So Ji Sub and Kang Ji Hwan in Rough Cut

Korean sales company Showbox Mediaplex has picked up action film Rough Cut (working title) to be directed by latest Kim Ki-duk protégé Jang Hun.

Co-produced by Kim Ki-duk Film and Sponge Entertainment, the $1.5m film starts shooting this month. Release is set for late 2008.

Assistant director on two of Kim's films, Time and The Bow, Jang also worked on the celebrated and controversial film-maker's 3-Iron and Samaritan Girl.

On the commercial side, he worked on Hur In-moo's hit rom-com Love So Divine, starring Kwon Sang-woo and Ha Ji-won.

Rough Cut is about an actor, Soo-ta, whose increasingly gangster-like behavior brings his latest film shoot to a halt. He is forced to bring in Kang-pae, a real gangster who wants to be an actor – under the condition that they use real violence instead of fake action scenes.

Kang Ji-hwan, who previously starred in Shin Dong-il's Seattle fest-awarded Host And Guest and in the TV series Seoul Scandal, plays Soo-ta. So Ji-sub, from the popular TV series I'm Sorry, I Love You, plays Kang-pae.

Jang is Kim Ki-duk's second protégé after Juhn Jaihong, whose debut Beautiful screened in this year's Berlinale.

Showbox is also holding market screenings of the erotic period comedy A Tale Of Legendary Libido and horror film The Guard Post.
In addition, it will be showing promo reels for Kim Ki-duk's latest Dream, The City Of Violence director Ryoo Seung-wan's upcoming action comedy Dachimawa Lee, and King And The Clown director Lee joon-ik's Vietnam War drama Sunny.
http://www.screendaily.com/