Directed by Christine Yoo
Wedding Palace is a delightful, quirky rom-com about a Korean-American guy who falls in love with a lovely Korean girl. Shot on location in Korea Town Los Angeles and in Seoul Korea, it's the first independent Korean/American feature film co-production, and it's seeking distribution finding through a campaign at indiegogo.com.
Jason Kim (handsome Brian Tee, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), who seems to be at least second generation Korean-American, lives in Los Angeles and is about to marry lovely Jinnie Park (actress Joy Osmanski). When things don't go as planned, Jason is vulnerable to the family curse that claims the lives of any male who isn't married by the time he is thirty. This history of the curse is told in an amusing animated sequence. (While Wedding Palace marks Christine Yoo's debut as a feature film director, she previously was a writer for the animated TV mini-series Afro Samurai.)
While on a business trip to Seoul, Jason meets Na Young Song (Kang Haejung of Oldboy, here in her first English-speaking role). The two fall in love, carry on a long distance romance after Jason returns to L.A., and decide to marry there. Unfortunately, when she arrives, it becomes apparent that Jason's seemingly perfect mate has one significant shortcoming. Further hilarity and a neat plot twist ensue.
Wedding Palace Official Trailer with Indiegogo Message
I first became aware of Wedding Palace when Christine Yoo gave a Director's Talk at The Korea Society this past May. Veteran TV and film actor Stephen Park, who plays Jason's father in Wedding Palace, served as moderator. Recently I had the opportunity to watch the film online and enjoyed it very, very much. I also had a chance to talk with Ms. Yoo by phone late in October.
Having made the film, Ms. Yoo has been working on raising the funds for distribution. To that end several screenings have been held, some sponsored by corporations, others taking place on college campuses. The response has been wonderfully positive.
Christine told me that the film's fanbase is about 25% Latino. This rather surprising statistic points out the film's broad appeal, which probably is due at least in part to the fact that so many people can relate to the immigrant experience, which is one of its themes. Christine, with pride and a degree of amazement, also told me about a black couple in their fifties who drove four hours from Charlotte, North Carolina to Atlanta for a special screening because their daughter had seen the film and raved about it.
I urge you to learn more about the Wedding Palace indiegogo campaign. There are various perks available, depending on the size of one's contribution, even one of just $2.00. Help Wedding Palace make its targeted release date of April 12, 2013! You'll be proud and glad that you did. I've contributed -- and let's just say not at the minimum contribution level -- and I feel really good about doing so.
Other Wedding Palace video clips at YouTube:
Wedding Palace - Special Message from the Actors, Director, & Crew!
Wedding Palace "Behind The Scenes" KBS documentary (with English subtitles)
Wedding Palace was the cover story of the March 2012 issue of KoreAm. Read the article here.
Join the Wedding Palace Fan Club at facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.