Jason Behr - D-War #6: It's a huge success in Korea! Jason, KaDee & Cast Attend Premiere!

**Crystaline** · 08-08-2007, 04:25 AM

D-War (2007)

Directed by
Hyung Rae Shim

Genre: Action / Drama / Fantasy

Plot Summary: Based on the Korean legend, unknown creatures will return and devastate the planet. Reporter Ethan Kendrick is called in to investigate the matter, and he arrives at the conclusion that a girl stricken with a mysterious illness named Sarah is suppose to help him. The Imoogi makes its way to Los Angeles, wreaking havoc and destruction. With the entire city under arms, will Ethan and Sarah make it in time to save the people of Los Angeles?

Credited cast:
Jason Behr .... Ethan Kendrick
Amanda Brooks .... Sarah
Robert Forster .... Jack
Aimee Garcia .... Brandy
Craig Robinson .... Bruce
Chris Mulkey .... Agent Frank Pinsky
John Ales .... Agent Judah Campbell
Elizabeth Peña .... Agent Linda Perez
Billy Gardell .... Zoo Guard
Holmes Osborne .... Hypnotherapist
NiCole Robinson .... Psychiatrist
Geoffrey Pierson .... Secretary of Defense
Cody Arens .... Young Ethan
Kevin Breznahan .... Reporter
Dominic Oliver .... Head Doctor
IMDB

Film Location: Korea

Theatrical Release: September 14th, 2007

Dragon-Wars English Site
D-War Official Site
Trailer
USA Trailer
Longer Trailer
Jason in Korea 08/01
Jason speaks at Korea debut
Jason Interview by Korean press
Another Jason interview
More Interviews
Articles
Photos - More here, here, and here

Previous Thread:
D-War #5: Jason Interviews on Korea TV

podmom · 08-08-2007, 04:57 AM

Yay

Thanks!

Honey-Girl · 08-08-2007, 05:32 AM

Thanks for the new thead!

MyrnaLynne · 08-08-2007, 06:36 AM

Great news D-War is a hit in Korea! I think using the 'Dragon Wars' title in the US will sell it a (tiny) bit better as well - good choice. Somethng to look forward to in September (once the glow of Skinwalkers this month is startng to fade)

Poddy, love the dragon smilie!

FearlessLeader · 08-08-2007, 10:01 AM

I agree. I think "Dragon Wars" is a better title for this. At least, you know exactly what you're getting into

D could stand for just about anything. Diet Wars! Department Store Wars! Duck Wars! Delay Wars

Donkey Wars!

From: 'D-War' success fires up hope for Korean filmmakers - Movies

Quote:

'D-War' success fires up hope for Korean filmmakers
By Ahn Mi-Young Aug 8, 2007, 12:16 GMT

Seoul - A flashy comeback by an underdog director has reignited hope for the troubled local film industry to follow in his step. It has also polarized opinions: Does it really deserve the hype? Or is it merely and expression of patriotism?

After a decade of humbling himself as an unsuccessful director, the comedian-turned-director Shim Hyung-raw is back with another monster venture 'D-War,' short for 'Dragon-War.'

The film surprised the sceptics by scoring the country's biggest opening day on August 1. The D-War even clobbered the Hollywood blockbusters like Fantastic Four or Die Hard Four, to rank as the top film at the South Korea box office.

'I knew people almost never thought that this film would ever be completed in the first place,' Shim, 49, told MBC TV one day before the film opened. 'People were mocking at my idea of making another science-fiction film,' he added.

D-War has grossed a stunning 20.3 million dollars in its first four days as 3 million people had been to see it through Wednesday across 690 screens, according to the film distributor Showbox.

The rare success is widely welcomed, although it was occasionally questioned.

On the one hand, the timing could not have been better. It shed a light of hope for the staggering local film industry that has steadily been losing audience to Hollywood fare, with the Korean filmmakers' market share at a low of 42 percent in the first half since 2001.

