Walkden Entertainment (aka Peter Walkden) had the honour and pleasure of attending the global press conference for Cobweb! We were also delighted to ask the lead actor Song Kang-ho some questions about his new film, which is available in Australian Cinemas from October 5th.
So I have to ask you, this is your first time playing the role of a film director. How did you feel, and what were the main areas of focus in your performance? And also, do you see yourself in the director’s chair one day?
I think that it’s not important to really focus on the profession of film directing itself, but rather, I think more emphasis should be put on, and I myself also put more thoughts into really how to carry out that energy of wanting to push forth until the end, in a confined space with so many different characters with one purpose and one goal of finishing this film.
As for the second question, I think that the role of an actual film director I believe it’s beyond my personal capabilities, and so, no, I would say I do not have plans to sit in the director’s chair. What I have on my plate as an actor is enough.
So this is actually your fifth collaboration with director Jee-woon Kim on a feature film. What is the secret to working with director Jee-woon Kim on so many projects, and how does it feel?
It’s been 25 years, I believe, so we created five films together within a span of 25 years, and every time, I feel like I am going on a journey of cinema with Director Kim. Every time I get very excited, and I have high hopes, I wonder what we are going to be on a train, what are we going to be on this time around. I always wonder what the destination is going to be at times, I admit there is a sense of fear, but more than that, there’s a huge sense of excitement and just anticipation, and that was also the case this time. I get asked a lot by the Korean press as well as to what is my secret to working with Director Kim for so many times and I, you know, members of the press, will look at me and think that I sort of represent the face or look of the Korean male actor, but I have to say I’m the least good looking actor out there. There are so many good-looking Korean actors, and I think it’s because of that aspect of me sort of being able to appear like an everyday man; that is the secret to Director Kim casting me.
Could you also tell us what has changed the most since your first collaboration in the film The Quiet Family?
Because I began to sort of think of it as a journey. It started out as a very simple yet fun and very charming beginning place. I feel like throughout our journey, the world has widened to become more experimental, more provocative, and more innovative, and it has led us to experience a lot more adventures along the way. I think that’s really is the essence of the amazing and surprising world cinemas created by director Kim.
What do you think fans should be looking out for when they go see the film?
No one goes to the box office if they don’t like cinema. And I think, in that sense, it would be very interesting to approach the film thinking what position in our hearts and in our daily lives does cinema take up.
I know there are so many OOT dramas out there; we have such a wide array of channels through which you can be exposed to a lot of different content, especially after the pandemic. However, I think the act of going to the theatre, buying the tickets and making yourself go to the theatre to enjoy a movie, nothing really quite captures or provides you that cinematic energy as that act itself. I think that through the film Cobweb I hope you will be able to once again rekindle that spirit that you have, and I am confident that you definitely will.
22nd September 2023
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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