O-M-G

[dangermousie]

So, that upcoming fantasy-romance sageuk with Kim Su Hyun and Han Ga In as the leads just had a casting change. Joo Won is out as the secondary guy and JUNG IL WOO IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Except now I am even more boggled. I was puzzled enough to wonder what heroine would prefer KSH to Joo Won and what casting director thought it was a good idea to pick KSH and not JW as the lead, but that puzzlement has increased tenfold now. Really? Really? You are going to have Jung Il Woo play second fiddle to Kim Su Hyun? In what Universe?

Also, I am puzzled as to why JIW would take a secondary role in a sageuk when he headlined one before (the marvelous marvelous Return of Iljimae which I want to rewatch now).

Now, before all the KSH fans jump down my throat - I don't dislike the guy. In fact, I think in a few years and with some more experience, he's going to be a great leading man. But the operative term is in a few years and I have no such qualifiers about JIW.

GRAH.

Here is JIW as Iljimae to cheer me up:

Comments

[moraitika1.livejournal.com]

In a matter of facts Joo Won and JIW are born in the same month same year 1987 september, while Kim Soo Hyun is months younger than them : he is born in Feb 1988

However Joo Won blows my mind right now as 30 years old Tae Hee in Ojakgyo brothers and they have very good ratings aka 30+ and uri Cha Chi Soo right now makes all the girls who watch FBRS to have their panties ..... really wet...
Imagine the fatal blow Iljimae and Cha Chi Soo in the same character aka the Prince played by JIW

I forgot how old was Goo MaJoon but he did a great job with Shin Yoo Kyung( Eugene )

I watch Me Too Flower... except the fact that I really like YSY as the hero... and some aspects about uri heroine... after ep 6 has a change a direction that I don't really like... I think it is a change that you would like: le angst hits le fan really fast

[moraitika1.livejournal.com]

5 months arrggghhh edit button

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's not the biological age, it's how they carry themselves. I can buy JIW or Joo Won romancing Han Ga In. KSH? No way.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

Actually I love JW in Ojakgyo currently but I know exactly why he'd played second fiddle to KSH. It's because his acting skill is nowhere near what KSH posesses. He's helped by having an adorable face and playing a likeable character but his acting is really uneven when more complexed emotions are called for. He isnt very good at transitioning his expressions. As for JIW... I still don't see the appeal. Maybe I would've liked Iljimae if I didnt find it stupid how he uses Ijlimae as both his real name and alias. Bruce Wayne doesn't walk around calling himself Batman during the daytime and neither does Usagi call herself Sailor Moon at school.

[yunhalove.livejournal.com]

I noticed this about JW too, even if I love him to bits. Something about his expressions during key scenes. Maybe it's because I'm korean but watching Ojakgyo and Baker King that was an awkwardness with his delivery too. I do also love JIW though, and I definitely see the appeal, especially as he's improved a LOT. IMO, I think the difference is that you can tell JIW is definitely a learned actor vs a natural one. He worked really hard after High Kick and strived immensely for his role as Iljimae to compensate for the ability that just comes naturally to others, including KSH (a la his first roles in WISAC or Giant).

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

My problem with JIW isn't his acting... he's a lot better than JW lolz. I just feel cold with all of the characters he played. I had the same problem with Lee Min Ho until City Hunter came along. Could never get the appeal in BOF or PT, but omg was he hot as Lee Yoon Sung. So maybe one day JIW will play a character I can dig and this conversation would be history ^_^

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

See, I much prefer JW and JIW. I think KSH has a lot of potential but the one time he had to carry a drama (Dream High), I was not impressed. Plus, he just looks ridiculously young for Han Ga In.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

Well I rather think HGI is the mis-cast here so it's not that he's not right for her, it's that she's not right for him :P

As for Dream High, it was an ensemble-cast sort of drama, where there's only so much you can do alone, and I thought KSH did damn well even as it was.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The yelling kinda got on my nerves in DH, but a lot of it was (irrational) dislike of how the regional accent sounded (I am sure it was correct, it just didn't appeal to me).

Well, Han Ga In was cast first, so imo, the rest of the cast should be tared to her.

Plus, I honestly think he's too young to play an adult role. A high-schooler, sure. But not an adult. (Yes, I realize he is an adult in rl, but imo he doesn't look it). It's sort of like Yoo Seung Ho - I think he's a good actor, but I think he's getting age-inappropriately cast.