The hope for troubled film industry is compared with director Shim's passion to rise again undaunted from his failure.

'People are touched by Shim's spirit, brave heart and his passion that refuse to give up. This spirit brings the film beyond the movie territory into the brink of something like a cultural icon,' Huh Moon-Myung, commented in the leading daily Donga newspaper.

The D-War, a science fiction about a giant serpent that smashes up Los Angeles, has rekindled hope for smashing the gloom of local filmmakers.

On the other hand, it triggered a debate on whether D-War deserves the splash or whether the success is a mere expression of patriotism. Internet forums have become battlegrounds between a mainstream of eager fans and a minority of critics trying to moderate the zeal.

'A movie should be a movie. It should not be a (tool for appealing to) a sense of patriotism,' Lee Hee-Il, a director of an indie film said on his blog. His site was soon besieged by zealous fans of D-War taking him to task.

Attention will be paid to whether the computer-graphics movie will also be well-received when it is released on about 1,500 screens in the US on September 14.

D-War was aimed at both Korean and American audiences, as it features a mix of a mostly western cast and a Korean legend. Korean legend holds that dragons will return one day to devastate the planet.

Jason Behr (Skinwalkers, The Grudges) stars as a reporter, leading a cast that includes Robert Forster (Firewall, Jackie Brown) an dAimee Garcia (The George Lopez Show).

Film industry analysts indicate that the film will have to attract around 10 million fans into screens to turn a profit. The budget was said to have been around 75 million dollars. am

FL

**Crystaline** · 08-08-2007, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader (View Post)

I agree. I think "Dragon Wars" is a better title for this. At least, you know exactly what you're getting into

D could stand for just about anything. Diet Wars! Department Store Wars! Duck Wars! Delay Wars

Donkey Wars!

Very true.

Thanks for the article!

LongTimeFan · 08-10-2007, 09:34 PM

More news - not too much new stuff here, though...

Quote:

August 10, 2007: News from Abroad

Box Office Glory for Korea

Big openings for the films May 18 and D-War have busted South Korea's box office slump this year. CJ Entertainment's May 18, released on July 25, attracted 1.45 million admissions over its first five days to gross $10.1 million. Currently showing on 539 screens, it passed the $20 million benchmark on its 11th day of release. The film, directed by Kim Ji-hoon, became the first blockbuster-level hit for the year after receiving generally positive reviews. It chronicles the real-life events leading up to the 1980 Gwangju massacre in South Korea, in which thousands of students and protestors were killed by soldiers during an anti-government demonstration.

May 18 stood as the strongest opening of the year for Korean cinema, until Showbox's D-War was released a week later to box office receipts of $20.3 million. It stars American actor Jason Behr as a Los Angeles reporter who becomes entangled in the fulfillment of a prophecy in Korean dragon mythology. Variety Asia reported that critics and other viewers had panned the film, directed by Hyung-rae Shim. Variety also reported that the film's budget, listed at $35 million, was actually upwards of $70 million, when start up costs for an f/x company and screenplay development were included. Its five-day opening of 2.95 million admissions fell just short of the opening week record of The Host (2006), which stands at 3.17 million. D-War will be released in the U.S. under the name Dragon Wars on Sept. 14. The two films' success has helped ease the film industry's nerves following a highly disappointing year at the box office. Korean cinema's market share for 2007 currently stands at 42.9 percent, the lowest level since 2001. --Juliana Kiyan

**Crystaline** · 08-10-2007, 10:07 PM

Thanks for posting! I can't believe this is finally coming out next month. It's one movie after the next for us Behrians. All is well with the world.

LongTimeFan · 08-11-2007, 06:50 AM

From Variety - this is as of Aug 3, after only 3 days of screenings.

Quote:

Playing surprisingly strong in its Korean bow was Showbox's "D-War," about a massive snake that destroys downtown Los Angeles. Taking in a hefty $19.2 million from 530 runs, "D-War" landed No. 5 on the list of top-grossing pics overseas for the Aug. 3 frame.

