[ENTERTAINMENT]A Resolute Go-Between Nails a Go-Ahead

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[ENTERTAINMENT]A Resolute Go-Between Nails a Go-Ahead

VENICE - Most of us remember how much the darkness used to scare us when we were children. We would cover ourselves with the blanket from head to toe, holding the pillow tight, covering ears so that we could not hear any spooky sounds. At the premiere of Alejandro Amenabar's "The Others" at the 58th Venice International Film Festival, it was clear the audience remembered that childhood fear.

Starring Nicole Kidman and coproduced by Tom Cruise, "The Others" made quite a splash at the festival. Without the diminutive Cruise around, the recently-divorced Kidman seemed to enjoy the spotlight, saying "Now I can finally wear high heels."

In "The Others," Amenabar attempts to depict people's more deeply held fears. It is Amenabar's first film in English, and he ambitiously took on the writing and directing chores, and even composed the soundtrack.

One little-known fact, however, is that "The Others" might have been shot in Spanish, without Kidman and Cruise, if it were not for a Korean-American producer named Park Sun-min. It was Park who encouraged this young director to make the movie in English and brought the script to the attention of Cruise and Kidman.

This 37-year old woman already has some impressive movie experience: In 1999 she produced "The Emperor and the Assassin," by director Chen Kaige, and was applauded by the American entertainment weekly Variety.

Park sat with this reporter at the premiere. Park is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Columbia University, majoring in political science and international relations. She currently runs a media-consulting firm in Hollywood. Park first formed ties with the movie scene from her experience as a reporter for a Korean movie magazine called Screen. Then came her crucial discovery.

"Right after watching Amenabar's first film, 'Thesis,' I was totally enraptured by the director," Park said. Park worked extremely hard to reach Amenabar because she was so eager to work with him.

Park has a reputation of being determined to achieve whatever she sets her mind to. This was no exception. "I went to see Kidman and Cruise and showed them the script, because I was sure that they would recognize the quality. And they did." Besides her achievement getting Kidman to star in the film and Cruise to invest in it, she secured 2,700 movie screens for the film through a deal with Miramax, one of the major movie-distributing companies in the United States.

In harmony with the director's script, the direction and the soundtrack, Park's effective marketing and managing helped to make "The Others" a highly appreciated and acclaimed film among festival-goers here.

But this efficient producer is not happy with just helping other people make good movies. "Actually I have dreamed about making a film myself," Park said, smiling. And she is making her dream come true by filming "Too Pure." It is still a long way off, but with such a track record, Park can at least rest assured that she will be able to get the actors and screens she desires.



by Shin Yong-ho

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