Late Director Shin Sang-ok's Life to Be Made Into Film
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SEOUL (Yonhap) - The life of the late South Korean movie director Shin Sang-ok who had spent eight years in communist North Korea after being kidnapped there may likely be made into a film in Hollywood, a local filmmaker said Saturday.
Shin died in a Seoul hospital on Tuesday at the age of 80. He had been undergoing medical treatment since receiving a liver transplant in 2004. Barrie Osborne, the producer of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the first episode of "The Matrix", offered to turn Shin's life into a film in late 2004, South Korea's Boram Entertainment said.
Since the South Korean director approved of the idea early last year, the U.S. producer and Boram have agreed to jointly pursue the project, Boram officials said. The first draft of the film script has been written in the United States. South Korean actors and actresses will star in the film, Boram officials said, adding that the production costs and other details have yet to be decided.
Born in 1926 in North Hamkyong Province in what is today North Korea, Shin studied Western painting in a university in Tokyo. He was a dominant figure in South Korea's film industry between 1950s and 1970s, making several dozen films. Shin and his actress wife, Choi Eun-hee, were separately abducted by North Korean agents while in Hong Kong in 1978. The couple escaped back to the West during a visit to Vienna, Austria, in 1986. In North Korea, the couple enjoyed a close relationship with leader Kim Jong-il, known as a movie buff.
The funeral for the late director Shin Sang-ok was held at the Seoul National University Hospital on Saturday. Renowned actor, Sin Yeong-kyeon, reading a memorial note, said, "Big stars never fall; they shine forever in our hearts". The actor added that "Because of him, the Korean film industry has grown to its current status. We will learn from him and follow his wishes".
Actress Tae Hyun-sil, who grew to stardom under the late director, said, "When the military government shut his film company down he was our hope, and even when he was abducted to North Korea, we believed he would continue to nurture his artistic spirit".
She paid tribute to him, saying. "We were young then, but from him, we learned passion and respect for movies".
Shin died in a Seoul hospital on Tuesday at the age of 80. He had been undergoing medical treatment since receiving a liver transplant in 2004. Barrie Osborne, the producer of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the first episode of "The Matrix", offered to turn Shin's life into a film in late 2004, South Korea's Boram Entertainment said.
Since the South Korean director approved of the idea early last year, the U.S. producer and Boram have agreed to jointly pursue the project, Boram officials said. The first draft of the film script has been written in the United States. South Korean actors and actresses will star in the film, Boram officials said, adding that the production costs and other details have yet to be decided.
Born in 1926 in North Hamkyong Province in what is today North Korea, Shin studied Western painting in a university in Tokyo. He was a dominant figure in South Korea's film industry between 1950s and 1970s, making several dozen films. Shin and his actress wife, Choi Eun-hee, were separately abducted by North Korean agents while in Hong Kong in 1978. The couple escaped back to the West during a visit to Vienna, Austria, in 1986. In North Korea, the couple enjoyed a close relationship with leader Kim Jong-il, known as a movie buff.
The funeral for the late director Shin Sang-ok was held at the Seoul National University Hospital on Saturday. Renowned actor, Sin Yeong-kyeon, reading a memorial note, said, "Big stars never fall; they shine forever in our hearts". The actor added that "Because of him, the Korean film industry has grown to its current status. We will learn from him and follow his wishes".
Actress Tae Hyun-sil, who grew to stardom under the late director, said, "When the military government shut his film company down he was our hope, and even when he was abducted to North Korea, we believed he would continue to nurture his artistic spirit".
She paid tribute to him, saying. "We were young then, but from him, we learned passion and respect for movies".
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