"D-War" nabbed the best Korean opening of all time, edging out "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which bowed at $18 million in its Korean launch. "D-War" opens in the U.S. next month as "Dragon Wars."

From Movie News and Reviews, Trailers, TV, DVDs, Indie Film Coverage and more - Film.com

Quote:

Dreaming of the Dragon Wars
C. Robert Cargill, Aug 02, 2007

You have no idea how much my little geek heart twitters and flutters for dragons. I'm the guy who freaked out over Reign of Fire. I'm the guy that owns, and watches time and again Dragonslayer. I'm the guy who goes to sleep at night dreaming of what Dragonheart would have been like if they kept Patrick Reid Johnson's original concept and had Henson studios make the dragon instead of that lame, not yet ready CG. In fact, check out some photos of the prototypes here, along with a stand-in actor, the young, struggling Clive Owen!

So when I first heard the title D-Wars, I shuddered. Oh no. Not another direct-to-video piece of lameness. Then I heard it was a $70 million Korean film, and having loved the hell out of last year's The Host, I got interested. Then I sat and watched this trailer and gazed upon the poster.

Oh. Freaking wow. Holy crap. DRAGONS! OMG! DRAGONS! Huge, destructive dragons against tanks and helicopters and missiles and machine guns! Everything we'd hoped for in Reign of Fire this movie gives us in the trailer. Oh lord. Oh lord. Calm down, Cargill. Breathe. It's only a trailer. It's only a trailer. BUT IT'S DRAGONS!

And if you check out the tagline on the poster: "They've made our world their battleground." Wow. Sounds like they're trying to capture that feel of Transformers? Hell, that climax footage even looks like Transformers. But with dragons. Um. Yeah. I am so there, I can't even express how fast I'm there. DRAGONS!

What I'm really hoping for, however, is that this is a film trying to capture the spirit of The Host. For those of you that never saw it, The Host is a fantastic film that took the classic giant monster genre and added a level of deep pathos as a family desperately races to save one of their own who might still be alive and in the beast's clutches. The Koreans love their deep character drama in the midst of their big-budget epics. They're not huge fans of spoon-feeding the audience with their films. Methinks this could not only be exciting, but meaty and smart as well.

September 14th cannot come soon enough for the Cargill household.

C. Robert Cargill

And I found this - SPOILERS - basically it's the entire plot.

Quote:

Check Out Dragon Wars

I saw some international posters for this film about a month back, but where the hell did it come from? Going domestic and dropping the dubbing, Dragon Wars: D-War is ready for the U.S.

Movie Poster & Trailer: Dragon Wars
In a small Korean village, five hundred years ago, a girl named Narin was born carrying the coveted Yeouijoo inside her. The Heavens sent the protector Bochun and his protégé Haram, to ensure that when it came time, Narin was peacefully sacrificed to the pre-determined Good Imoogi. Bochun vigorously trained Haram as a knight, to be prepared for the eventual day when Narin would be delivered to the Good Imoogi. The day the Dark Imoogi, Buraki, and his army destroyed Narin's village looking for the Yeouijoo, Bochun instructed Haram to take her to the Good Imoogi.

The young girl and her knight would then fulfill the giant's serpent's destiny by giving it the power to save the world and become a heavenly dragon. By this time, after spending several years together, Haram and Narin had fallen in love. Unable to sacrifice their love to the benevolent Imoogi, they jumped to their deaths together in each other's arms. The Good Imoogi's destiny was unfulfilled and he would have to wait another five hundred years until the next Yeouijoo appears.

