Director Choi Yoon-jin, who received credit for the on-site direction of the film "Big Deal," refuted the claims made by The Lamp.
On the 26th, in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Director Choi Yoon-jin held a press conference to clarify her position regarding the on-site direction of the film "Big Deal."
The Lamp and Director Choi had struggled with internal conflicts. Initially, "Big Deal" was filmed under the title "Moral Hazard," and although the first version of the edit was completed, it became embroiled in a script copyright dispute during post-production in 2023, prompting controversy. In September last year, Director Choi Yoon-jin received a notice of termination from the production company and subsequently filed for a provisional injunction to suspend the termination of her directorial contract with the court.
At that time, the production company stated the reasons for her dismissal, saying, "The director misled us by claiming it was a sole script, and we later found out that there was a separate original creator. Trust was broken, and the first version of the edit was also terrible, so we could no longer continue with her." They argued, noting that taking into account the director's efforts on the set until her dismissal, Choi Yoon-jin was credited as 'on-site direction'.
In response, Director Choi asserted during the press conference that "the claim that the original author was concealed while signing the director's contract is entirely false, and such concealment is impossible under the contract structure." She presented documents received from investors KTH and Megabox during the development of the initial conceptual script "Enemy," emphasizing that it stated "Script: Park Hyun-woo, Choi Yoon-jin."
Director Choi said, "'Enemy' was completed through a collaboration with a new writer, and I entered into a contract for the provision of an idea and as a writer with the new writer Park Hyun-woo." However, in the second step, due to Park Hyun-woo's request, they mutually agreed to terminate the writer contract, and thereafter Director Choi claimed that she completed the script for "Moral Hazard," that is, "Big Deal," exclusively based on the true story of 'Jinro and Goldmuk Socks'.
Additionally, according to Director Choi, after the filming of "Big Deal" concluded, writer Park Hyun-woo requested to be credited in the screenplay, stating he was a co-writer of "Enemy." Director Choi considered that "Park Hyun-woo's crediting was accurate according to the original work," but out of respect for his wishes, she sent an email to the representative Mr. Park requesting that the credits be presented as 'Script: Choi Yoon-jin, Park Hyun-woo.' However, Mr. Park disagreed and informed her that the film would be released with the credits as 'Script: Park Hyun-woo, Choi Yoon-jin', claiming it was "the production company's abusive power that I cannot accept as a screenplay writer."
Meanwhile, The Lamp stated in their official position in May that "The Lamp has filed a lawsuit regarding the termination confirmation of the director’s contract with the joint production company represented by the dismissed director, and it is currently underway. In response, the opposing side has requested the court to suspend the effect of the contract termination, and the court that heard the case recognized The Lamp's claims and dismissed all of the opposing side's requests for provisional relief on the 27th."
Furthermore, they stated, "The Lamp obtained information during filming that another writer may have participated significantly in the creation of the script for 'Big Deal'. As a result of an investigation, it was confirmed that there is a high similarity to another script written by the new writer Park Hyun-woo in the past. It was determined by the Korea Screenwriters Guild that 'Big Deal' is based on Park Hyun-woo's script and has been revised, categorizing Park Hyun-woo as the original creator and primary screenwriter of 'Big Deal', while the dismissed director was classified as the secondary screenwriter."
[Photo] Film 'Big Deal'
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