The South Korean director sits down to talk with Adrienne and Jennie K.
Jung Ji Woo was invited to attend the 2013 New York Film Festival, where his film, A Muse (Eungyo), was being screened (read Jennie K’s review of the film here). While only having four features under his belt, he has gained a reputation and popularity through casting against type. He made his full length directorial debut with 1999′s Happy End, starring Choi Min-sik , Jeon Do Yeon, and Joo Jin Mo. Aside from being a director, Jung Ji Woo is also a scriptwriter and wrote the script for 2010 hit movie, Moss (directed by Kang Woo Suk). His other films include Blossom Again (starring Rooftop Prince villain Lee Tae Sung) and Modern Boy.
247 Asian Media: We’ve noticed that you enjoy playing around with gender roles in your films (Both Blossom Again and Eungyo have pairings where one half of a couple is a lot older than the other half. The only difference is that in Blossom Again it is the woman that is older and in Eungyo it is the man who is the elder). Why do you choose to include these themes in your movies?
Jung Ji Woo: Especially in Korean culture, the differences between a man and a woman and age differences are taken as very strict and set. If you take a relationship as just being person to person, then the differences shouldn’t matter.
247 Asian Media: You’ve written the script for Moss, which was directed by someone else. Are you planning on writing any more scripts for other directors?
Jung Ji Woo: Writing a screenplay is a very difficult process for me. If possible, I don’t want to do it anymore (jokingly). I wrote it (Moss script) because I directed a film for Kang Woo Suk that didn’t do so well commercially. I felt bad and wanted to write something for him.
There’s a big difference between writing a screenplay as the person who will be directing the project and writing as just the screenwriter. While I was writing the Moss screenplay, I got to see the role of the director objectively.
247 Asian Media: You’re known for casting unknown actresses or casting actresses already known for a type of role and making them play against that type. Why do you take a chance on this kind of casting versus going with an actress that is experienced in playing the role you need?
Jung Ji Woo: I think always casting an actor/actress in the same type of role is boring. Having them play a different role and putting on a different mask is more fun. It is exciting.
247 Asian Media: After screening your film, do you find that foreign audiences and those in South Korea have the same reaction to Eungyo?
Jung Ji Woo: Overall, I think audiences reacted the same way. In South Korea it was a bit of a scandal for an older man and a much younger woman to love each other. The film deals with basic desires and those are universal.
247 Asian Media: Do you find it easier to direct films that are more controversial and scandalous or those that you know are more up beat and commercial?
Jung Ji Woo: Ideally I want to catch both rabbits at one time. Of course, filming a more commercial (movie) is a lot easier.
247 Asian Media: There are some directors that will deliberately craft their film in a way to to almost force the audience to have an emotional reaction, while other directors prefer to tell their story and let the audience decide how to react. What do you prefer do to as a director?
Jung Ji Woo: I want to let my audience decide. However, I don’t want them to take their eyes off of the story. What I want to accomplish is to have the viewers feel emotions and have experiences that they might not have ever had before.
247 Asian Media: At what age did you become interested in film making?
Jung Ji Woo: At 17. At school, I was in a group where we created screenplays and we did radio dramas. I thought it was fun to do.
247 Asian Media: Do you feel there is more opportunity to create the films you wish to make now versus say 5 years ago?
Jung Ji Woo: There are a lot more opportunities and open doors to make a Hollywood-type of film. To be more independent, some of those doors have closed, it’s kind of unfortunate.
247 Asian Media: Your films are very moving because they show human beings as incomplete creatures and the actions they take to fill in that emptiness or loss they feel. Films with perfect characters can be entertaining but they are unrealistic.
Jung Ji Woo: By the fact that you felt that way I feel happy. I too feel that people are incomplete and people all have shadier parts in their lives. For someone of a different culture to be able to see that in my film, I am very thankful.
247 Asian Media: What movie genre do you want to work with in the future?
Jung Ji Woo: I started as a political indie film maker. For the next couple of films I want to deal with political and social issues in modern Korean society.
247 Asian Media would like to thank Subway Cinema, the 2013 New York Asian Film Festival, and director Jung Ji Woo for allowing us the time for the interview.
SOURCE: 247 Asian Media
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