Whoa! Don't Use My Name on Korean Films!
Keanu Reeves. He's fought hordes of secret agents in The Matrix, saved dozens of people on a bus from sure death in Speed, and even worked for the devil in The Devil's Advocate. With his incredible powers, he has conquered baddies the world over, but he's finally found his next foe: no, not an action villain, nor a mysterious demon living beneath the landscape of Los Angeles... no, it's a Korean romantic comedy!
Those who check our Databank regularly might have been intrigued by the title of a film currently under production, 키에누리브스 꼬시기 (Hitting on Keanu Reeves). What could it possibly be about? It's actually an adaptation of a popular online novel by Lee Hyun-Soo published in 2002. The novel was a super hit a few years ago, has won over many fans who always considered it a perfect story for a film, and its print version has been long out of print. The novel tells the story of Min-Joon, a young woman who gets a job interview with a foreign company in Korea. But, as it always happens in these cases, she ends up oversleeping, and accidentally hits another car on her way to the interview. Of all people, she hits a foreigner! And... that foreigner suspiciously looks like Keanu Reeves... and he turns out to be the man who's supposed to interview her a few minutes later. Whoa.
Sidus FNH was still completing casting for the film, which would start production in the fist half of the year, when something surprising happened. The company sent a request to Keanu Reeves' management, asking permission to use his name in the film, and they strongly rejected, forcing Sidus FNH to change the title of the film. A PR Rep from the company said that, since Mr. Reeves carries a famous name and a certain reputation with it, if the Korean film used such title, it could have brought people to the theater just based on that, so they had to ask permission. Nothing is official for now, but they plan to change the title to just 키에누 꼬시기 (Hitting on Keanu).
But at least the casting has been completed: Eom Jung-Hwa will paly the role of Min-Joon, and Daniel Henney of 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon) will make his film debut as... well, the guy who looks like Keanu. Eom plans to finish her 9th Album and its promotion by early May, after which she will start shooting the film. But, as the film features plenty of scenes in English, she will start practicing her script a few months earlier. Eom, who's become even more popular this year after the success of her latest film 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love), and has received praise for her acting in the thriller 오로라공주 (Princess Aurora), is currently shooting the human drama 호로비츠를 위하여 (Hurrah For Horowitz), while Henney is in Austria for his latest TV Drama 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz).
If you can read Korean, here's a quick look at the original novel.
[Source: Star News, Sports Today]