It is now five hundred years later in present day Los Angeles and the quest for the Imoogi is reborn. Haram and Narin have been reincarnated as Ethan Kendrick (Behr) and Sarah Daniels (Brooks) whose bond of love remains unsevered. Ethan is an investigative reporter for the local news. He is closely following a series of unexplainable disasters occurring in the area. When a young woman named Sarah is linked to those occurrences, Ethan remembers that an ancient man he met many years before had predicted all of these events . Ethan finds Sarah and helps her escape the wrath of Buraki and his army. Aware that Sarah must sacrifice herself in order to save the city from the Buraki and ensure that the Good Imoogi becomes the Dragon, Ethan tries to convince Sarah that there is another way to battle the Imoogies. Meanwhile, the FBI agent on the case, Frank Campbell (Forster), has uncovered the Imoogies' intentions through his own investigations. Campbell is ready to sacrifice Sarah to the demonic animals to save Los Angeles. In the face of chaos and destruction, Ethan and Sarah must decide their own fate - whether to defy the will of heaven once again and let the city be destroyed or deliver Sarah to the Good Imoogi.

**Crystaline** · 08-11-2007, 09:31 AM

Thanks for the articles! I'm thrilled it's such a hit in Korea. I can't wait to see the trailer at the movies tonight. I wonder if the movie guy says 'Jason Behr.'

Area51Nut · 08-11-2007, 04:56 PM

****** Cointains Spoilers *******************

Well there are nice reviews for D-War, but this is not one of them

2/10 ROTTEN TOMATOES: The Vine: ZenKimchi Korean Video Hunt

D-War is the latest CGI movie to come from former Korean gag-man turned director, Hyung-rae Shim. It's basically a classic monster movie with a little more legend and fantasy added. The movie has the distinction of being a Korean movie filmed mostly in English with American actors. It was released in South Korea on August 1st and is already breaking box office records. The Host, the Korean monster movie released last year currently holds the honor of highest grossing Korean film in Korea.

I came into the movie expecting to find some of the humor and quirkiness that made The Host and other Korean films unique. Instead the movie would have been beton HBO on a Saturday afternoon in the 1980s.

First off, there are some good parts. The scenes in Choson dynasty Korea are mesmerizing and colorful. It gives Korea a portrayal usually reserved for fantasy films based in China and Japan. The Imoogi legend, where a serpent is granted the privilege to be a celestial dragon once every 500 years, gave the film some scope and depth. The battle scenes in Los Angeles were exciting, with flying fire breathing lizards fighting helicopters and lumbering beasts with rocket launchers marching through the streets with their Lord of the Rings armor-clad knights. Unlike films like Transformers, the camera doesn't cut so much that it disorients the audience during the battle scenes. They're easy to follow. And finally, the Korean dragon at the end looked great. I can't think of any other movie that tries to realistically portray an Asian style dragon, other than maybe a glimpse in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. If the movie had more of that dragon, it would have saved a good bit of it.

The rest of D-War was disappointing and confusing. It missed a lot of opportunities for humor, character development, and bringing sweep and meaning to the story. The plot and dialogue themselves seemed to be ordered piece by piece from G-Market. Every person and scene and plot twist has been seen so many times before--only this time with dragons. Even suspending all disbelief so far that it can only be viewed through the Hubble telescope with an attitude to have mindless fun will not make the movie any more enjoyable. I actually started falling asleep and studying my fingernails during parts. The bad acting was forgivable, from the Keaunu-clone main character to the villain, who looked like he worked as a box salesman when not dressed in Darth Sauron armor. They did the best they could with the clunky lines they had to work with. The casting and character archetypes were drawn from Korean stereotypes of Westerners that are regularly portrayed on TV. The FBI guy has to look and talk like Robert Stack. The token black character is there for mild humor because he talks funny. And I could have sworn that I have seen the exact same actors who played the American soldiers play American soldiers in every Korean movie that has American soldiers.

The plot itself is a little hard to follow. On the surface, it's simple. There's a woman born every 500 years who can turn a giant serpent, good or evil, into a celestial dragon on her twentieth birthday. There's an ancient Korean wizard and a young man he trained there to protect her. There is a great seige against a Korean walled town that looks so ripped off of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, that I expected Jar Jar Binks to run onto the battlefield, clumsily knocking over droids. In the legend, the young man and the chosen woman fall in love and dive to their deaths over a cliff to avoid the "bad" serpent from catching her.

