News and Gossip

Korean star Rain goes on 'torturous' diet for new film
channelnewasia

SEOUL : South Korean superstar Rain had to put himself on a strict diet for his latest role in action flick "Ninja Assassin" in which he plays an orphan who becomes a ninja warrior.

The new, Joel Silver-produced movie, promises plenty of stunts, sword fights and of course, the leading man himself, Rain.

Describing the food he took as "terrible", and just thinking about it makes him shudder. Now that he no longer has to subject himself to a strict regimen, he is glad that he is able to resume a normal diet, reported Korean media.

For the sake of the movie’s role which required him to be in perfect and lean condition, the singer-actor said that he underwent intensive training two months before filming commenced.

Admitting his preference for junk food, French fries and hamburgers, his diet during the eight months of filming and training was replaced by mainly steamed fish and chicken breast with vegetables. During the process, the 27-year-old managed to lose 22 pounds (10 kilograms).

When asked if he would undergo another round of intense dieting for another role in a movie, Rain, whose name is Jung Ji Hoon, shook his head in disapproval.

"It feels scary just thinking about that period. I don’t think it’s possible for me to go through the process again. It was painful especially for someone like me who worships food."

Rain made his American movie debut with last year's "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin" marks his first Hollywood leading role. The movie is scheduled to open in theatres later this year.

Rain's Agency Sued for Breach of Contract
Korea Times

The management agency of K-pop singer Rain has been sued for contract violation.

The Seoul Central District Court said Friday a domestic multimedia content provider filed a suit against Rain's agency, J.Tune Entertainment, demanding one billion won in compensation.

The plaintiff said in a statement, "The two parties signed a contract to share copyright of footage of the singer's concert in September. We were supposed to produce a wide range of secondary products based on the clip." But the business model collapsed as the agency failed to obtain the copyright from MBC, which filmed the event.

Rain's agency admitted its failure to obtain the copyright but claimed, "Imposing full liability for the damage on us is unacceptable."

"Conflicts among the related parties are to blame for the dispute, meaning we cannot hold full responsibility for this," J.Tune said. "Due to the possibility of internal conflict, the contract was made with a precondition that it would become invalid unless the project went smoothly."

This is not the first litigation surrounding the 26-year-old singer, who made his Hollywood debut this year starring in "Ninja Assassin."

In April, the singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoo, and his former agency, JYP, faced a multi-million dollar lawsuit for the abrupt cancellation of his world tour concerts between 2006 and 2007.

The legal action in 2007 was taken by Star M, a domestic concert promotion company, which claimed it sustained more than 4.57 billion won losses due to the cancellations.

In a separate case in March, the singer and JYP were found guilty by an American court of breaching a contract with Click Entertainment Inc. for the singer's canceled concert in Honolulu and ordered to pay the Hawaiian promoter some $8 million in punitive charges and compensation.

Ninja Assassin’ demo reel featuring Rain
kungfucinema.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq1q2EjEiew&eurl=http://www.kungfucinema.com/?p=4226&feature=player_embedded

A new behind-the-scenes look at the fight training for the Wachowskis’ NINJA ASSASSIN has turned up on Youtube and features impressive moves from the film’s star, Korean pop idol Rain.

It has been previously noted that Rain was training intensively for this film, both to condition his body in order to look and move appropriately but also to perform many of his own fighting moves. It appears that Rain has been very hard at work and it could all pay off with a breakout action performance but not without the help of the stunt team that trained and worked with him.

The fight coordinators are Chad Stahelski and Jon Valera, who are joined by other members of the 87 Eleven stunt team, previously responsible for cutting-edge action appearing in many of Hollywood’s top movies from THE MATRIX to 300 and beyond They have additional work soon to be seen in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, a live-action KING OF FIGHTERS movie and the highly anticipated WATCHMEN film.

If the moves shown in this demo reel survive the directing, editing and effects process and end up in the finished film without being weighed down by too many Hollywood gimmicks, this movie actually stands a chance of kicking some ass.

With the rigorous training that Rain has gone through and its apparent results, he might have a career in action films if this movie is a commercial success. If so, Rain should stick around. The market for martial arts and action movies in Korea is small and Hollywood desperately needs some fresh action film stars.

One thing that this demo reel proves is that the experienced stunt professionals behind this movie are a major asset, as is Rain who is gradually earning more respect from me than I usually spare for pop idols who try to be martial arts stars but never put in the effort to compete with the likes of dedicated action talents like Vincent Zhao and Wu Jing. Let’s hope the effort isn’t wasted.