“Parasite” star Song Kang-ho will head the cast of airborne disaster action move “Emergency Declaration.” Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Byung-hun co-star, making “Declaration” one of the powerful casts ever assembled in a Korean movie.
The film is in pre-production and aiming for an end-of-year release. Leading studio Showbox will begin pre-sales during this week’s European Film Market.
Showbox pitches it as ”an airborne blockbuster about an aircraft forced to declare an emergency when an unprecedented terror incident occurs in-flight.” It is to be directed by Han Jae-rim, who previously enjoyed success with “The King” and the Song-starring 2013 drama “The Face Reader.”
Jeon won a best actor award at Cannes in 2007 for “Secret Sunshine,” and has other credits that include “Untold Scandal” and “The Housemaid.” Lee is one of Korea’s finest thespians and a rarity who has managed to build a career on both sides of the Pacific. His Hollywood titles include “G.I. Joe” and “Reds” while his Korean roles include “Ashfall,” “I Saw the Devil,” “A Bittersweet Life” and “JSA: Joint Security Area.”
Song has been the face of Korean cinema for two decades, with a career that tracks many of its landmark moments. His standout roles include “Shiri” (1999) directed by Kang Je-gyu; Kim Jee-woon’s wrestling comedy “The Foul King” (2000); Park Chan-wook’s “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” (2002); and Bong Joon-ho’s “Memories of Murder” (2003) and “Snowpiercer” in 2013. He was last year the first Asian actor to be honored by the Locarno film festival with its Excellence Award.
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At Berlin, Showbox is also representing upcoming titles “Sinkhole,” a disaster drama about a house that is swallowed up, now in post; fantasy drama “Our Season”; and comedy action film “The Golden Holiday,” about a family holiday in the Philippines that turns into a murder investigation. It is also selling the drama “The Man Standing Next,” which stars Lee Byung in a tale of espionage and political maneuvering that last month grossed $34 million.