Five hundred years later, the couple are reborn as Americans in Los Angeles. They don't know each other. Yet the girl, Sarah (Amanda Brooks), has a birthmark on her shoulder in the shape of a dragon, just as she had in her previous life. Ethan (Jason Behr), the reincarnation of her protector, discovers a magic box in an antique shop. The proprietor, Jack (Robert Forster), who was really the wizard from Korea, tells him he has been waiting for him for five hundred years.

And that's really it. He doesn't train him to protect the girl, like he did in the previous life. They just meet each other. Jack gives Ethan some amulet to wear around his neck, and they part ways. When Ethan, grown up as a famous news reporter for a CNN type of news network (copied all the way down to the style of the logo) he comes across a police crime investigation over a crater with a dragon scale in it. The scale reminds him of his meeting with Jack as a kid (don't know why), and we are launched into maybe thirty minutes of long-winded exposition from Jack--who isn't that good of a storyteller.

Suddenly Jack and his cameraman Bruce (Craig Robinson, who gives the best performance in the movie) search through databases to find a nineteen-year-old girl named Sarah who has a dragon tattoo on her left shoulder. Bruce gave the "Are you out of your mind" comment that the audience was feeling. I don't remember how Jack knew the girl's name was Sarah. It's one of those many details that was either glossed over or completely ignored.

This evil elephant-eating (the biggest attempt at flat humor in the movie) ancient serpent somehow is combing Los Angeles, undetected, looking for Sarah. Sarah's best friend, Brandy (Aimee Garcia), plays the role of disposable best friend, who dies from mistaken identity faster than Sarah Connor's roommate in the first Terminator.

Sarah's in the hospital because she felt some freaky thing in her heart. For some reason, they lock her in her hospital room and say that she's quarantined, as if she has a deadly virus. This is an obvious cover up. Nonetheless, when the news reporter Ethan shows up, the doctor says, "I like your work," and lets him in.

What?

Sarah and Ethan escape together, and the chase starts. The evil giant serpent finds them wherever they go, smashing its head into buildings. Whenever it gets close enough to bite them, it just stands there and screams, giving them time to find an escape. Eventually the military shows up (in unmarked yellow tanks), and the battle begins.

In the meantime, this evil dark general (Michael Shamus Wiles) revives the evil serpent's followers, an army of knights and creatures, that march into downtown Los Angeles. The battle begins. Things happen predictably. The FBI somehow knew all about Sarah and Korean dragon legends through its paranormal unit--a big plot point that is just casually mentioned by the head FBI investigator before his partner formulaically shoots him to protect Sarah.

That's one of the most frustrating things about the movie. Everyone suddenly goes from knowing nothing about what's going on to knowing everything about Korean legends. Ethan, even though he seems to have no connection to Korean culture, is able to spout off Korean proverbs while driving. The movie would have worked a lot better if there was more connection between the present and the Korean legend in the past--like if they had to go to Korea to defeat the serpent or something.

Instead it just plays like a bad B-movie that could only be made watchable with the MST3K robots making fun of it. Even the humor--coming from a former comedian writer-director--was lame and repeated. The most oft repeated joke was someone being aloof to the fact that a giant serpent was snaking outside their window. Even during the big battle with explosions and the military blocking off the streets there were scenes of people just going about their daily business, looking up, and suddenly noticing that there were flying lizards and a mile-long snake creeping up their office tower. Yet there's none of that unique Korean humor that peppers classic Korean movies such as Please, Teach Me English, Sassy Girl, and even The Host and Old Boy.

