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New film “Closer to Heaven” topped the Korean box office over the weekend in its first week of release.

“Heaven”, which stars actors Kim Myung-min and Ha Ji-won, drew 384,351 viewers between September 25 and 27 to take the No. 1 spot, according to estimates released by Korea Box Office Information System (KOBIS) on Monday.

“The Sword with No Name”, also a new film starring Jo Seung-woo and Soo-ae, followed in second place with 265,211 viewers, while musical movie “Fame” came in third with 130,572.

“Aeja”, last week’s No. 1 movie, dropped to fourth place with 100,648 viewers over the weekend and over 1.13 million to date.

“Take Off” rounded out the top five with 53,211 over the weekend and 7,669,011 since its summer release.

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01. 종우의 상상 (다시 태어나도 Orchestra ver.)
02. Prologue
03. 내 곁에 있어줄래
04. Love Theme
05. 내 사랑 내 곁에
06. 예정된 이별
07. Main Theme
08. 사랑은 다 태워버리는 거야
09. 기적을 기다리며
10. 햇살속의 병실 (종우테마)
11. 기억 저편의 남자
12. 사랑의 다라이
13. 오빠 미안해
14. 상처
15. 결혼식 (다시 태어나도 Band ver.)
16. 지수테마
17. 사랑 1
18. 사랑 2

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Actor Kim Myung-min is returning to the big screen. And this time he hopes to make a larger splash than his last effort, the 2008 crime film “Open City,” which had an average showing at the box office.

Kim actually made a name for himself – and gained legions of fans – for his recent work as a coldhearted doctor in the TV series “The Great White Tower” and as an aggressive conductor in the program “Beethoven Virus.”

Now, he is again looking to gain a foothold in the movie world, taking on an extremely challenging role as Jong-woo – a Lou Gehrig’s patient – in the upcoming film “Closer to Heaven.” The movie, which hits theaters Sept. 24, depicts a tragic love story between Kim’s character, Jong-woo, and his wife, Ji-soo – played by actress Ha Ji-won, the heroine of the summer blockbuster “Haeundae.” The director is none other than Park Jin-pyo. who was behind the 2005 hit movie “You Are My Sunshine,” which starred actress Jeon Do-yeon as an AIDS patient.

The 37-year-old Kim is well known for his rigorous self-discipline and his ability to adapt to different roles. His latest film is no exception: Kim actually lost a whopping 20 kilograms (44 pounds), reaching a skeletal 52 kilograms, which is extremely thin for someone who’s only 180 centimeters tall (5-foot-9).

“I’ve gained back about 10 kilograms in three months since filming ended,” Kim revealed in a recent interview with the JoongAng Ilbo. “However, I’m not in shape yet, and I’m still confused about whether I’m Kim Myung-min or Jong-woo.”

A Lou Gehrig’s patient has never been featured in Korean films before, in part because it’s hard for actors to portray the struggle against the disease. Kim said the three-month shooting process was indeed a trying experience.

“The hardest part was not that I had to lose weight before the shoot, but that I had to keep losing it through the course of filming because I was playing this guy who is getting sicker day by day,” Kim said. “So it was more like filming a documentary.”

The drastic weight loss required not only following an extremely strict diet, but also getting as little shut-eye as possible, according to Kim.

“I slept no more than two hours every day,” Kim said. “That lack of sleep brought about depression, and that in turn brought about less sleeping and less eating. When there were about 10 days left until the end of shooting, director Kim told me to stop losing weight, saying, ‘You may actually die if you keep going.’”

What troubled the actor more, however, were the side effects of his rapid weight loss.

At times, the actor said, he fell unconscious and occasionally even “failed to recognize people.”

The film producers originally planned to make a dummy for Kim’s role and fix it up with the help of computer generated graphics. But they changed the plan when Kim actually shed about 10 kilograms in 20 days after shooting started.

“I didn’t want to turn to CG technology,” he said. “If I acted as if I was ill when I wasn’t actually sick, audiences wouldn’t be able to feel the pain the character suffers. Acting is an attractive job, but it is painful at the same time.Getting back to my original state has been harder than I expected.”

JoongAng Daily

“Aku harus fokus untuk bisa mendalami karakter dan juga perasaan di pertengahan film ini, tapi kenyataannya berbeda karena aku terlalu lelah untuk berakting.”

