Wednesday 18 January 2017

Lee Joon Gi - A Scene Stealer In Resident Evil: The Final Chapter



LEE JOON GI
A SCENE STEALER
IN
RESIDENT EVIL
THE FINAL CHAPTER







LEE JOON GI
A SCENE STEALER




The hottest  and most exclusive interview was hosted by Robert Holley on KBS Entertainment Weekly recently. Holley was able to get big-name celebrities, Lee Joon Gi and Milla Jovovich, to reminisce about their enjoyable time working together on the movie, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. It was a real treat to watch their heartfelt interaction and good-natured banter, and the intermingling of contagious laughter and animated hand gestures. The superstars, one from the east and the other from the west, seem to share a special bond.

Milla plays Alice while Lee Joon Gi has the role of the bad boy, Commander Lee of Umbrella Corporation. Milla put some spark into the show by gushing to Robert Holley that Lee Joon Gi is ‘a scene stealer’ in their movie. She clearly spelled out her admiration for him throughout the short interview but viewers also realise that the admiration is mutual.



Then, she turned with effusive enthusiasm to Lee Joon Gi, and spiced up her compliment, ‘And you’re an amazing bad guy in the movie’, to which Lee responded that he played the ‘handsome bastard’. And they all laughed uproariously at his reference to his ‘handsome bad guy’ role.

Gushing or not, Lee’s fans would heartily lap up the compliments. To them, Lee Joon Gi is nothing less than amazing. They just can’t wait to watch the part when the scrumptious bad guy, Commander Lee, spars with Alice and gets to beat her up. The sight of them lunging at each other would be the most spectacular experience. Surely after watching the gorgeous bad guy’s amazing martial arts skills, everyone in the audience would be totally smitten!


















UNBELIEVABLE STUNTS
RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER


Milla’s voice dripped with honey as she pointed out something that is self-evident, ‘For me, it was unbelievable to watch Joon Gi work because his martial arts are just so unreal. And of course, coming from America where people always use stunt doubles so, what you see in the movies is not ever real.’

Milla confessed with seeming conviction in her voice, “To be honest, I was so embarrassed. He was like (at this point, she made some wacky ptush..ptush..ptush sounds, gesturing vigorously with her hands to show how fast Lee was), and I was like, Give me a moment to stretch!”

The audience must have been convinced of Milla’s intense admiration and respect for Lee Joon Gi but then, her wry self-deprecation was hilarious. Lee was apparently humbled by her astonishing but entertaining description of him which had him in stitches. One can see that Milla has that delightful and inspiring ability of publicizing Lee Joon Gi’s dazzling innate talents to the world.









Tornado kicks - spinning kicks



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armaRce64Vg&feature=youtu.be









































RESIDENT EVIL
Action Scene
Lee Joon Gi and Milla Jovovich





















THE KING AND THE CLOWN

Lee Joon Gi as Gong Gil in The King And The Clown


It transpired that Milla had seen many of his films. “I’d seen clips from Joon Gi’s movies when Paul first told me he wanted him for the movie.”

Probably, she meant dramas as well. One of his movies that she watched was The King and the Clown.













THE SOUTH KOREAN GOD
AND
GODDESS MILLA





It seemed that the night before the Resident Evil press event and premiere, Lee Joon Gi had taught Milla some Korean words. She used them quite heartily in the Resident Evil press event and on Robert Holley’s show. Milla was glad that Lee, whom she referred to as her teacher, had reminded her to use them in the press event earlier that day. One of her newly-learnt words was jjeo-reo (awesome / cool / handsome).







Both Milla and Lee Joon Gi, the South Korean God seemed to be busy tossing compliments at each other throughout the interview. Lee called Milla a ‘Goddess’ and obviously, Milla was pleased. She darted a cute glance at Lee and feigned surprise, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. Probably, Lee had implied that she is an idol who has legions of worshippers worldwide. She pretended that heat was seeping into her and that she needed to cool down.












“You’re making me sweat!”, she sweetly complained at being called a screen goddess. There was not even a thin sheen of sweat on her face but Lee Joon Gi went immediately to her rescue and fanned her with his hands.





Milla Jovovich, who had married the director, Paul Anderson in 2009, proclaimed that the final installment was the biggest Resident Evil that they had ever done and it was very emotional for her because ‘my character, Alice, had come a full circle. She found out who she was and where she came from.'

Milla also added that the science fiction-action-horror movie has many interesting plot twists.

What conclusion would the viewers draw from the interaction of the two superstars?

Lee Joon Gi and Milla Jovovich seemed to have lots of fun hamming it up for the camera and the audience. One could also observe that their sense of camaraderie and their martial arts talents make them a wonderful and formidable team.





LEE JOON GI AND MILLA JOVOVICH
TROTTERS FOR DINNER
12.01.17









Braised jokbal or pig’s feet / pig’s trotters


Lee Joon Gi, Milla Jovovich, Paul Anderson and some close friends shared a Korean dinner on 12.01.17, the night before their press conference and premiere for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

Lee brought along one of South Korea’s famous specialities, braised Pig’s Feet or Pig’s Trotters, probably in an effort to promote Korean cuisine.

The dish is a delicacy that can be cooked in different ways in East Asia. The Chinese love their pig trotters stewed until tender, with soy sauce and lots of spices to eliminate the smell of the trotters.

It is said that the South Koreans love the collagen-rich braised trotters so much so that there is an entire street in Seoul which specializes in the speciality dish. The collagen of jokbal, a star among the many Korean specialities, is probably one of the secrets to having smooth skin.

Milla indicated that she had no penchant for pig skin but she loved the meat. They also had grilled beef or bulgogi, something that the South Koreans also love.

Milla seems to have an affinity with South Korea as she had shared that she loves its culture, including the local food and Taekwondo.






