[Korean Film News] Filmmakers Band Together to Trim Costs

What do the films My Scary Girl [달콤, 살벌한 연인], The Customer is Always Right [손님은 왕이다], Like a Virgin [천하장사 마돈나] and Family Ties [가족의 탄생] all have in common? If you answered that they all star Baek Yoon-sik as a mentor who takes a younger protege under his wing, deduct five points. The answer? All were produced for under US $5.7 million, the average cost of making a film in Korea. My Scary Girl, the least expensive of the bunch (US $.9 million) was also the most successful - drawing in over 2 million viewers during its run, the 'break even' point according to the Korean Film Council. Though the other titles did considerably poorer at the box office, all four movies were some of the most innovative works to emerge from the peninsula in 2006, combining outstanding performances, enlivening soundtracks, excellent cinematography, and first and foremost, uniquely original screenwriting. Yet, low-budget independent films will be among the hardest hit as the Korean film industry, reeling from one of the worst years since 2002, applies a series of belt-tightening measures intended to increase profitability. These measures are to include fewer press conferences and VIP screenings, curtailing the number of prints, and encouraging longer runs in movie houses. Meanwhile, the Korea Film Producers' Association is pursuing the chimerical goal of driving down the production cost of the average mainstream film to $3.24 million. Their objective is to reduce expenses associated with top stars, whose unreasonable profit-sharing demands have upset the cost structure. The Show Must Go On, starring Song Kang-ho, is only the latest high-profile picture to flop at the box office, drawing fewer than 1 million admissions. Up until recently, it was production staff members who bore the brunt of cost-cutting measures, but a recent hard-won labor contract (effective July 1st) puts pressure on producers to find alternative means of holding down expenses. Typically, smaller producers have had little sway with popular stars, but it is hoped that by combining their efforts, individual companies will be able to exert greater leverage. Average production costs, which remained relatively stable from 2002 through 2005 (considering the phenomenal growth of the industry), soared to 5.3 billion won in 2006 from 4 billion won the previous year.

My Scary Girl (US $.9 million) 2,023,198 admissions
Like a Virgin (US $2.5 million) 571,034 admissions
Family Ties (US $2.5 million) 167,209 admissions
The Customer is Always Right (US $1.7 million) 138,278 admissions

[Source: JoongAng Daily, Variety, The Korea Herald]