CINE21: [Feature 2/2] From ‘Die Bad’ to ‘I, The Executioner’, Interview with Film R&K CEO Kang Hye-jung
- The beginning of Oeyu Naeganghan was 'The City of Violence.'
At that time, Director Ryoo Seung-wan was still a rookie, and I had just left Good Movies, where I had worked for moral reasons, after becoming pregnant with my third child. Since it was a hastily created project, it wouldn’t have been strange if Film R&K had closed down immediately after opening following ‘The City of Violence.’ Fortunately, ‘The City of Violence’ was invited to the Venice International Film Festival and attracted attention from overseas sales companies at a time when overseas market demand for Korean films wasn’t great. The vision for company management was actually solidified through the films that followed ‘The City of Violence.’
- You've mentioned multiple times that the moment when you produced 'The Unjust' and 'Troubleshooter' after 'Dachimawa Lee' was a major turning point for Film R&K.
Looking back, we should have pushed ‘Dachimawa Lee’ further. Because of the mindset that we needed to meet a large audience in theaters, we self-censored many bold attempts we should have made. If we had maximized the unique entertainment that only this work could show, it would have been less regrettable. As everyone knows, the box office results for ‘Dachimawa Lee’ were disastrous. While we were contemplating the company’s future, Director Ryoo Seung-wan received the original story for ‘The Unjust,’ and I produced ‘Troubleshooter’ based on Director Ryoo Seung-wan’s screenplay. By making works separately and together with Director Ryoo Seung-wan, we began the company’s full-scale progress. The second turning point for Film R&K could be said to be ‘The Battleship Island.’ It was a period that made us contemplate what the roles of producer and director should be.
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