But we'll see. There is always a chance I'll eat my words. Has happened plenty of times before.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

But... I liked the angst lolz. I hope I'll be eating my words too cuz I used to love HGI and everything when she acted in CFs

[spazzy06.livejournal.com]

Kim Soo Hyun, Han Ga In and Jung Il Woo in one drama together? o.O Kim Soo Hun is going to be eaten alive by Jung Il Woo. The acting range in this drama is going to be ridiculously uneven.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Also, much as I like Han Ga In, either she's way too old for the guys or they are too young for her. What were the casting people thinking?

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

What?! NO! JIW would be perfect as the lead! I actually remember hoping that JIW would be in the drama playing the lead and now he's the secondary guy smh

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. WTF! so upset now.

[happahaole.livejournal.com]

didn't you watch Giant? Kim Soo Hyun's acting was amazing in that drama. and he IS hot:
http://cdn2.mixrmedia.com/wp-uploads/ningin/blog/2010/08/20100817_kimsoohyun_2.jpg

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

To me that pic looks like a little kid playing dress-up, sorry :) KSH is very young-looking for his age, which is going to be great for him later but now, imo, is a handicap.

I liked him in Giant, true. And in Will It Snow on Xmas (more than in Giant actually). But I was not impressed with him in Dream High and that was the one where he was the lead. I think he's an actor with potential.

Honestly, my main thing is that I honestly do think JIW is better and more fitting for the role (I know they are close in age but JIW looks a lot older than KSH) and that KSH is a total mismatch with Han Ga In. If they cast Jung So Min or someone else age-appropriate, I'd be having much fewer fits.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

The only problem is that the role KSH plays is of the younger brother, so looks-wise, he actually does fit when compared to JIW. There's no way you can make me believe that either JIW or JW are younger than KSH, LOL.

I keep hoping irrationally that HGI would drop out soon so that they can replace her with someone who looks less like KSH's aunt, though. I know, I know, she's gorgeous... but I just CANNOT visualize her and KSH as a viable romantic couple. It's way past noona-dongsaeng romance and into cougar territory.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

In the novel, isn't Han Ga In's character supposed to be two years younger than KSH's character?

Ahahahahahahhaaaa.

Why they didn't cast Jung So Min or Kim So Eun or Park Shin Hye or similar is beyond me. Or alternatively, seeing that they cast HGI first, why didn't they cast someone who at least doesn't look like a cougar victim (I agree with you there). At least if JIW was the lead, he'd look much more OK with Han Ga In.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about the shaman! Only that KSH's role = younger brother/king and JIW's role = older brother. If the shaman was supposed to be younger, then it's even more ridiculous that they casted Han Ga In and then matched her with KSH. It's not like there's a huge shortage of workable leading men, for heaven's sake. Heck, can you imagine how awesome Song Joong Ki would be in KSH's role, after his stint as King Sejong? Him and HGI combined would be the epitome of porcelain beauty, LOL.

Ooh yes, Kim So Eun or Park Shin Hye! Kim So Eun would knock it out of the ballpark (I remember her playing the young queen in Empress Cheonchu where she was AMAZING), and she has a very mature feel despite looking young. She'd be so perfect, damn. I'm not sure Jung So Min has the gravitas required, but either way she'd be more age-appropriate. Or even someone like Nam Sang Mi (too bad she's tied up with Light & Shadow), if they wanted to go for a noona-dongsaeng thing.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know, it's insane.

I would KILL to see Song Joong Ki as the lead in this, but I think he'd be too young for Han Ga In too. There is a reason her normal leading men are close to 30 or over that number. Get Jae Hee or Lee Dong Wook or Park Shi Hoo (though he'd probably not want to be typecast) or Oh Ji Ho or whoever.

I think JIW could pull it off because seeing him romance Lee Chung Ah in FBRS and Lee Yo Won (!!!) in 49 Days and pulling it off, if anyone could do it, it would be him, but still. Hmmmm, maybe Lee Min Ho because he projects older than his years.

But still...argh. WTF with this casting. It's not even that I am not a KSH fangirl, I like him OK. I mean, I adore Kim Bum, but I'd be tearing out my hair if he was cast as the lead in this opposite Han Ga In.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Better yet, just replace Han Ga In! She's the real odd one out here, considering they seem to be aiming for something with a similar "youth" vibe to Sungkyunkwan Scandal. I mean, can you imagine casting Oh Ji Ho or Jang Hyuk in JIW and KSH's roles? Drama seriousness levels x200. It's too bad Park Min Young's busy, or they could turn this into SKKS 2.0 with her as the shaman. Honestly, I'd even be open to the idea of them casting a young, relatively inexperienced up-and-coming actress, or even a decent idol actress. Because when you get down to it, Han Ga In's acting is hardly on par with any of her leading men anyway.