The disappointment over this movie turns into frustration when the Korean media portrays this as the big blockbuster film that will get the rest of the world to recognize Korean film as on par with American film. It takes itself way too seriously while blatantly ripping off every movie cliche that is out there. Even Michael Bay had the brains to realize Transformers wasn't Academy material and played with the fact that the premise itself was hokey. D-War does not even have any subtlety or irony on its subject matter. It actually believes it's a serious film. I'm sure that it will win awards in Korea while wondering why it won't win any Oscars in America, even though there are barely any Koreans mentioned in the credits on the IMDB. There's even a scrolling message from Hyung-rae Shim to his Korean audience at the end of the film, talking about the process and love of making D-War, with masturbatory black-and-white photos of himself making the movie and finally standing in front of the Hollywood sign.

At that point, I was embarrassed and even angry that the film is working to pump up South Koreans' pride only to have it dashed when this film gets laughed out of the theaters overseas.

*forever* · 08-11-2007, 05:35 PM

To speak purely on the film, based on what I've heard and seen about it -- I'm a little concerned about the movie opening over here myself...I've watched way more than my fair share of epic fantasy Asian films (mostly Chinese and Korean) and it's a hit and miss thing. I feel the standards for a epic fantasy film in Asia are really different than something that's been made in America. I mean in terms of story, special effects, execution, etc, it's really two very different playing fields. I forsee D-War as still being an entertaining movie to watch overall, but I wonder if American audiences will receive it as well as the Korean audiences have...it would be really unfortunate to have it flop in the States b/c of too much hype.

With that being said, I'm still very much looking forward to seeing it because let's be honest, Jason looks great in the posters (that wth? look in the first poster is so cute and sexy

) and trailers and I'm sure he'll still do a fantastic acting job. I also love Craig Robinson from his role on the Office, so I have high hopes for him too

.

**Crystaline** · 08-12-2007, 03:26 AM

Not a nice review? Understatement. I always feared this movie would be more about the special effects rather than an interesting story and the reviewer kinda confirmed that for me. Still, I'm looking forward to it next month to judge for myself. A lot of reviewers bashed Skinwalkers and it was actually a pretty cool movie. I don't always believe what I read. And I'll pretty much see anything with Jason in it. Good, bad, whatever. He's got my support.

**Roswell 10/2/00** · 08-12-2007, 08:50 AM

I saw the D War trailer last ngiht when I saw Skinwalkers! It was wonderful to see another Jason movie coming out next month! I can't wait!

It looks amazing!

LongTimeFan · 08-12-2007, 09:31 AM

You're always going to have critics who want it all and never like what they see. I would never expect this film to rank up there with typical american/euro tales. It's a vastly different culture and this guy doesn't seem to get that. In the proper context, I'm sure D-War is a fantastic film. I don't expect it to be much by US standards, but for the effort poured into it over the past 6 plus years, I'm really thrilled for Shim & Company. I hate critics who think that being a critic means slamming everything.

I categorize films in different ways. There are those which will remain classics and those that are good for sheer entertainment value, warts and all. I'm thinking D-War will be the latter. At least I hope so.

Here's some good news...

Quote:

'D-War' attracts 5 mln viewers in 11 days of release

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's science fiction blockbuster "D-War" has attracted 5 million viewers in the first 11 days of its release, the film's distributor said Sunday.

According to Showbox Inc., the movie, made by comedian-turned movie director, Shim Hyung-rae, drew 5.12 million viewers on 624 screens across the country as of Saturday. The film became the first South Korean movie to break through the 5 million mark this year, it said.

"D-War," starring Hollywood actors, is a story about a legendary Korean serpent, called Imoogi, before it is transformed into a dragon that rules heaven.

The flick is well on the path to smashing Korean box-office records amid controversy. Some movie critics point out the film's weak plot and appeal for patriotism, but moviegoers are enthusiastic about it.
The distributor said it expected the movie to continue to sell out in major theaters as more people are booking tickets ahead of Korean Liberation Day holiday on Wednesday.

The distributor plans to show the US$30 million film, the most expensive of all movies made so far in South Korea, on 1,700 screens in the United States in September, the widest ever U.S. release for a Korean film.