‘Squid Game’ star Lee Jung-jae’s directorial debut ‘Hunt’ to be released in US theatres

Squid Game.On September 4, Lee Yoo-mi took home the Outstanding Guest Actress award at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her role as Ji-yeong in 2021’s hit Netflix series Squid Game. This makes the 28-year-old the first Korean actor to win the award.“I’m so grateful.

“Shortcomings,” adapted from the graphic novel by Adrian Tomine.The film, which has been described as a comedic drama, will also feature Tavi Gevinson (HBO’s “Gossip Girl”), Debby Ryan (“The Resort”) and Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”). Sonoya Mizuno (“House of the Dragon”) and Timothy Simons (“Veep”) round out the supporting cast.The film, which is currently in post-production, is described as “a hilariously irreverent examination of racial politics, sexual mores, and pop culture.” Min stars as Ben, the cynical manager of a Bay Area movie theater, while Cola plays his best friend Alice.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Randall Park has cast Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola and Ally Maki to star in his directorial debut “Shortcomings.” The film, a comedic drama, will also feature Tavi Gevinson (“Gossip Girl”), Debby Ryan (“The Suite Life on Deck,” “Insatiable”), Sonoya Mizuno (“House of The Dragon”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”). Described as a “hilariously irreverent examination of racial politics, sexual mores and pop culture,” “Shortcomings” follows a cynical movie theater manager Ben (Min) and his irrepressible best friend Alice (Cola). Together, the Bay Area urbanites navigate Ben’s disintegrating relationship with his girlfriend Miko (Maki), Alice’s serial-dating habits and other obstacles in the way of their personal growth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Song Kang-ho, known for his roles in “Memories of Murder” and “Parasite,” has signed up to make his TV series debut. He will star in indie-produced drama “Uncle Sam Shik.” “Uncle Sam Shik” is a 1960s-set tale of two men, their pride, greed and bromance, local Korean media reports. Song’s co-lead actor has not been disclosed. The series is to be directed by Shin Yeon-shick, with whom Song has recently shot feature films “Coweb” and “One Win.” Both films have completed physical production but have not yet been released. The series is reported to be a ten-episode drama, produced by Slingshot Studio. A broadcast or streaming partner has not yet been announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Intra-Korean espionage actioner “Hunt” claimed a third weekend as the top film at the South Korea box office, while “Bullet Train” managed only a fourth-place opening. “Hunt,” directed by and starring “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, earned a lowly $2.91 million in its third weekend of release. The figure was a 48% weekend-on-weekend decline and saw the film’s market share decline to 33%, down from 47% the previous weekend. “Hunt” now has a cumulative of $28.7 million, making it the fifth-highest grossing film of the year to date and the third biggest Korean title.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Jung-jae, the star of hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” is to reprise his role as a manic killer in “Ray,” a TV series spun off from 2020 Korean action-horror film “Deliver Us From Evil.” Korean media sources report that Lee will star in and co-produce the series through his own Artist Studio company and Hive Media, producer of “Deliver Us From Evil.” Variety has reached out for further details. In the original movie, Hwang Jung-min played In-Nam, a former black ops agent who travels to Thailand to investigate an abduction. There he is pursued by Lee’s character Ray, a Korean-Japanese ruffian whose brother had been killed by In-Nam. Both heavily tattooed and charming, Ray embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge.

After a hiatus, we’re back with a new episode of Deadline Hallyuwood. Joining us is actor Jang Hyuk, star of the movie The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die. 

EXCLUSIVE: Canadian actress, filmmaker and producer Caitlyn Sponheimer’s feature directorial debut Wild Goat Surf has begun shooting in the Okanagan region of British Columbia.

Weki Meki member Choi Yoo-jung is preparing to make her official debut as a soloist.Today (August 23), South Korean news outlet EDaily reported that the idol is currently in the “final stages” of preparations for her official solo debut. While further details such as its release date and format have not been officially announced, Choi’s debut record is reportedly due out in September.The Weki Meki singer’s upcoming solo release comes after a string of collaborations and K-drama soundtrack contributions in recent years, the latest being her digital single ‘UH-RA’, a collaboration with rapper Ahn Byung-woong that arrived earlier this month.Choi also featured on the B-side ‘Lazy’ from Fantagio Music labelmates ASTRO’s subunit JinJin and Rocky’s debut mini-album ‘Restore’ in January.In 2021, she appeared on the track ‘It Wasn’t Me’ in SM Entertainment record producer and DJ Raiden’s first mini-album ‘Love Right Back’, which included features from NCT’s Taeil and Xiaojun, (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon and rapper pH-1, among others.Choi first rose to fame in 2016, after appearing on the first season of Produce 101.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Hunt,” the period political thriller directed by “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, held top spot at the South Korea box office for the second weekend. “Nope” was the highest opener, landing in third spot.“Hunt,” made $5.68 million over the weekend, down 35% compared with its opening score a week earlier.

Squid Game and its lead actor Lee Jung-jae have each bagged an award at this year’s Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) TV Awards.On August 13, the HCA TV Awards broadcasted its 2022 ceremony, where Squid Game won in two of seven categories it was nominated for. The South Korean hit was awarded Best International Series, beating out shows like Apple TV+’s Pachinko, Acapulco, as well as Netflix’s own Lupin, Money Heist and Narcos: Mexico.Its lead actor, Lee Jung-jae, who had starred as Squid Game’s main character, Seong Gi-hun, also took home the award for Best Actor in a Streaming Series.

“Hunt” premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Midnight section and follows two Korean Central Intelligence agents tasked with finding a mole within the agency and who uncover a plot to assassinate the country’s president. Jung-jae directed, wrote and produced the movie and stars alongside “Squid Game” co-star Heo Sung-tae.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has snapped up domestic rights to Hunt, the feature directorial from Squid Game Emmy nominated star Lee Jung-jae, which made its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Midnight section.

Squid Game could expand to other countries, in line with his original intentions for the story.The record-breaking Netflix show revolves around a survival game called the ‘Squid Game’, in which participants take on a series life-or-death challenges based on children’s playground games for prize money. It is later revealed in the series that the games are held yearly for the entertainment of wealthy VIPs, and it is implied that other editions of the games exist.In a recent interview with Deadline, its creator Hwang Dong-hyuk shared that he had written the series, which is set in Korea, keeping possible international editions of the titular ‘Squid Game’ in mind.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Chris Naoki Lee’s feature directorial debut, Dinner Party, in which he stars alongside Kara Wang (Top Gun: Maverick), Imani Hakim (Mythic Quest) and Kausar Mohammed (The Flash). The global indie distributor has slated the pic for a day-and-date release on August 19.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. who are shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking with Korean super-agent Soyoung Lee, who represents some of the nation’s biggest stars and talked to us about her experiences of the Korean content boom.

Squid Game may be the most watched Netflix original series ever, but for the Emmy-nominated stars of the Korean horror thriller, it’s all very personal.