THINGS IN COMMON
LEE JOON GI AND MILLA JOVOVICH

The multi-talented and multi-faceted personalities, Lee Joon Gi and Milla Jovovich share many things in common. Being famous and popular models, singers, thespians and A-list action stars or martial arts exponents, they have an impressive record of international movie, drama, music awards and achievements. They are, according to Paul Anderson, Milla’s husband and director of the Resident Evil franchise, a match for each other.


FASHION MODELS

Both were catwalk models and had strutted their stuff on the runway. They constantly grace fashion magazine covers and they are also celebrity spokespersons in advertisements and have endorsed many products for world famous companies.

Milla is a model-turned actress. She began modelling at the age of 12 and was featured in Revlon, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Versace, Giogio Armani etc campaigns. She was also featured on more than 100 magazine covers.

Likewise, Lee Joon Gi debuted in 2001 as a model.  He was involved in Andre Kim’s fashion shows in South Korea; Shanghai, China and Bangkok, Thailand. He was a spokesperson for innumerable campaigns including Macdonald’s, KFC, Pepsi, Spris, Kleenex, Giordano, Samsung Anycall, I-Audio, Vonin etc. And year after year since his debut, he has been featured on countless Chinese, Japanese and South Korean magazine covers.



 The Fourth Prince, Lee Joon Gi and Andre Kim

The Fourth Prince, Lee Joon Gi and Andre Kim in Bangkok

  
Lee Joon Gi in Andre Kim memorial video

Recently, Lee has also become a model and spokesperson for Lotte Duty Free, South Korea.



THESPIANS

Despite their many difficulties, both have a list of astonishing movie and drama achievements and awards to their credit.

Milla’s achievements include her 6 globally famous blockbuster Resident Evil action movies, the French science fiction movie, The Fifth Element, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, The Million Dollar Hotel, Zoolander etc.

Lee Joon Gi’s fame and popularity spiralled with his blockbuster movie, The King and the Clown and his hold on his audience has been maintained with strings of successful foreign and local movies and dramas, including the Japanese movie, Virgin Snow and the Chinese movie, Never Said Goodbye, My Girl, Iljimae, Time Between Dog And Wolf, Arang And The Magistrate, Two Weeks, The Joseon Gunman and The Scholar Who Walks The Night.  He is famous for his saguek dramas, and recently, the globally-acclaimed South Korean drama, Moon Lovers – Scarlet Heart: Ryeo / Scarlet Heart: Ryeo cemented his status as the God of Historical Fiction dramas.


*Read about Lee Joon Gi’s achievements



A-LIST ACTION STARS
MARTIAL ARTS EXPONENTS

They are both A-list action stars. She had karate, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and combat training. She even had gun and martial arts training for her role in Resident Evil: The Apocalyse.

Lee Joon Gi had trained in martial arts since he was young. He has black belts in 3 types of Korean martial arts; Taekwando, Hapkido and Taekkyeon. It has been reported that he has studied a bit of Wushu. Lee is known for his tornado kicks, athletic feats, use of weaponry like swords and staffs (poles) in his movies and dramas. He is famous for his gun-spinning, and also his spinning kicks performed on the ground in his saguek drama, The Joseon Gunman. Lee, of course, had combat, gun and athletic training during his 2-year military enlistment period. His sharp shooting skills were considered the top during his military training. He had even received a commendation for excelling in his training.


POPSTARS

Lee and Milla are popular singers and have produced many music albums.

Milla’s albums include Divine Comedy and The  People Tree sessions.

Lee Joon Gi’s albums are Deucer, One Day, Case By Case, My Dear and Exhale. Lee’s most recent album, entitled ‘Thank You’ was released in December 2016.





LEE JOON GI’S SONG: NOW
'Thank You' Album
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter




[03 & 04.12.2016] LEE JOON GI ASIA TOUR IN SEOUL (DANCE COVER)



UNIQUE QUALITIES

Milla has shown that she could be a very strong female leading character. She has been able to take on a traditionally ‘masculine’ action role in the Resident Evil franchise which has proven to be financially lucrative.

Lee Joon Gi was able to transform and submerge himself completely in an effeminate role, that is, as Gong Gil in The King And The Clown, and churn out a blockbuster!


DIFFERENCES

However, there are one or two differences between them. Milla, who is seven years older than Lee, had a proper start in her career. Her mother, an actress, raised her to be a movie star but Lee Joon Gi, despite strong parental objections, was determined to be an actor.

Milla was also a fashion designer and had launched a successful line of clothing called Jovovich-Hawk in 2003 but it ended in 2008 because of her heavy movie commitments.

As a popstar, Lee Joon Gi not only sings but also dances. He is a better dancer than most of the other Kpop stars. He could even do a good imitation of the TT dance of a female girl group, Twice, which he performed in his Thank You Asia Tour in Taiwan on 08.01.17. It shows his chameleon-like qualities.

It would take a lot of time to enumerate the achievements and awards of the two superstars but what’s important to know is that they are unique gems in show business. What is so endearing about them is their wonderful personalities which have won them a lot of hearts all over the world.


Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich talk about Lee Joon Gi
in an interview in Taiwan


Paul: Lee Joon Gi is a very, very great actor and an accomplished martial artist. Lee was amazing and the action scene between him and Milla Jovovich was electrifying. The scene was one of the high points of the movie.

Milla:  He is such an incredible martial artist. When he fights, he has so much control. He does all the stunts himself.














RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER




ASIA


RELEASE DATES


Japan 23 December 2016
South Korea 25 January 2017
Malaysia 26 January 2017
Thailand 26 January 2017
Philippines 1 February 2017
Hong Kong 2 February 2017
Singapore 2 February 2017
China 17 February 2017

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2592614/releaseinfo