Charlie's Angels' Other Heavenly Roles

"Charlie's Angels" － "Minyeo Samchongsa" in Korean － opened in Seoul less than three weeks ago, but its box office sales have already reached 32 billion won ($27 million), according to Columbia TriStar's local bureau. There shouldn't be any mystery about its success in Korea. It is directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol ("McG"), who built his reputation with music videos, and choreographed by Yuen Cheung-yan, brother of "Matrix" choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and its three stars － Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu － command massive drawing power.

The backgrounds of the three "angels" are diverse; Diaz was a model, Barrymore was a Hollywood child star and Liu was a multimedia artist and photographer. They share, though, a fierce ambition for screen success.

If you want to see their earlier work, check these out:

Being John Malkovich (1999) － Rated R

Directed by Spike Jones － starring John Cusack, Diaz, John Malkovich and Catherine Keener

Diaz made her name as a model, but here she underplays her beauty to play a dreary veterinarian, Lotte Schwartz. Cusack stars as her husband, Craig, a puppeteer who discovers a tunnel that leads into John Malkovich's head. Lotte and Craig become obsessed with entering Malkovich's mind, which causes problems in their marriage.

The Wedding Singer (1998) － Rated PG-13

Directed by Frank Coraci － starring Adam Sandler, Barrymore and Steve Buscemi.

Barrymore began her acting career as a seven-year-old star in "E.T." (1982) and has been a regular fixture on cast lists ever since. In this romantic comedy, she plays Julia, a waitress who works at weddings and bar mitzvahs alongside Robby Hart (Sandler), an aspiring songwriter. When Robby's fiancee leaves him at the altar, Julia helps him get over his heartbreak and falls in love with him.

Payback (1999) － Rated R

Directed by Brian Helgeland － starring Mel Gibson, James Coburn, Maria Bello, Gregg Henry and Liu.

Liu put aside a burgeoning career as an artist and photographer to pursue success as an actress.. Her big break came in 1998 with the television series "Ally McBeal", in which she plays the dominating and frosty lawyer Ling Woo. She portrays another steely woman in "Payback," in which she's seen as a leather-clad dominatrix. She gets involved in a fight between her boyfriend and an old partner seeking revenge.

Her role is a supporting one, but she turns it into a memorable performance.

by Joe Yong-hee