'Yonggary' Reshot for International Market

'Yonggary,' the monster movie directed and produced by Shim Hyung-rae, is being reshot in an attempt to improve the quality of the film before being released in the international market.

Zero-Nine Entertainment announced that the movie is in the final stages of post-production work and will be viewed at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which begins on May 10. Almost half of the original film, which was released July 1999, has been reshot.

Zero-Nine Entertainment reshot the film from September to November of last year at a film set located in Bakersfield, California. An American movie director was hired, and 20 actors and actresses, including 5 main roles, were additionally cast. The total cost of the reshoot was $1 million.

So far, Shim has invested 11 billion won ($9.87 million) in 'Yonggari', a record amount of money for Korea. The original version of the film was targeted to children. The film was panned by the critics, but played well with younger audiences.

The international version of 'Yonggary' has been adapted for western audiences by removing some scenes that did not resonate with non-Korean viewers. In addition, the producers tried to heighten the level of tension in the story line, The film will be previewed at Cannes on May 11, 13 and 15.

An export contract for the film in the amount of $2.72 million that was signed at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival has been canceled because the producers could not meet the deadline for its release. The current contracted amount for 'Yonggari' is $1.5 million, from a contract with a Japanese film distributor, which was signed at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

by Chung Myung-jin