a fatefully remarkable resemblance to the ruler, Ha-Seon. Deeply embroiled in palace intrigue which aims to assassinate the ruler, King Gwang-Hae orders his trusted councilor Heo Kyun to find him a body double. When the King collapses from a mysterious poison, Ha-seon must carry off the biggest masquerade of his career to save the country from chaos while under imminent threat of death. Acclaimed character actor Ryoo Seung-yong ("Everything about my Wife", "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon") and rising star Han Hyo-joo ("Always") appear in supporting roles as the councilor and the queen, respectively.
'Gwang Hae' Lee Byung-heon talks about his struggle in casting as two different characters By Lim Ju-Hui | STAR N News
…
On 3rd, press conference of movie 'Gwang Hae' took place at CGV Apgujeong branch, and Lee Byung-heon, Han Hyo Joo, Ryu Seung Ryong, and Kim In Kwon attended to introduce the movie.
During the conference, Lee Byeong-heon talked about struggles that he had to go through while shooting.
Lee Byung-heon casted as two different characters, as the actual King Gwang Hae, and a slave who was chosen by the king to become a fake king because of the similar look. Therefore, Lee Byung-heon had to appear in over 80% of the movie.
Lee Byung-heon said, "I had shooting almost every day," and "I had a lot of mental and physical struggles."
He also said that it was hard to express the two different characters' emotions.
On the other hand, the movie will be released in September.
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