“Distortion of the original work - loss is inevitable” … Confession of the director of ‘Exclusive’, concerns as big as expectations(Comprehensive)[DA : On-site]
The popular web novel ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ‘, which has surpassed 200 million cumulative views since its serialization on Naver in 2018, has been made into a movie.Expectations are high as it was realized on the screen on a large scale with a production cost of approximately 30 billion won.However, there are also concerns.There are concerns that the original work’s unique charm may not be properly conveyed in an attempt to contain the vast amount of original work in a two-hour running time.
The production report meeting for the movie ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ‘was held at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University Entrance in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 17th.Director Kim Byung-woo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Min-ho, Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, and Nana attended the event.
On this day, Director Kim honestly confessed, “I thought about how to make the original web novel into a movie for a very long time.Since it was still in the early stages of serialization, I didn’t know how the story would unfold after this point, so I had a lot of questions about how to make it into a movie.” He explained, “The biggest selling point of the original work was that reality and fantasy were well mixed.Since fantasy naturally comes into reality, the original work’s biggest appeal was that ‘the novel that only I knew has become reality.’” He continued, “I also thought it was a work that the audience could watch while participating more in the theater.I thought it was a work that asked itself the question, ‘What would I do?’ Since the audience is on the same starting line as the characters, I thought they could participate while watching it.”
However, he expressed confidence by saying, “All the staff in each department were picky and sensitive about how to appropriately distribute and readjust reality and fantasy.The same goes for the actors.Although the starting point is reality, we talked a lot about what kind of attitude is right to act as the movie progresses dramatically.I think we found a good answer in the process.”
What were the actors ‘thoughts on participating? First, Ahn Hyo-seop said, “I was most curious about how it would be realized.It was a movie of a scale that had never been seen before in Korea.I was also curious about the philosophy of the movie.I liked the message that we should all live together rather than living alone.” Lee Min-ho also sympathized with the message of the work.Lee Min-ho said, “In a society that is increasingly focusing on individual lives, I thought that’ in a world that has fallen apart, humans gain strength and comfort through humans, and overcome adversity together ‘is something that is needed in this day and age.” Chae Soo-bin and Shin Seung-ho said that they were completely absorbed in the fun of the work.Nana confessed that she took on the challenge because of her trust in director Kim Byung-woo and the production company, as well as her thirst for action.
First, Ahn Hyo-seop plays’ Kim Dok-ja ‘, the only reader of a novel serialized for over 10 years, and Lee Min-ho plays’ Yoo Joong-hyuk ‘, the main character of a novel serialized for over 10 years.Chae Soo-bin plays’ Yoo Sang-ah ‘, a colleague who faces the moment when the novel becomes reality with’ Kim Dok-ja ‘, and Shin Seung-ho was cast as’ Lee Hyun-seong ‘, a colleague of’ Kim Dok-ja ‘with strong strength.Nana plays’ Jung Hee-won ‘, a colleague of’ Kim Dok-ja ‘who fights for justice, and Ji-soo plays’ Lee Ji-hye ‘, a high school student who calls’ Yoo Joong-hyuk ‘her master.In addition, Kwon Eun-seong plays’ Lee Gil-yeong ‘, a boy who communicates with insects and accompanies the journey of’ Dok-ja ‘and his group.
Ahn Hyo-seop confessed that in order to immerse himself into Kim Dok-ja, “I tried to face that moment as naturally as possible while living as the character.I tried to feel that emotion as naturally as possible,” and “I felt burdened as it was my screen debut, but I thought that I had to work as hard as I could to create the interesting scenario into the character of Dok-ja.I tried to think positively and energetically.” He then joked, “Kim Dok-ja doesn’ t have any special skills, so I had to run as much as possible.The more I ran, the shorter the running time.” Director Kim added, “When we first met at the meeting, I thought, ‘He doesn’ t need to be that tall and handsome.’ I thought about how to make the character of Kim Dok-ja seem universal.”
