Hyung’s Overture, Part 2 August 14, 2007

I’m positive there should be some kind of pun I can make in this post title. What’s the second half of an overture called? Oh well, I have no idea. Anyway, this isn’t really about puns, it’s about hyungs (yeah, yeah, that was *really* bad, I know).

And now we get to the meat of the post. Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) awards presentation I plugged last week. The actual presentation of the awards was blessedly short. There’s really no point in dragging out something like that. Then we moved on to what we were really there for, or at least what I was there for: the staged readings.

I wasn’t as invested in the first reading since I hadn’t read the script and I didn’t know Lucy Wang (I still don’t, although I did have the chance to chat a little with her husband tonight). The second reading was the first half of Young Kim’s script Hyung’s Overture (btw, Young, I liked the changes). This script was brought to life particularly through the talent of the young actors involved. They were AWESOME. I can’t stress that enough. More than just reading, they acted out parts of the script, and they were great. And Chil Kong as the dad was great, too. But I was blown away by the kids. I could also tell that everyone reading was having fun.

In short, it was a treat. Hearing the script read aloud by actors brought it to life in a way that reading it for yourself doesn’t, and I can’t wait till this gets made (when it goes into production I have to remind Young that he told me I could hang out on set). The emotional content in this script is high, but there are also plenty of humorous touches that made everyone laugh tonight. I’ll totally be plugging it again whenever it gets to the point of hitting theaters.

P.S. The younger boy looked really familiar. Young, should I know who he is?

Hyung’s Overture August 7, 2007

On August 14 the CAPE Foundation New Writers Awards will include a staged reading of the screenplay Hyung’s Overture, written by Young Il Kim. The reading is open to the public and will include complimentary refreshments, and yes, I’m plugging it because I’ve read and like the script and because Young is my friend and he comments here, but no, he didn’t pay me to put up this announcement; he didn’t even buy me lunch!

Anyway, here’s the synop, stolen borrowed from indieWIRE: “The eldest son of a Korean immigrant family gives up his career to manage the family’s convenience store, so that his brother may fulfill his potential as a world-class violinist.”

The script won about four different contests last year, including CAPE and BlueCat. Teddy Zee (producer of Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Saving Face, West 32nd) and Jonathan Kim (producer of Silmido, Sisily 2km, The Ring Virus, Lies) are attached to produce, and Young is currently slated to direct the film himself when it goes into production.

Full details on the reading are here. The event is free, but RSVP’s have to be in by August 12. The event also includes the announcement of the 2007 CAPE winners and finalists and a reading of last year’s winning script for TV, which is an episode of Without A Trace by Lucy Wang.