Rough Cut (2008 film)

Rough Cut ( "A Movie is a Movie") is a 2008 South Korean action film. It is the debut feature of director Jang Hoon and based on an original story by Kim Ki-duk. The film had a total of 1,307,688 admissions nationwide.

Synopsis
Gang-pae, played by So Ji-sub, is a local organized crime leader who still wishes he could be in movies. Soo-ta, played by Kang Ji-hwan, is a haughty actor who is easy to provoke. Within his latest film, where he plays a gangster, he gets into the role too much and sends one of the stuntmen to the hospital. The two men meet by chance at a room salon and Soo-ta enlists Gang-pae to join the production. But this real-life gangster will only join the production if the fights are real. The two main characters continue to try and one-up the other every chance they get.

Cast

 * So Ji-sub as Gang-pae (gangster)
 * Kang Ji-hwan as Jang Soo-ta (actor)
 * Hong Soo-hyun as Kang Mi-na (actress)
 * Park Soo-young as Chief Lee
 * Ko Chang-seok as Director Bong (director)
 * Song Yong-tae as Chairman Park
 * Jang Hee-jin as Eun-sun (Soo-ta's girlfriend)

Blurring of real and fake
Since this film crosses back and forth between being an actual movie and a movie within a movie, the lines get blurred as to which the audience is watching. Examples:


 * The character name Soo-ta (수타) is a parody of 스타 meaning "(movie) star" in Korean. And the character name Gang-pae (강패) is a parody of 깡패 which means "gangster" in Korean.
 * Choreographed fights become "real" and a "real" fight turns out to be planned but is however "real".
 * The actual movie script for Rough Cut is shown being read and held several times by rehearsing characters and crew within the film.
 * Numerous members of the actual crew, including the producer and editor, are seen in the film as "crew members".
 * Various movie posters can be seen including Time also written by Kim Ki-duk and an early draft of a Rough Cut poster, which is the same image on the cover of the scripts.
 * The "real" arrest of a bloodied Gang-pae for a recent murder turns out to be in image from a film shown in a theater right before the actual credits roll.

Awards and nominations

 * 2008 Blue Dragon Film Awards
 * Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
 * Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
 * Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Ko Chang-seok
 * Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon


 * 2008 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
 * Best Actor - So Ji-sub
 * Best New Director - Jang Hoon
 * Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan


 * 2008 Korean Film Awards
 * Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
 * Nomination - Best Film
 * Nomination - Best Actor - So Ji-sub
 * Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Ko Chang-seok
 * Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
 * Nomination - Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk


 * 2008 Director's Cut Awards
 * Best Producer - Kim Ki-duk


 * 2009 Asian Film Awards
 * Nomination - Best Newcomer - So Ji-sub


 * 2009 Baeksang Arts Awards
 * Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
 * Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan
 * Nomination - Best Film
 * Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
 * Nomination - Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk


 * 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival
 * Best Music - Roh Hyoung-woo


 * 2009 Buil Film Awards
 * Best New Actor - So Ji-sub


 * 2009 Busan Film Critics Awards
 * Best New Actor - So Ji-sub
 * Best New Actor - Kang Ji-hwan


 * 2009 Grand Bell Awards
 * Best Screenplay - Kim Ki-duk, Jang Hoon, Ok Jin-gon, Oh Se-yeon
 * Nomination - Best New Director - Jang Hoon
 * Nomination - Best New Actor - So Ji-sub