[Interview③] Director Woo Min-ho: Relying on 'The Man Standing Next' and 'A Bittersweet Life'

[Reporter Lee Isul]

Director Woo Min-ho expressed special affection for director Kim Ji-woon.

On the afternoon of the 21st, Director Woo Min-ho shared various stories about his work during an interview held at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ahead of the release of the film The Man Standing Next.

On the 20th, a VIP screening of The Man Standing Next took place. Directors Park Chan-wook, Kim Ji-woon, and Han Jae-rim attended and watched the film. Director Woo Min-ho said, “My fellow senior directors gave a lot of positive feedback. The atmosphere was good.”

Previously, Lee Byung-hun described The Man Standing Next as “the film most similar to A Bittersweet Life among the works I have appeared in.”

Director Woo Min-ho said, “Director Kim Ji-woon told me at the VIP screening that I did a great job and that he liked it. In fact, I was greatly influenced by A Bittersweet Life. If I had not encountered the film A Bittersweet Life in the past, it probably would not have been easy to make The Man Standing Next like this.”

He added, “Director Kim Ji-woon made the film with colors and tones we had never seen before. I was able to create the work relying on A Bittersweet Life.”

He continued, “Director Park Chan-wook also told me he enjoyed the film.”

The Man Standing Next is a film depicting the 40 days before Kim Gyu-pyeong (played by Lee Byung-hun), the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and the second most powerful figure, carried out the assassination of the President of South Korea in 1979. It is the new work of director Woo Min-ho, who created a box office hit with 9.15 million viewers for Inside Men (2015), rated for mature audiences.

On October 26, 1979, at 7:40 p.m., at the Korean Central Intelligence Agency residence in Gungjeong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, the director of the agency assassinated the President. This event marked the end of an 18-year dictatorship and is recorded as a major event in modern Korean history. The film is based on a non-fiction bestseller, which was published based on investigative reports serialized over two months by writer Kim Choong-sik while working as a journalist. Director Woo Min-ho focused on the October 26 incident from the extensive original work to create the film. It will be released on January 22.

Reporter Lee Isul

Photo=Showbox