Hybe America confirmed on Wednesday that the actress Ji-Yooung Yoo, known for having dubbed Zoey in Netflix Breakout Animation “K-Pop Demon Hunters”, and the Korean-American singer-songwriter Eric Nam were launched as protagonists of his next film K-Pop, co-produced with Paramount Pictures.
The English-language film will follow a Korean-American teenager who will secretly undertake a television survival competition to join the next group of global girls, rebelling against the wishes of his family, a premise that producers will merge the maturation drama with the world with high pressure of the idol training.
Filming is planned To start in mid -September entirely on the spot in South Korea, scoring the first time that an important American study has filmed an entire production there.
The Korean-American director Benson Lee (“Seoul Searching”) will direct from the last screenplay by the television writer Eileen Shim. Lee defined the film “My Love Letter to K-Pop: his energy, passion and community” and thanked to “defend the project” and the cast to “give life to history”.
James Shin, president of Hybe America’s cinema and television, will do so produce Next to Arthur Spector and Joshua Davis of Epic Magazine and Scooter Braun, with the Paramount Executive Bryan Oh.
Yoo, 25, created impetus with the first video “Expats” and the Indie winner of Tribeca “Smoking Tigers”, but his turn in “K-Pop Demon Hunters” skipped it to the mainstream attention when the film passed the global ranking of Netflix this spring.
“If the fifteen year old could see me now … I will do my best,” said the actress on social media, reflecting on casting news. Nam, 36 years old, a former conductor of “After School Club” whose albums regularly hit the ranking of Billboard’s world albums, said that the film is “For Dreamer” while preparing for his first great role in the studio.
The observers of the sector note that the picture extends the thrust of Hybe to Hollywood following the documentaries of concerts for BTS and Tomorrow X together, and coincides with the Paramount strategy to woo the Asian public after the success of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Top Gun: Maverick” in the region. Shin said that the collaboration “captures dedication and art that define K-pop highlighting a universal story about the chase of dreams against all forecasts”. Further details of casting and soundtrack are foreseen by the end of the year when pre-production increases in Seoul.
