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| From left, actor Yoo Hai-jin, Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri and Jin Sun-kyu pose at the press conference for the film "Space Sweepers" in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Merry Christmas |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
"Space Sweepers," featuring a star-studded cast including Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, is a sci-fi film helmed by Jo Sung-hee, who is widely known for his previous movies "A Werewolf Boy" and "Phantom Detective."
Set in 2092, the film revolves around the crew of The Victory, who have been searching for lucrative space debris. After they spot the humanoid "Dorothy" ― a weapon of mass destruction ― the members make a risky deal.
Song appears as the shuttle's pilot Tae-ho while Kim plays Captain Jang. Actors Jin Sun-kyu and Yoo Hai-jin also star in the film, which is the first Korean sci-fi movie set in space.
The film is Song's first in three years since "The Battleship Island." Discussing his character in "Space Sweepers," Song said during an online press conference Tuesday, "Tae-ho is a desperate penniless man who wears socks with holes. He pursues a life chasing money."
Song said he first heard about the film while working with director Jo on the fantasy romance "A Werewolf Boy" in 2012.
"Jo told me about Space Sweepers when we were filming A Werewolf Boy. It was fascinating to hear that he was preparing a space sci-fi fiction movie that touches on the subject of space debris," he said.
Jo said he came up with the story 10 years ago when his friend told him about the dangers of space junk.
"It started with the idea of space travelers collecting space junk that is moving faster than a speeding bullet. I heard about how these fast-moving fragments of space debris are growing and leading to in-space collisions," he said.
"I realized that this subject has already been dealt with in animations and games, but never in a film. I started writing the script wondering how Koreans, who possess a tenacious mentality, would approach this problem."
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| Song Joong-ki in a scene from the film "Space Sweepers" / Courtesy of Merry Christmas |
Meanwhile, actress Kim said she wanted Captain Jang to have certain quirks and flaws to make her character satisfying.
"Captain Jang is supposed to be a smart pilot who leads The Victory. However, I wanted to portray her as a silly and clumsy character in order to avoid cliches," she said.
According to Kim, all the characters fear Captain Jang, thinking they should not mess with the smart, tough heroine.
Jin has transformed into engineer Tiger Park, who has his hair in dreadlocks and tattoos all over his neck and arms.
"I put a lot of effort into styling and make-up, but the table read was the most memorable thing about this project. There were so many foreign actors and staff that, for a moment, I thought I had been cast in a Hollywood movie," he said.
Yoo takes on his first "motion capture" role as the robot. "At first, I was supposed to lend my voice to the robot character, but then we thought it would be better if I do the motions as well. It was a new experience for me," he said.
"Space Sweepers" will hit local theaters on Sept. 23.
