Kim Jee-woon


Kim Jee-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.

Career

Kim started out directing theater but has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in his films. Kim also pays careful attention to the release of his films on DVD and goes to greater than usual lengths to package them with extensive documentary materials and revealing commentary tracks.
Kim is growing substantially both as a director and a visual stylist as demonstrated by two of his most recent films A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life both of which were received as critical and commercial successes.
In 2010 Kim directed the thriller I Saw the Devil, the cast of which includes Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun.
Kim's next film was his US debut, featuring the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to lead acting roles, The Last Stand, for Lionsgate Films. The film also starred Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Peter Stormare, and Daniel Henney.
After his US debut, Kim will return to Korea and begin production of his latest project called "" based upon Mamoru Oshii's anime "".

''The Quiet Family''

In 1998, Kim directed and wrote his first feature film, The Quiet Family, a horror/drama/comedy about a family who owns a mountain inn whose guests continue to commit suicide. The film was his first collaboration with actors Choi Min-sik and Song Kang-ho. The film won Best Live Action film at the 1999 Fantasporto festival, and Best Director and Best Film at the Malaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema. It was also nominated for Best Film at the 1998 Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival.

''The Foul King''

In 2000, Kim directed and wrote his second feature film, The Foul King, re-uniting again with Song Kang-ho. The film follows an unproductive and incompetent bank clerk who escapes his demanding, alpha-male boss by entering the pro-wrestling ring and fighting under a pseudonym, "The Foul King." The two worlds eventually end up colliding, however. The film won Best Director at the 2001 Milan International Film Festival, and an Audience Award at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

''Coming Out'' (short film)

In 2001, Kim directed and wrote a short film entitled Coming Out. The film is about vampires, among other things, and Kim wrote and directed Coming Out as part of a project to distribute three digital short films online. It was also commissioned by venture group Media 4M, and the project also included shorts by Jang Jin and Ryu Seung-wan. Coming Out was shot with a Canon XL-1 camcorder during a time when digital filmmaking in South Korea was still in its infancy, and went on to inspire many other digital productions. It was shown at the Fantasia Festival, and the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2001 and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in 2005. Coming Out was also included as a special feature on the UK DVD release of The Quiet Family and a review at DVDActive praised it as "delicate, cerebral and contemporary cinema at its most profound."

''Memories'' segment in ''Three''

Kim next wrote and directed the "Memories" segment in the omnibus film, Three, also featuring segments directed by Peter Chan and Nonzee Nimibutr. The segment starred Kim Hye-soo.

''A Tale of Two Sisters''

In 2003, Kim wrote and directed A Tale of Two Sisters, which won a number of awards at a number of film festivals including the Fant-Asia Film Festival, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Film at the Fantasporto, Best Picture at Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Grand Prize and the Youth Jury Grand Prize at the Gerardmer Film Festival, and acting awards for Su-jeong Lim and Jung-ah Yum at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. The film was later remade into the 2009 U.S. film The Uninvited, starring Emily Browning, with Kim being credited with an original story/writer credit.

''A Bittersweet Life''

In 2005, Kim wrote and directed A Bittersweet Life, his first collaboration with actor Lee Byung-hun. The film was an ultra-stylish and ultra-violent gangster and mobster picture that was both a critical and commercial success in South Korea. Lee Byung-hun won Best Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Hwang Jung-min won a Best Supporting Actor award at Korea's Grand Bell Awards. Kim also won the "Action Asia Award" at the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival.

''The Good, The Bad, The Weird''

In 2008, Kim wrote and directed The Good, the Bad, the Weird, his tribute to spaghetti westerns, westerns and western action films. He would re-team again with Song Kang-ho as well as Lee Byung-hun in the film. The film takes place in 1930s Manchuria and chronicles the struggles of the three main characters in trying to find a piece of treasure. The film won an Achievement in Cinematography Award from the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, won Best Supporting Actor for Jung Woo-sung at the 2009 Asian Film Awards, and won Best Director and Best Special Effects at the 2008 Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival.

''I Saw The Devil''

In 2010, Kim directed, based on a screenplay from Hoon-jung Park, I Saw the Devil, re-uniting with actors Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun. The film won a number of awards, including Best Director and Best Film at Fantasporto, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, Critics Award at the Gerardmer Film Festival, Best Lighting at the Grand Bell Awards, Best Foreign Language film from the Austin Film Critics Association and Best Editing from the 2011 Asian Film Awards.

''Doomsday Book''

In 2012, Kim directed and wrote the segment known as "The Heavenly Creature" about a robot who achieves enlightenment in a Buddhist temple, in 2012 omnibus film Doomsday Book. The film won Best International Film at the Fantasia Festival and a Special Award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

''The Last Stand''

In 2013, Kim made his U.S. feature directorial debut with the action film, The Last Stand, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Daniel Henney, and more.

''The X''

In 2013, Kim premiered his short, The X, in the Gala Presentation category at the Busan International Film Festival.

''The Age of Shadows''

On August 3, 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. would finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language 1930s set drama Secret Agent, and the $8.62 million budgeted film would also be produced by Grimm Pictures. The project and script was developed by Lee Jin-sook, which Kim Jee-woon would direct and the cast would be Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo. A trailer was released on July 14, 2016, revealing the new title as ''The Age of Shadows.

''Illang: The Wolf Brigade''

From 2017 to 2018, Kim filmed the science fiction action film ', a remake of the 1999 anime film '

Future projects

In October 2013, it was announced that Kim is set to direct the movie adaptation of Ed Brubaker's pulp crime comic Coward.
In May 2019, YG Entertainment's drama production subsidiary YG STUDIOPLEX announced that Kim will direct the company's adaptation of the Daum webtoon Dr. Brain. The premiere date is to be announced.

Filmography

Feature film

Short film

Recurring cast in Kim Jee-woon films


ActorThe Quiet FamilyThe Foul KingA Bittersweet LifeThe Good, the Bad, the WeirdI Saw the DevilThe Age of Shadows
Song Kang-ho
Choi Min-sik
Lee Byung-hun
Go Ho-kyung
Jung Woo-sung