Director Chan-Wook Park’s Thirst Receives US Funding and Distribution

Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 12th, 2008

Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park returns!!  If you haven’t seen Oldboy you will regret not running to your nearest video store now to rent the psycho mystery thriller.  Oldboy comes alive in Park’s wholly original story about a man who is locked up in a cell for 15 years and then suddenly released only to find himself still trapped in a web of conspiracies.

This morning Variety received news that Universal Pictures and Focus Features sealed a deal Thursday to jump on board as co-producers to director Chan-Wook Park’s new vampire film Thirst.  The film is currently in production under Korean major CJ Entertainment who’s been the film’s sole financier up until now.  This collaboration marks the first time a Korean film has ever received US studio coin and a US distribution deal (through Focus) before its local release.  Local sales in South Korea along with international sales rights will remain the responsibility of CJ Entertainment.

Thirst will star Song Kang-ho (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host, The Good the Bad and the Weird) and Shin Ha-kyun (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), with Kim Ok-bi (Dasepo Naughty Girls) as leading lady in a story about a well respected priest Sang-hyun, who falls in love with his childhood friend’s wife and who, after a failed medical experiment is turned into a vampire.  The priest’s faith can only hold for so long as his humanity withers away in this unique thriller and horror impassioned by an illicit love story.

With Focus Features to distribute, Thirst will likely be guaranteed a theatrical release!  Sources say we can expect Thirst sometime in mid 2009!