2009-01-08

Korean Film Remakes Debut in U.S.

Hollywood adaptations of such South Korean movies as ``The Tale of Two Sisters’’ make nationwide releases in the United States at the end of the month.

``The Uninvited," the Dreamworks version of the Kim Jee-woon thriller inspired by a famous Korean folktale ``The Tale of Two Sisters,’’ will appear in theaters Jan. 30. Brothers Charles and Thomas Guards direct the franchise and actresses Arielle Kebbel (``The Grudge 2’’) and Emily Browning (``Lemony Snicket’s: A Series of Unfortunate Events’’) have replaced Korean stars Lim Soo-jung and Moon Geun-young, respectively.

Meanwhile, ``Possession,’’ based on ``Addiction’’ starring Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon, will be released Jan. 23. Directed by Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist, the Hollywood rendition stars Lee Pace as a man claiming to be his brother opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Of the Korean movies that have sold adaptation rights to American producers, three have been released: ``The Lake House" based on Lee Hyun-seung’s ``Il Mare’’ in 2006 and ``Mirror’’ inspired by Kim Seong-ho’s ``Into the Mirror’’ and ``My Sassy Girl’’ adapted from the Kwak Jae-yong film of the same title in 2008.

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