’The Host’, most popular Korean film to date, will see Hollywood remake
"The Host," a sci-fi film directed by Bong Joon-ho, finally broke the 13 million viewer mark following its July 27 release. An official of its distributor, ShowBox, said on 5 November, "Calculation is under way, but it is certain that the number of viewers surpassed 13 million," adding that they will officially announce the statistics early next week. The film, titled "Gwaemul" (Monster) in Korean, has seen its interest abated after a strong start, in only 38 days breaking the record of "The King and the Clown," which in March set the previously-held viewer record of 12.3 million. As media reports about the movie have petered out, audience interest has moved on and the number of screens showing it has sharply fallen. As of November 2, only two cinemas - one in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and another in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province - are screening the film. Recently, the number of viewers has decreased to a few dozen per day, but the film was still able to crawl past the 13 million mark. An official at Chungeorahm, the film’s production company, said, "The distributor will make a decision over when to put an end to the screening of the movie, but there are still people who want to watch it, so we will make a plan after consulting with the distributor."There will be a Hollywood remake, as well. According to the November 2 edition of Screen International, a movie magazine published in Hollywood, the remake rights to the film were sold to Universal, a U.S. investment and distribution company. Paul Brooks, representative of Gold Circle Film, which is remaking "My Sassy Girl," and Roy Lee, representative of Vertigo Entertainment, which is planning to remake "My Wife Is a Gangster" will be the producers, while officials of Universal Pictures will be its executive producers. [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