Aktor Kim Myeong Min, yang berperan sebagai pasien penderita sindrom Lou Gehrig’s di film bertajuk ‘My Love by My Side’ atau ‘Closer to Heaven’, berat badannya turun drastis untuk peran barunya tersebut. Ketika jumpa pers film ini tanggal 24 Agustus lalu, dia mengerti tentang keputusannya untuk berpuasa demi perannya ini.

“Orang-orang yang terjangkit penyakit ini memiliki rasa dan kesadaran mereka secara utuh, namun fungsi otot-otot menurun drastis. Tapi karena aku bukan pasien, yang membuatku menjadi lumpuh rasa dan juga kesadaranku adalah turunnya berat badan.” Ujar Kim.

Closer to heaven menceritakan kisah Jung-woo (Kim Myeong Min), penderita Lou Gehrig sindrom dan istrinya Ji-soo (Ha Ji-won) yang sangat pengertian. Disutradarai oleh Park Jin-pyo yang menyutradarai film ‘You are my Sunshine’ yang meraup 3 juta penonton tahun 2005 lalu.

Dari klip-klip dari film yang diperlihatkan pada jumpa pers tersebut, memperlihatkan tubuh kurus Kim yang hingga tulang belakang, pipi pun terlihat dengan jelas. Dengan nada bercanda ia mengatakan, “Pada permulaan, Ha dan juga sutradara ikutan berpuasa demi mendukungku. Tapi akhirnya, mereka berdua diam-diam makan snack tanpa berbagi dengan ku. Itu sangat membuat ku sedih.”

Kemudian ia menambahkan, “Sutradara menyiapkan permen untuk ku karena takut aku akan pingsan karena terkena darah rendah dan beliau pun turut berpuasa karena aku. Mekipun proses syuting sangatlah sulit, tidak sekali pun aku pernah membenci sutradara karena hal ini dan merasa lebih hidup di lokasi syuting.”

Sutradara Park mengatakan kalau Ha Ji Won harus menjaga Kim Myeong Min karena kesulitan yang menderanya karena berat badan Kim, makanya dia dan Ha pergi makan karena Ha merasa depresi. “Aku tidak mau makan sedikit pun, tapi aku harus menemaninya supaya dia mau makan.”

Ha Ji Won yang memerankan tokoh sebagai pengurus pemakaman mengatakan bahwa mengurusi dan memakaikan pakaian pada orang yang sudah meninggal bukanlah hal yang gampang. “Itu semua merupakan hal yang sulit bagiku menyaksikan Kim Myeong Min tidak makan sama sekali dan merasa sakit. Aku bisa menjaganya karena dia begitu berdedikasi pada perannya.” Kata Ha Ji Won.

Ia pun menambahkan kalau ia menunggu cinta sejatinya datang, dan lewat film ini ia lebih bersemangat untuk bisa bertemu dengan ‘Mr. Right’, “Suatu hari, orang yang sudah ditakdirkan untuk jatuh cinta denganku akan muncul.” Ujarnya sambil tertawa.

Insight gue buat film ini, udah pada liat trailernya kan? Baru pertengahan trailer aja gue udah nangis apalagi nontonnya. Dan menurut yang gue baca soal Ha Ji Won emang orangnya baek bener, si Jang Geun-seok aja sampe jatuh cinta sama kebaikkan dan juga sifatnya itu pas drama ‘Hwang Jini’. Mantap lah Ha Ji-won…hahaha.

Sumber: KBS

Los Pet Shop Boys son unos tipos inquietos y aparte de dedicarse a sus álbumes hacen otras muchas cosas, una de ellas fué el musical “Closer to Heaven” junto al dramaturgo Jonathan Harvey.

Casi al final de las representaciones se editó el álbum con las grabaciones de las canciones del musical con el reparto original de la obra.

Closer to Heaven: 6 Octubre 2001

1. My night
2. Something special
3. Closer to Heaven
4. In denial
5. Call me old-fashioned
6. Nine out of ten
7. It´s just my little tribute to Caligula, darling!
8. Hedonism Instrumental
9. Friendly fire
10. Shameless
11. Vampires
12. Closer to Heaven
13. Out of my system
14. K-hole Instrumental
15. For all of us
16. Closer to Heaven
17. Positive role model