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[HanCinema's News] Director Lee Ji-won-IV Talks About Han Ji-min and "Miss Baek"

On the November 17th broadcast of the jTBC variety program 'Movie Room' director Lee Ji-won-IV of "Miss Baek" appeared as a special guest. Following a leading question as to whether "Miss Baek" had a poor box office showing due to its women-centered subject matter, Lee Ji-won-IV confirmed that it was difficult moving the project forward even with Han Ji-min in the title role.

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According to Lee Ji-won-IV the casting of Han Ji-min was unexpected in the first place. During the planning stages of "Miss Baek" she had never imagined Han Ji-min for the leading role. Lee Ji-won-IV described a serendipitous encounter with Han Ji-min in the wake of her appearing in "The Age of Shadows", where the actress appeared all in black. This moment, according to Lee Ji-won-IV, made her seem perfect for the role.

Lee Ji-won-IV also explained Han Ji-min's enthusiasm for the project, noting that the actress's wrinkles were on screen as they were in real life. Lee Ji-won-IV mentioned that some six hundred actresses were considered for the role of Kim Si-a, including more famous ones, but that ultimately Kim Si-a was considered the best choice. Lee Ji-won-IV mentioned that originally she had also wanted the child actor part to go to someone new.

Lee Ji-won-IV discussed the meticulous research that went into the project as well. Though "Miss Baek" shocked many with its frank description of violence against children, Lee Ji-won-IV insisted that she wasn't even able to use one percent of what she had learned. There was a careful line to strike to keep the violence realistic without becoming too cartoonish.

Shooting conditions similarly had to be kept pleasant to minimize hostility between performers who sometimes had to act very viciously with one another on set. Lee Ji-won-IV mentioned hugs as being necessary to prevent too much antagonism between co-stars.

Parents mentioned treating their children better after filming, and Lee Ji-won-IV also described the origin of the scenario being about hearing violent sounds in the home next to hers and later learning that the child had to be hospitalized for a broken leg. Lee Ji-won-IV expressed hope that the film could inspire communities to be more vigilant about such sad stories in real life.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Miss Baek" is directed by Lee Ji-won-IV, and features Han Ji-min, Kim Si-a, Lee Hee-jun, Kwon So-hyun-I, Baek Soo-jang, Kim Sun-young. Release date in Korea: 2018/10/11.

 

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