Big Deal, Yoo Hae-jin, and Lee Je-hoon join forces to target the summer box office. Utilizing the rare subject of soju, they completed a more realistic and gripping story based on true events.

On the morning of the 24th, a production report for the movie Big Deal was held at Megabox COEX in Seoul. Attending the event were the lead actors Yoo Hae-jin, Lee Je-hoon, Son Hyun-joo, and Choi Young-joon.

Big Deal (distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by The Lamp Co.) depicts a story set during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, where Chung-rok (played by Yoo Hae-jin), a financial director whose life revolves around a soju company, faces off against In-beom (played by Lee Je-hoon), an employee of a global investment firm that only seeks revenue. The film is based on real events surrounding the sale of the Jinro Group.

Yoo Hae-jin passionately portrayed the character of Vice Director Pyo Jong-rok, who sacrifices himself to prevent the bankruptcy of the national treasure soju. He is a deeply patriotic financial director, but he encounters a serious crisis when he meets the global investment employee In-beom.

In response to the comment that "it resembles the recent hit 'YADANG: The Snitch'," Yoo Hae-jin noted, "There might be similarities, but fundamentally, we are different. In 'YADANG', the character lives for personal desires and ambitions, whereas in Big Deal, Chung-rok lives for the sake of the entire company. He is someone whose beliefs and values are tied to the company, so there seems to be a significant difference in that regard."

Yoo Hae-jin, whose face turned red while filming drinking scenes, shared, "Although I applied makeup to my face for the shoot, I actually had one or two drinks. However, I only drank enough not to disrupt the shoot."

Lee Je-hoon stated, "Rather than during filming, since soju appeared in various content leading up to the release, I found myself drinking. So I vividly remember getting drunk after a long time, and it was a great feeling." He added, "In our movie, the top soju is introduced in the content, and I hope it gets released for people to enjoy more."

Lee Je-hoon takes on the role of the capable employee Choi In-beom at a global investment firm. He struggles to understand Chung-rok's dedicated attitude toward the company and is initially unable to comprehend the company dinners where they drink soju after work, but he undergoes a transformation as he spends time with Chung-rok.

Lee Je-hoon mentioned, "I studied a lot through the role of the global investment employee. In-beom is knowledgeable in both economic and financial matters. Therefore, I read a lot of news and economic journals and looked back at the records of the difficult period Korea went through during the IMF. This film deals with real events as its motif, but many other incidents also occurred. Preparing for it, I felt as if these events really happened."

He continued, "One challenging aspect was that there were many difficult English lines, leading me to think, 'How can I handle this well?' I received detailed help with script recordings, pronunciation, and pacing from teachers who provided coaching. I memorized the script more thoroughly than ever before," expressing his struggles.

In the film, director Jang Jae-hyun, known for the blockbuster film 'The Grave', makes a surprise appearance alongside Lee Je-hoon.

Lee Je-hoon recounted, "Director Jang Jae-hyun came to the set to see senior Yoo Hae-jin. He suggested, 'What if a character comes out like this after a trial?' so he said he would do it. I didn’t know how well he could blend into the movie, and we were all laughing a lot while filming that scene."

Son Hyun-joo played Seok Jin-woo, the second-generation chaebol who inherited the Gukbo Group, while Byron Mann portrayed Gordon, the Hong Kong branch manager of the global investment firm Soul Queen.

Byron Mann, a representative scene-stealer actor from Hollywood, has shown diverse performances in major Hollywood productions such as Mr. Chow in 'The Big Short' and Wu in 'Skyscraper'. He visited Korea for the first time to promote the release of Big Deal.

Byron Mann expressed, "I played the role of Gordon in the film, and I’m very happy to meet Korean audiences directly. The time I spent filming with the wonderful Korean actors is a highlight of my career. I shot in Korea for three months two years ago, and coming back two years later feels like returning to a second home, and it’s an honor to work with great actors."

Regarding the differences in filming systems between Korea and Hollywood, he explained, "When I visited Korea for film production, I was given a book containing the storyboard. Hollywood doesn’t provide the entire storyboard, so I found it impressive and fascinating that the Korean system works based on it. After filming ends, the editor is always on-site, and that kind of constant checking after filming isn’t common even in Hollywood. So I learned a lot and found it impressive."

Byron Mann, who closely collaborated with Lee Je-hoon, stated, "It was an honor to work together, and it seems he speaks English better than I do. I was surprised by Lee Je-hoon's thorough preparation, and I will remember it for a long time."

When asked about a memorable scene, he remarked, "To be honest, I didn’t know who Lee Je-hoon was or how great an actor he is. So I was able to work on set as 'actor to actor,' and every day I was amazed at how thoroughly he prepared for our scenes. I was surprised that, as the lead actor, he perfectly prepared for every scene."

He added, "Since Big Deal is based on true events, even though the characters were created for the film, someone actually lived such a life, so I approached it with more care. Working with Lee Je-hoon, Yoo Hae-jin, and Son Hyun-joo, I found that everyone was focused on the film and trying to convey their emotions thoughtfully, which was impressive."

Finally, the actors encouraged audiences to watch the film, which opens tomorrow (30th). Byron Mann, who visited Korea for the first time, added, "There aren’t many films about soju, and I understand this is the first one to be dealt with deeply in Korea. More importantly, I think this kind of film is hard to find not only in Korea but also in Hollywood. Nowadays, people are only looking for short films on YouTube and TikTok, so I believe that feature films are becoming increasingly valuable and important. Big Deal poses good questions, addressing a country’s culture and values, and it seems to be a film about a nation’s asset. It’s an honor to be part of such an important film."

Meanwhile, Big Deal is set to premiere on the 30th.

[Photo] Lee Dae-seon, reporter.

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