Lee Jung-jae is a good interlocutor. On the question of interest, he would talk about it for several minutes, and when reminded by the reporter, he found that he had even spoken the lines of the film, and he covered his mouth with hindsight and said with chagrin: "It's all my fault." ”
Lee Jeong-jae in Squid Games
"The Hunt" is set against the backdrop of real events in the Cold War between Korea and The North Koreans in the 1980s. Park Pyeong-ho (Lee Jung-jae) and Kim Jong-do (Jung-sung), two heads of the CIA's Internal affairs and Foreign Affairs Divisions, each lead their own teams in charge of national intelligence security. After a failed witness protection operation due to intelligence leaks, they had to find deeply hidden North Korean spies within the intelligence bureau. The two departments were assigned to investigate each other. In an increasingly tense situation, Ping Hao and Zheng Dao slowly began to reveal the truth.
Many people think that Lee Jung-jae's transformation into a director is "acting and excellent director", but in fact, it is not, this is just a script that he likes very much, because he can't find a suitable director, he decided to play on his own.
Stills from Lee Jung-jae's first game "The Hunt", directed by Lee Jeong-jae
Lee Jung-jae spent 4 years polishing the script, and then led the top production team of Korean films to complete this high-cost production. The filming preparation period was the worst stage of the NEW CROWN epidemic, which also added to the difficulties of production.
Sitting behind the monitor for the first time, Lee Jeong-jae, because he wanted the audience's attention to be attracted by the plot twists and turns of the story every moment, so he spread the intensity of the white-hot tension throughout the screen, coupled with the complex history and geographical background to bring obstacles to understanding, and the fast-paced plot advancement made the audience tired.
But "Hunting" is still a very qualified spy action film, with a high degree of commercial completion and a top team to ensure excellent production. The intense psychological warfare and wonderful action scenes are also impressive. Most importantly, Lee Jeong-jae and Jeong Woo-sung, two major Korean film emperors, have joined forces again after 23 years and presented two characters with their own characteristics and equal strength.
The two are recognized partners and friends in the Korean film industry, tacitly understanding from the set to life, founding companies together, attending events and joking with each other. At our interview site, when Lee Jeong-jae answered a question about the cooperation between the two, Zheng Yusheng, who was sitting outside the two booths and resting silently, suddenly interjected naughtily and shouted at Lee Jeong-jae in French: "Director I thank you!" Lee Jeong-jae had a disgusted expression of "I obviously said it very quietly, why would I still be heard?"
The acting skills and tacit understanding of the two people certainly make people look forward to more cooperation. Lee Jung-jae doesn't seem to want to be a director anymore. When asked if he had any plans for the next director, Lee Jeong-jae revealed a bitter smile full of memories and said, "No, no, no, no, I love acting, and being an actor is my favorite thing. ”
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Triptych Life Weekly: When did you start directing?
Lee Jung-jae: In the beginning I just wanted to be involved in this film as a producer and one of the two main actors. So I started looking for a director who could improve the script to get the project done. However, I met with a lot of directors, and they all felt that this was a very difficult project and they were not willing to take over, so I had to take over and do the work myself.
Triptych Life Weekly: Since the difficulty is so great that other directors are reluctant to take over, and you yourself have been preparing the script for 4 years, will you worry about the final presentation?
Lee Jeong-jae: This is a big challenge. The part that I found challenging was how to choose the gist of what the film ultimately wanted to convey. And then there's the fact that because it's a high-grossing, big-budget film, it's invaluable to me, so I really want to make a good value for money movie.
But the hardest part is determining the film's main thrust. Although I bought the rights to the original script, at that time, it was still a completely different theme and a different theme, and I didn't like it very much. So I wanted to turn it into something I wanted. I've never written a script or been a director, so what kind of message is there to convey that is a "Lee Jung-jae film" that you want to be convincing? This was the question I had asked myself, so I thought about it and finally came up with the theme of the moment: we should stop conflict and confrontation.
Sanlian Life Weekly: This is the second time that you and Zheng Yusheng have cooperated as a leading actor for more than 20 years, since you have set up a company together, and it is a very good relationship, why haven't you acted together more before?
Lee Jeong-jae: I really, really want to have more opportunities to act with Jeong Yu-sheng, but it's hard to find a movie with two male protagonists. We tried many times and couldn't find a suitable solution. Now we're all a little older, so we really want to find a great movie to work on. It's not easy, but we don't want to delay any longer!
Sanlian Life Weekly: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global film industry, has it had any impact on your filming preparations?
Lee Jung-jae: Absolutely. Now the epidemic is beginning to come to an end, but when we made this movie, it was the worst stage of the epidemic, everyone had to wear a mask, they had to do testing constantly, and everyone was very careful.
There are scenes in three cities in the film: Tokyo, Washington, and Bangkok. For the shooting in Tokyo and Bangkok, my first thought was that it could be done in Korea. But the Washington part of the shoot, I really wanted to fly to the local area to shoot the real scene. But due to the epidemic, we were unable to go, and the scenes of the last three cities were completed in South Korea.
Triptych Life Weekly: It's a play that focuses on male characters, but the ending ends with hope in a young girl. Why is this arrangement made? Is it to play a role balance in terms of gender, or is it for some other reason?
Lee Jung-jae: I do have a gender balance to consider, but there are more important reasons. As an older generation, I don't want to leave the next generation with a "legacy" of conflict, I don't want to leave them with a vision of strife, and that's what I want to convey through Pinghao, and also through this little girl.
Triptych Weekly: There are two Korean films in the main competition section of Cannes this year, including one directed by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Counting the "Parasite" that has won the Palme d'Or in recent years, the "Burning" with excellent reputation, and the influence of the drama "Squid Game" that has to be mentioned in the world, the development and achievements of Korean film and television are obvious to all. What do you think is the key to Korean cinema gaining such cultural recognition and influence?
Lee Jeong-jae: I think it should be freedom. There is no excessively restrictive creative environment, so that filmmakers can freely generate new ideas and new imaginations. This free creative environment is important.
Triptych Life Weekly: In this movie, there are many scenes of conflict and confrontation, the armed forces of the country are indispensable, but war and violence are the last thing we want to see, sometimes this is a very strange paradox, how do you consider it in the film?
Lee Jung-jae: At the end of the movie, if Ping-ho doesn't have faith in the next generation, I don't think he will meet that little girl. This means that Ping Hao believes that the next generation will be a better generation and will have better solutions than we have. That's why he says , "You can have a different life, you can live happier than me."
With strong national arming, you can protect your people. But at the same time, freedom is also very important. Only with freedom will we have more imagination and more possibilities. People can do business, make friends, love each other, and build relationships with entire global communities. Therefore, I think that only when various elements and forces are combined, can we build a community of destiny for human society.
(This article originated from Sanlian Digital Journal, No. 22, 2022)