Mr. Go (film)

Mr. Go (Korean: 미스터 고; Hanja: 大明猩; RR: Miseuteo Go) is a 2013 South Korean sport-comedy film written and directed by Kim Yong-hwa based on Huh Young-man's 1984 comic The 7th Team (Korean: 제7구단).[1][2] About a gorilla who becomes a baseball superstar and his 15-year-old female manager, it stars Xu Jiao and Sung Dong-il.[3][4] Mr. Go was the first South Korean film to be fully shot in 3D.[5] A co-production between South Korea and China, it was released simultaneously in both countries on July 17 and 18, respectively.[6][7]

Mr. Go
China poster
Hangul미스터 고
Hanja大明猩
Revised RomanizationMiseuteo Go
Directed byKim Yong-hwa
Produced byYoo Jin-woo
Written byKim Yong-hwa
Based onThe 7th Team
by Huh Young-man
StarringXu Jiao
Sung Dong-il
Music byLee Jae-hak
CinematographyJeon Dae-seong
Park Hyun-cheol
Edited byZino Kim
Production
company
Dexter Films
Distributed by
Release date
  • July 17, 2013 (2013-07-17) (South Korea)
  • July 18, 2013 (2013-07-18) (China)
Running time
132 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
China
LanguageKorean
Japanese
Chinese
BudgetUS$18.62 million
Box officeUS$8.65 million (South Korea)
US$18.12 million (China)

Plot

Young circus ringmaster Wei Wei has only bat-swinging gorilla Ling Ling to depend on as her only family member and friend, when her grandfather dies in the Great Sichuan earthquake, leaving behind an insurmountable debt. When a loan shark threatens to sell Ling Ling and the circus kids to cover the debt, Wei Wei has no choice but to allow Ling Ling to be scouted in the Korean Baseball League by the materialistic sports agent Sung. Ling Ling, now dubbed "Mr. Go," becomes an instant hit with fans and leads his team Doosan Bears to a miraculous winning streak.

Cast

Production

Kim Yong-hwa, director of box-office hits 200 Pounds Beauty (2006) and Take Off (2009), decided to adapt Huh Young-man's 28-year-old comic after seeing the YouTube video of Christian the lion, which demonstrated that humans are capable of taming animals. But for the film to work, the gorilla had to look like a living creature. Kim decided to shoot entirely in 3D, and of the 2,000 shots in the film, 1,000 are special effects shots of the gorilla Ling Ling. For four years, a team of more than 500 animators and CG professionals led by visual effects director Jeong Seong-jin[9] developed motion capture technology, facial motion capture technology and a digital fur production program to make the gorilla as realistic as possible, followed by another year of editing. The images were so precise and delicate that all the 3.8 million hairs on Ling Ling could sway with the wind.[10][11][12]

With consultant Kim Tae-yong of Rhythm and Hues Studios (famous for its work on Life of Pi), the production team established a new company Dexter Studios (with 180 employees), which created the software Zelos System to process large amounts of data efficiently so that the film cost 10 percent of the budget demanded by most Hollywood movies. The budget was ₩20 billion (or US$18.62 million), with ₩12 billion spent on visual effects. 25% of the budget (or US$5 million) came from Chinese investor Huayi Brothers.[13] It also received ₩30 million from the International Co-Production Incentive Support 2013, a project run by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC),[14] and director Kim spent ₩3 billion from his own pocket.

Music

The movie's theme song "Bye" was sung by Kim Tae-yeon, a member of Girls' Generation. Composed by music director Lee Jae-hak, "Bye" had a Korean version and a Chinese version.[15] The score was recorded by the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at Sony Pictures' Scoring Stage in Los Angeles, CA.

Release

The film opened on 1,000 screens in South Korea on July 17, 2013, and on 5,000 screens (all in 3D) in China on July 18. It was also released in other Asian countries, namely Singapore on July 25, Malaysia and Thailand on August 1, Indonesia on August 6, Taiwan on August 9, Hong Kong on August 15, and the Philippines on October 16.[16]

Box office

Due to competition with other summer blockbusters such as The Wolverine, Snowpiercer and The Terror Live, Mr. Go had a disappointing box-office performance on its opening weekend in South Korea, drawing 540,411 moviegoers at 788 screens.[17] It grossed a total of ₩9,311,311,000 (US$8.65 million) domestically on 1,325,039 tickets sold.[18][19]

In China, the film topped the box office on its opening day, earning CN¥12.2 million, which is the highest single-day record for a Korean film in the country.[20] It grossed a total of CN¥112.73 million (US$18.12 million) in China.[18][19]

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult
2013
22nd Buil Film Awards
Best Art DirectionYang Hong-samNominated
34th Blue Dragon Film Awards
Best Art DirectionYang Hong-samNominated
Technical AwardJeong Seong-jinWon
33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
Best Technical AchievementJeong Seong-jinWon
2014
19th Chunsa Film Art Awards
Technical AwardJeong Seong-jinWon
8th Asian Film Awards
Best Visual EffectsJeong Seong-jinWon
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References
  1. Huh, Nam-woong (4 February 2013). "2013 Global Project BIG 3 – MR. GO". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  2. Lee, Eun-sun (14 June 2013). "Two Big Things Are Coming: The Dream Film of Korea – Mr. Go". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  3. Sunwoo, Carla (14 June 2013). "Mr. Go director stakes fame on virtual star". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  4. Ji, Yong-jin (18 March 2013). "First Poster of MR. GO Unveiled". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  5. Kim, Seung-hoon (1 August 2013). "MR. GO and Prospects of Korean 3D". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  6. Jang, Sung-ran (5 June 2013). "MR. GO Will Simultaneously Meet Korean and Chinese Viewers in July". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  7. "Mr. Go to debut in China, ROK". Xinhua News Agency. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  8. Lee, Eun-ah (2 July 2013). "Joe Odagiri, Kim Jung-eun to Appear in New Pic Mr. GO". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  9. Yun, Suh-young (23 July 2013). "Mr. Go's visual effects master talks about his 3D gorilla". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  10. Huh, Nam-woong (8 February 2013). "Will MR. GO Score Grand Slam?". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  11. Kim, Hyun-min (22 March 2013). "Making of Video for MR. GO 3D Released". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  12. Jang, Sung-ran (19 April 2013). "About Making of the Digital 3D Film, Mr. Go". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  13. Jang, Sung-ran (31 May 2013). "Press Showcase for MR. GO Takes Places". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  14. Ji, Yong-jin (10 May 2013). "MR. GO and THE HOST 2 to Be Supported by KOFIC". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  15. Son, Bo-kyung (3 July 2013). "SNSD′s Taeyeon to Sing for Mr. Go". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  16. Conran, Pierce (15 July 2013). "MR. GO Steps up to the Plate". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  17. Tae, Sang-joon (25 July 2013). "Box Office: July 4–24, 2013". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  18. Ma, Kevin (7 October 2013). "Korean cinema, Chinese characteristics". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  19. Yoon, Ina; Ji, Yong-jin (7 May 2015). "Anatomy of Success in Korea-China Co-Productions with Focus on Top 4 Films". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  20. Conran, Pierce (22 July 2013). "Powerful Opening for MR. GO in China". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
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