HAHAHA, the idea of Kim Bum opposite Han Ga In! He somehow made it work opposite Park Jin Hee, but that was also a totally different type of drama.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes.

Re: Kim Bum. LOLOL. I think the guy is one of the best of the new generation of actors and can carry off a lot, but starring opposite HGI in a sageuk would be a nightmare of epic proportions. A trendy is one thing, agreed, but here...

I keep hoping HGI will drop out because she really sticks out and can't act much anyway. I am getting bad Boys Over Flowers Mark 2 vibe here - with HGI being the new Geum Jandi *shudder*

Sadly, Jang Hyuk probably won't do another sageuk any time soon because he didn't want to be typecast (and turned down a drama about a freedom fighter argh). But yest, to stick him as a lead in an angstier version of SKKS would be like shooting a fly with a cannon. Not to mention, if the rest of the cast stays the same, he is going to obliterate them. And while Oh Ji Ho is not the acting powerhouse Jang Hyuk is, after seeing him in Chuno, he's also be way too 'serious' for this.

Though omg omg omg now I am craving a version of Moon with Jang Hyuk and Oh Ji Ho as the princes and Lee Da Hae as the shaman. OMG I need this. Jang Hyuk can play the younger one so he'd get her love in this incarnation...

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

You have no idea how much I'd pay to see Yoo Ah In take the lead role in something like this, for that matter. It's about time he had a drama comeback after knocking everyone out at the box office, and it's ridiculous to think that he STILL hasn't had his first leading role (and meanwhile far less capable actors like Ji Chang Wook are taking leading roles that YAI would've aced).

LOLOL HGI Geum Jandi! At least we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that Han Ga In would not lower herself to mugging like GHS did? She's too elegant, plus this is a sageuk and thankfully not a sad excuse for a romcom like BOF was.

I agree that Lee Da Hae would be perfect as the shaman in an AU version of MoonSun (there needs to be a way to shorten this mouthful of a title).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I forgot about Yoo Ah In! Why isn't he getting drama lead roles? (The same goes for Song Joong Ki). He's a hugely better actor than JCW (who is OK but nothing to write home about).

I much prefer wooden to overacting. That is how I continue to love Kim Hyun Joong. :)

I now need my Chuno AU, dammit.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

I really don't know! YAI's continuously being casted in useless supporting roles in dramas like The Man Who Can't Get Married or Strongest Chil Woo, when he could've taught Ji Chang Wook a thing or two about carrying a mane of glory in Warrior Baek Dong Soo. Someone needs to get this boy a lead role, stat.

I think I need to go watch Wandeuki now, damn. It's going to make me cry.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What is Wandeuki?

Ji Chang Wook's popularity escapes me.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Recent movie headlining YAI! It held #1 spot in the Korean box office for at least a month, knocking out all competitors (including the Song Joong Ki/Han Ye Seul Penny-pinching Romance). YAI is Wandeuki, a rebellious high school kid who meets an equally weird teacher. Teacher takes an interest in him and follows him around, trying to make him buck up. Lots of bromance, heartwrenching moments and good stuff.

http://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_Punch.php

And trailer:

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, this looks good!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one perplexed about the fact that JIW is taking on second lead to KSH...don't get me wrong, I actually love KSH more than JIW...but taking into account JIW's experience I wouldn;t have guessed that he'd pick this role....so while every other blog was raving over this casting news, I was looking at the whole thing cross eyed and really wanted to ask someone what the hell they are thinking..or at least ask JIW...I remember reading somewhere about how someone felt like JIW was going from starring in something emmy worthy (RoI) to something really fluffy like Hana Dan by taking on FBRS and I couldn't agree with them more..I feel like he hasn't been picking projects very competently since RoI..first there was My Fair Lady which sucked, though I don't blame him for that, then there was 49 days which I love and I can understand why he would pick it since almost everyone in that drama had equal weight...but then he picked FBRS where he goes back to playing a high-schooler..and while it's a fun drama I don't feel like he is very challenged there... in that sense picking a sageuk next may even be better but why as a second lead???....to a hoobae at that?...I can still get along with all that if the drama turns out to be fantastic and he goes all GuRoh (SKKS) on me but then there is the Han Ga In factor....I'm just going to ignore that she was cast opposite these two until I actually see stills...till then I'm hoping and praying that they cast Park Bo Young (plz plz plz Dramagods!!!!) [No offense to Han Ga In fans, but she's going to look like they're aunt..especially to Kim Soo Hyun who just got off playing OTP to an actress born in 1993]