“Alienoid” Director Choi Dong-hoon: Korean Science Fiction Cinema

Still only 50 years old, Choi Dong-hoon has been one of the top nominees among Korean directors for at least the past 15 years, with hits under his belt including “The Thieves”, “Assassination” and “Tazza: The High Rollers”. He is now leading the Korean industry’s exploration of science fiction.

Choi’s “Alienoid” recently premiered to American audiences at the New York Asian Film Festival and will open in North American theaters August 26.

The movie is a kind of caper, where two teachers of the Koryo dynasty search for a time-curving blade and unexpectedly cross paths with modern-day folk who are hunting down a dangerous alien being hidden inside a human body.

The score shares a lot in common with “Jeon Woochi”, a period actor who is Choi’s latest hit, but features richer visuals and smarter sound effects. The scale of its ambition fits well with its billing as the first installment in a two-film franchise.

Choi spoke to diverse After recovering from a bout of COVID that prevented him from traveling to the New York Festival.

Variety: Please explain the thinking behind the cross-story in “Alienoid”.

Choi Dong-hoon: “I don’t think there is any 100% new story. But the director’s job is to make sure the stories are told with an entirely new structure. In the case of ‘Alienoid’, these two worlds, past and present, meet somewhere. I wanted to make sure that the structure of that meeting would be Exciting to watch.

Likewise, when I work on action scenes, I want to make those sequences more interesting and fun to watch.

As a director you always have options. You can have your spaceship in the middle of an urban area and go to the battle in the middle of the city. We’ve seen that before. But what if you put that spacecraft in an underground parking lot? It’s a space we all feel very familiar with. Somewhere we go every day. This is when the real invasion happens, the invasion of your own space.

There seems to be a growing interest in Korean cinema in the science fiction genre. what’s happening here?

Unlike the Western world, Korea has no history in science fiction novels. In the West, science fiction novels came first. Science fiction films followed literature. The sci-fi trend in Korean cinema today comes only from the curiosity of directors. What kind of things can we make, and what kind of stories can we tell within that genre?
I think “Alienoid” will be a reference for other science fiction movies to come later. But that doesn’t mean I have to take responsibility for them. Other directors’ work comes from their imagination and preferences.

With filming spread over 13 months, this has to be one of Korea’s longest-running and most expensive film productions. Why was that?

Living through the pandemic and making the movie during the pandemic was very difficult. We always wash our hands. Purgatory went with us everywhere. But if you think about it, movies are made in wartime. Why do we allow ourselves to stop? The CGI part has always been a huge component of this movie and has been a burden to me. But as soon as we started filming, I realized that the key wasn’t CGI, but the characters.

Likewise, all the actors initially felt a little uncomfortable, acting in front of the green screen. But we all realized that we were making a movie about people, that CGI was going to be all around us and that our movie wasn’t there to showcase CGI technology. Once I figured out the process, that became fun too.

And at the end of the day, everyone involved in this project learned something.

For example, the character Madam Black uses a mirror to enlarge her fist and take over the alien. When we were filming this scene, our focus was not on the perception of the hand itself, but more on how someone would put their hand in the mirror without hurting itself.

How will you move on to the second part?

All the characters in Part One will now travel to the present day and embark on a new adventure. And some of the puzzles that were presented in the first part will be explained at the end.
Think of this scene at the end, with all these people whose paths intertwine, they will end up leaving and continuing to their destiny. We plan to complete it next year.

How confident are you in the future of Korean cinema and theatrical experience?

Cinemas are in complete chaos. And there is growing doubt about whether theaters will be a venue for mass entertainment. Therefore, today, a lot of creators, including screenwriters and film directors, tend to go live today. However, I strongly believe that the experience of going for the movie will last forever.

Theaters have the potential to offer a group experience that is only possible within a cinema. When I was young, right before the movie started, I remember my heart was beating a little faster. Those moments when the audience laughs inside a dark theater or is surprised together are moments of pure joy and eternal happiness.