Actor Jeon Jong-seo, who meets the audience through ‘Project Y’, a crime entertainment movie that opens the new year, mentioned director Lee Hwan’s name several times while talking about this work. He was relatively clearly aware of how the director’s style, which had been inherited from his previous works, permeated this film.
Jeon Jong-seo described director Lee Hwan as “a director who presents works in their raw form” while assuming that he is “a person who has worked on works that can be liked or disliked.” The explanation is that the messages conveyed by the director’s previous works, ‘Park Hwa-young’ and ‘Adults Don’t Know’ had a certain texture, and he felt that the honest perspective and youthful spirit were also contained in ‘Project Y’. In particular, regarding the points that often become conservative when moving to commercial films, he said, “Even in such a situation, I thought it would be good to be a little more bold through this character.” Jeon Jong-seo said, “I also thought that I would like to be a weapon in this movie,” and said that he accepted positively that the director’s color was sufficiently reflected in his character.
The filming site of ‘Project Y’ was never leisurely. The schedule was tight, and the cold winter weather and outdoor shooting environment were not easy. Jeon Jong-seo reflected, “It wasn’t a place where I could talk in depth about acting and analyze the scene for a long time.” Instead, he said, “In a situation where we were being chased, everyone had to jump in.” He added, “Because I had to film almost all the scenes with actress Han So-hee, having someone accompany me through the process itself was a great help.”
He said that there were many cases where actors first suggested on set, “I will try to do this in this scene” or “I think I can do more than this.” Actor-turned-director Lee Hwan directed from the perspective of an actor, and Jeon Jong-seo said that “it gave me a strong feeling that we were making a movie together.”
In the process of designing the character Do-kyung, the point that Jeon Jong-seo paid most attention to was ‘continuity of the emotional line.’ He said, “I thought the audience should empathize with a certain character and follow him until the end.” To ensure that the flow was not interrupted in the middle, we tried not to lose sight of the plot throughout the filming. He honestly confessed, “I was worried about what if it felt unfriendly or what if the movie felt like it was interrupted in the middle.”
The scene where the emotions were most condensed was the scene where Kim Shin-rok faces each other. Jeon Jong-seo explained, “The character played by Kim Shin-rok is a mother, but she is like an evil lover. It is a relationship where you live without seeing your mother for a long time, but when a situation arises when you need your mother, you visit her again.” As the story is about a daughter who goes to save her mother and is once again abandoned, he recognized this scene as a key point in explaining the character of Do-kyung.
Jeon Jong-seo said, “I thought Do-kyung’s drama might feel a little lacking in the entire movie,” and “So I decided to try to explain as much as possible in the staircase scene.” Since the scene serves as a starting point for Do-kyung’s subsequent choices and actions, he said that he and Kim Shin-rok created the scene by carefully matching the emotional texture.
The choice of acting was also an extension of this judgment. Originally, it was proposed to act in a way that would explode emotions, but Jeon Jong-seo explained, “I felt that Do-kyung was in a state where he couldn’t understand why he was crying.” He decided that “tears flowing without understanding why tears are coming from my eyes or why I am crying because of this person” was more appropriate. In the end, the scene was filmed again, and he said, “I thought it was right to go in a slightly drier direction.”
Jeon Jong-seo responded relatively carefully to music, another element that completes the impression of the film. He personally observed the process of changing the music several times, and said of the final version, “The impact was clearly preserved.” In particular, it was impressive to note that music makes the characters’ colors stand out more. “There was a feeling that the two iconic characters became more clear as they met music.” He directly asked the director, “Why did you choose such a turnkey feel?” and after hearing the explanation that the choice was intentional, he expressed satisfaction with the result.
Jeon Jong-seo’s acting attitude was consistent in this work as well. He said of himself, “I tend to act as I am without embellishment.” The explanation is that he prefers emotions that flow naturally rather than extravagantly designed acting. “Everyone’s style is different, and I respect that, but I just like acting the way it is,” he said. I felt that ‘Project Y’ was a work that suited my personality well with the director’s style.
To him, ‘Project Y’ was not simply another genre film, but was closer to a result that relatively fully reflected his acting views and attitude. Raw emotions, balanced breathing, and choices that are not excessive. Jeon Jong-seo said he hopes this film is a work that pushes those elements to the end.
‘Project Y’ depicts the story of Mi-seon and Do-kyung, who dreamed of a different tomorrow in the middle of a fancy city, making dangerous choices at the edge of the cliff of life. The movie opens on January 21st.
iMBC Entertainment Kim Kyung-hee | Photo source: Andmark
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