The Time of Hunt, Now the Time of Lee Je-hoon

[Lee Isul, Entertainment Reporter]

"My dream is to walk the red carpet at an overseas film festival with my own work."

Actor Lee Je-hoon said this with sparkling eyes during an interview with a reporter several years ago. A few years later, he fulfilled that dream with "Time to Hunt" in collaboration with director Yoon Sung-hyun, who made him who he is today with "Bleak Night" (2011).

On the 22nd (local time), Lee Je-hoon attended the photo call and press conference of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel press center in Berlin, Germany. Notably, "Time to Hunt" was invited to the Berlinale Special Gala section, marking the first time a Korean film was invited to this section, adding special significance.

On that day, Lee Je-hoon, along with Park Jung-min, Choi Woo-shik, Park Hae-soo, and director Yoon Sang-hyun of "Time to Hunt," wore suits gifted by the production company to commemorate the Berlin Film Festival invitation and walked the red carpet side by side. Flashes poured down, and the main cast, including Lee Je-hoon, heated up Berlin with their confident poses.

Amid the attention, Lee Je-hoon captivated Berlin with his relaxed answers at the local press conference. The American media The Hollywood Reporter, which saw "Time to Hunt" first, praised it as "a continuous tension that never stops," showing a warm response.

Above all, Lee Je-hoon found special meaning in visiting Berlin with director Yoon Sung-hyun and Park Jung-min, his film comrades who made him with "Bleak Night." Although he was invited and attended the London Asian Film Festival in October 2017, the Paris Korean Film Festival in October 2017, and the Korea-Vietnam Film Festival in November 2017, this was his first time attending the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world's top four film festivals.

Lee Je-hoon's love for films is well known. He is an actor who feels happiness with a passionate affection for movies more than anyone else. He is known to watch many films regularly and understand them deeply, enough to be called a 'cinephile.' Not only as an actor but also with considerable interest in production, he recently established the production company Hardcut with director Yang Kyung-mo and PD Kim Yoo-kyung and is preparing a new work titled "Phantom" (working title). His feelings about being invited as a lead actor to the Berlin Film Festival must have been special.

"Time to Hunt" was scheduled to be released domestically on February 26 but was temporarily postponed due to the impact of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), and the planned interview schedule was also canceled to ensure the safety of the audience. Distributor Little Big Pictures is reportedly preparing for a release around March.

In "Time to Hunt," Lee Je-hoon plays Jun-seok, who plans a dangerous operation with friends to escape a hopeless city and live a new life. The film is a chase thriller depicting the suffocating hunt of four friends who plan a risky operation for a new life and an unidentified pursuer chasing them. In the previously released trailer, Lee Je-hoon's rough visuals caught attention. Shedding his soft and gentle 'milk man' image, he is expected to return with a strong visual.

This year, starting with "Time to Hunt," Lee Je-hoon will continue to meet audiences with a new look through "Collector" (director Park Jung-bae, working title). Also, from March, he will begin filming the Netflix drama "Move to Heaven: I am a Legacy Cleaner" (director Kim Sung-ho, writer Yoon Ji-ryeon).

Lee Je-hoon, who keeps running without rest, is already gathering expectations for the new image he will show in Chungmuro after COVID-19 subsides. Now is Lee Je-hoon's time.

Photo = Little Big Pictures

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.