Regarding the setting of a peerless handsome man, Lee Min-ho joked, “It was the biggest hurdle,” and emphasized the 10% synchronization rate.He said, “I’ve been communicating with the production company CEO since the beginning.Personally, I tend to avoid characters that openly claim to be cool.I like characters that start from a deficiency and look cool when they overcome that deficiency.” He continued, “Yoo Joong-hyuk is a character with an edgy image in the original, so I felt pressured.I thought I wouldn’t be able to live up to the expectations of the original fans, but I did my best within my capabilities.”
Chae Soo-bin said,“ ‘Yoo Sang-ah’ is a character who is very realistic.I was worried that it would seem hateful to put a break on her character who worries alone even when everyone else is fighting hard.I went to find a middle ground with the director, “and” I’m not an actor who has done action scenes before, so I had a lot of difficulties acting in front of a blue screen.Rather than feeling like I was going through it alone, it felt like we were all creating it together.I learned a lot from that point on.”
Shin Seung-ho said, “I thought he had a very honest and strong personality, and at the same time, he looked like a big rock on the outside.I worked hard to look strong on the outside.I looked for similarities between me and him, but I also tried to incorporate my strengths as an actor into Lee Hyun-sung as much as possible.” He confessed, “There must be some stress relief from destroying something, but when I actually put in so much effort, I lost all my strength later.I remember breaking a door with my strength.”
Nana, who chose ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ‘due to her thirst for action, said that she was very satisfied.She said, “In the past, there was always a little bit of action for each character, so I went to action school for each work and learned action.I developed a passion to do action properly, and I got the chance this time, so I did it properly.” She continued, “Since the character shows through actions rather than words, this was my first time doing a work without lines.I thought that action gives me a lot of energy.Maybe it’s because I work as an idol, but I feel energized when I use my body.I want to become an action actor.”
As it is a work that boasts a splendid cast, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ‘has high expectations.However, fans of the original work are raising concerns about some differences from the original, such as some character settings.
Director Kim said, “It was a fun novel, but I wondered how to solve numerous problems when unfolding it on the screen.I concluded that I would focus more on realistic issues.’ What will we do with me in a world that is going to end?’ I thought it was most important to make sure that the audience did not forget that this was not a fantasy, but a problem that would befall us right away.That is the most important point in maintaining tension.”
He said, “I knew that it would be difficult for all of us to make it into a movie, rather than feeling burdened by the original work itself being famous.If you make a part of a very long novel into a two-hour movie, there are inevitably points of distortion and loss.As a fan who loved the original work from the time I wrote the scenario, I thought it would be best to proceed while maintaining the original author’s intentions and the fun I had in mind, but there were points that needed to be modified and adapted to match the original work.”
He continued, “I thought it was important to have completeness in this one movie, so I had to create a designed story within two hours.I actively utilized the points in the original work that were attractive and worthy of being depicted in a cinematic way.There were also parts that I had to inevitably fill in while adapting.”
Regarding the constellations(backgrounds)of each character, he said, “In the process of making a part of the original work, which is very voluminous, into a two-hour movie, I had concerns about whether it was right to introduce the backgrounds of all the characters.”
In particular, there was an issue with ‘Lee Ji-hye’, played by Ji-soo, using a gun as a weapon.This is because ‘Lee Ji-hye’ is a character with Admiral Yi Sun-sin as her constellation.In the original work, ‘Lee Ji-hye’ uses a sword, but when the movie used a gun as a weapon, fans of the original work continued to point out.
Director Kim explained, “From our perspective of having to implement action, many characters used long swords.We decided that diversifying the action would help bring the characters to life visually.It was a decision we made after much thought about how to make the characters explode in dramatic moments.I think you’ll fully understand this part if you watch the movie.”
He also revealed why ‘Lee Ji-hye’ had to be Ji-soo.Director Kim said, “The criteria for casting actors were clear.I thought it was right to work with someone who works hard,” and “(Ji-soo)was enthusiastic from the first meeting.She worked very hard both during the reading and when filming on site.Although the part of Lee Ji-hye is not that big, I didn’t want to miss it.I wanted someone who could grab attention to play this role.Ji-soo worked hard in it, and I’m satisfied with the results.”
Amidst expectations and concerns, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ will meet audiences in theaters on July 23rd.
Reporter Jeong com -yeon, Donga.com shine2562@donga
This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.
