[HanCinema's News] Interest in Billie Eilish Spikes Due to Jeon Jong-seo and "The Call"

The American singer/songwriter Billie Eilish is famous in her own right, and in the proper entertainment media circles. This is generally for her musical talent, however, as her image has taken on new meaning thanks to "The Call". In a recent interview lead actress Jeon Jong-seo explained that she used musical influences to develop the distinct image used for her performance in the fantasy mystery thriller. Billie Eilish was specifically as an example of someone both monstrous and fun-loving.

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Such a reference in the exact context of "The Call" is a bit nonsensical. Billie Eilish is only eighteen years old, and quite literally was not even born yet during the major part of the story where Jeon Jong-seo is present. But then this may have helped contribute to the otherworldly quality of Jeon Jong-seo's performance, which made her appear out of step and time. Jeon Jong-seo's character is also a fan of Seo Taeji, a more intuitive reference that's present in the actual script.

Elsewhere in the interview, Jeon Jong-seo explained the fine line between having to make her character seem both like a bad girl as well as a persusasive one. Her character being relatively old, at twenty-eight years old of age (or at least this is what she claims) also helped to build this mystique. Jeon Jong-seo made her debut in "Burning" in 2018 having won her role at audition. Director Lee Chang-dong claimed at the time that she was not an actress that could be seen in South Korean film.

Written by William Schwartz