Korean-American Director Lee to Make His Debut with "The Air I Breathe"
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The Movie "The Air I Breathe", written and directed by Korean-American director Jieho Lee will be released on Jan.25, 2008. It stars Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Kevin Bacon, Brendan Fraser, and other famous actors and actresses.
The Korean-American director has earned fame in Korea for his short film "A Nursery Tale", which premiered at Sundance in 2000, and the production of various music videos for Korean pop-stars such as Lee Jeok, Lee Seung-chul, Baek Ji-young.
Q: You graduated from Harvard with a Master's Degree in Business, so what made you decide to become a film director?
It sounds cliché, but it had been a dream of mine, ever since I was a child. While I was going to school, the dream of working in movies always lingered in the back of my mind. Going to the graduate school was sort of a deal with my parents, who had been worried about my future. I don't regret it because I gained a lot of valuable skills in the world of business.
Q: Can you give us a brief overview of the plot of your movie?
The four emotions of human life – happiness, pleasure, sadness, and love – are showcased in four corresponding vignettes, each displaying one of those emotions. There are a business man who bets his life on a horserace, a gangster who dreams about the future, a pop-star who becomes victim to a violent mob boss, and a doctor who is looking for love. Through each of the characters, I feature each of the traditional four pillars of emotion (happiness, anger, suffering, pleasure), replacing the original suffering with love.
Q:As a novice director, how did you manage to get such an impressive cast?
There wasn't really any sort of secret method. Before casting, I planned on everything as meticulously as possible, and stressed the storyline. The most difficult part was to interview with the actors, especially Kevin Bacon, who absolutely does not work with a novice director, and I could not forget Andy Garcia, who smelled of cigars all throughout the interview.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
More than any plans, I have one important goal in mind, and that is to bring more Korean directors and actors into Hollywood, whether it is through my own movies, or to bring them more connections in the Hollywood industry. Korean actors and directors are remarkably talented. If they get their foot in the door, there is no reason they wouldn't be able to succeed. Experts point out that there would be obstacles such as language barriers, insufficient funding, but those are not problems that can be solved overnight. The entire movie industry has to work together to overcome these obstacles, and I will do whatever I can to get rid of them.
By Stephanie Chang
The Korean-American director has earned fame in Korea for his short film "A Nursery Tale", which premiered at Sundance in 2000, and the production of various music videos for Korean pop-stars such as Lee Jeok, Lee Seung-chul, Baek Ji-young.
Q: You graduated from Harvard with a Master's Degree in Business, so what made you decide to become a film director?
It sounds cliché, but it had been a dream of mine, ever since I was a child. While I was going to school, the dream of working in movies always lingered in the back of my mind. Going to the graduate school was sort of a deal with my parents, who had been worried about my future. I don't regret it because I gained a lot of valuable skills in the world of business.
Q: Can you give us a brief overview of the plot of your movie?
The four emotions of human life – happiness, pleasure, sadness, and love – are showcased in four corresponding vignettes, each displaying one of those emotions. There are a business man who bets his life on a horserace, a gangster who dreams about the future, a pop-star who becomes victim to a violent mob boss, and a doctor who is looking for love. Through each of the characters, I feature each of the traditional four pillars of emotion (happiness, anger, suffering, pleasure), replacing the original suffering with love.
Q:As a novice director, how did you manage to get such an impressive cast?
There wasn't really any sort of secret method. Before casting, I planned on everything as meticulously as possible, and stressed the storyline. The most difficult part was to interview with the actors, especially Kevin Bacon, who absolutely does not work with a novice director, and I could not forget Andy Garcia, who smelled of cigars all throughout the interview.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
More than any plans, I have one important goal in mind, and that is to bring more Korean directors and actors into Hollywood, whether it is through my own movies, or to bring them more connections in the Hollywood industry. Korean actors and directors are remarkably talented. If they get their foot in the door, there is no reason they wouldn't be able to succeed. Experts point out that there would be obstacles such as language barriers, insufficient funding, but those are not problems that can be solved overnight. The entire movie industry has to work together to overcome these obstacles, and I will do whatever I can to get rid of them.
By Stephanie Chang
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