[Article - September 2011] Song Il Gon: 'So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Joo Are Excellent Actors'

[Article - September 2011] Song Il Gon: 'So Ji Seob and Han Hyo Joo Are Excellent Actors'

At the production presentation of the movie "You Only," the director Song Il Gon said, "I could not have begun and finished this movie without So Ji Seob and Han Hyo Joo. Their acting was perfect while filming this movie."

"You Only" has attracted many people's attention with its cast members -- star actors So Ji Seob and Han Hyo Joo -- and its production presentation was held at Apgujeong CGV on September 20. Song Il Gon, who wrote the script and directed the movie, highly praised the two male and female protagonists the whole time during the production presentation. He said about actor So Ji Seob, "He is a perfectionist. He devoted too much to this movie. Even though he injured his wrist, he never showed that he was suffering from pain and he personally appeared in many action scenes without utilizing an understudy. He always perfectly prepared for his acting before filming." He also said about actress Han Hyo Joo, "She plays a blind woman in the movie. Her acting must have been very difficult while playing a blind character, but she showed high concentration while playing her role and she never expressed her difficulties on the film set. She is an incredible actress even though she is still very young."

You Only" will tell the love story between a man who was once a boxer with a gloomy past and now works at a parking lot, and a woman who lost her parents due to an accident and gradually loses her eyesight. They meet coincidentally and passionately fall in love at first sight. So Ji Seob said, "It has been such a long time since I appeared in a melodrama, but I felt difficulties when I had to portray the emotion of the character because the story was so sad. Next time, I want to appear in a romantic comedy movie." He smiled and continued, "As I had to play a boxer in the movie, I had practiced boxing very much even before we began filming, but I got injured on my wrist before filming started and I suffered from pain while filming."


Han Hyo Joo said, "The director filmed this movie with beautiful angles so I realized that I want to continuously appear in other melodramas. I was very happy while filming because the story was all about love. But it took time for me to adjust to playing a blind character in the drama because I had to pretend that I could see nothing. I tried everything that could be helpful in my acting. I went to a school for the blind and studied braille. I also met my mentor, who was also blind, at the school, and I would like to express my appreciation for my mentor who helped me very much."

A recently released preview revealed that they filmed a bedroom scene, and the scene has become a hot topic of conversation. Asked about the scene, Han Hyo Joo became embarrassed and said, "So Ji Seob led me very well when we filmed the scene," and So Ji Seob said with a smile, "It was not that difficult because I had many experiences."


Song Il Gon first tried to produce a commercial movie with "You Only." He had garnered the 1999 Special Jury Prize in the category of short movies at the Cannes Film Festival with his movie entitled "Vacation," and he had also garnered the Young Critics' Award at the Berlin Film Festival with another of his movies entitled "Flower Island." In this manner, his artistry has been confirmed by the world. "You Only" is a melodrama movie, but it has been selected as the opening movie of the 2011 Busan International Film Festival because Song's excellent directing ability has been acknowledged. Song Il Gon said, "Personally I am very honored that my movie has been selected as the opening movie of this highly regarded film festival. In particular, I am extremely happy that my movie will be the first movie to be screened at the 'Busan Cinema Center' which will open this year." He explained the movie by saying, "I have always wanted to tell a story of a young couple living in the city. I mean that I wanted to produce a movie about true love, where a couple devotes all of themselves for each other set against the backdrop of a small corner of Seoul in 2011."
http://english.kbs.co.kr/Entertain/EntertainmentNews/view.html?No=7920